Online DVD and video game rental house GameZnFlix announced the launch of an affiliate program for webmasters.
The program provides an opportunity for Web site and online newsletter operators to earn money by driving traffic to GameZnFlix.com, offering participants up to $66.60 for each new subscription that they are responsible for generating.
“Affiliate marketing is a cost-effective channel for marketing a product or service,” said Michael Reader, director of Internet marketing for GameZnFlix. “Creating a point-and-click sales force results in an excellent opportunity for all involved to collectively benefit financially.”
GameZnFlix has employed Commission Junction, a provider of third-party tracking, real-time reporting, and monthly affiliate commission payment, to help launch the program.
In addition to the program itself, GameZnFlix is also planning online training sessions exclusively for their affiliates. The training sessions will be designed to teach affiliates the techniques used by companies that generate the majority of their revenue from affiliate programs.
The program is the latest strategy to chip away at the foundation of Netflix and its subscriber base of more than 2 million.
“If we couldn’t [compete] I wouldn’t wake up every morning to come do this,” Reader said. “They’ve set up a stage for this space and they’ve plowed the field. If we can just come in behind their machines and pick up a few points here and there, as large as the potential market is, then we’ll be just great.”
Netflix offers 25,000 DVDs in their online database, which subscribers can rent, three at a time, for $21.99 a month. The DVDs then arrive through the mail in one to three business days. There are no shipping fees and no due dates. Netflix operates 29 shipping centers nationwide, which often enables subscribers to receive DVDs overnight.
GameZnFlix offers 28,000 DVDs and games combined, and operates the same system as Netflix, though subscribers pay $18.50 a month and can also purchase DVDs through the Web site. However, shipping time is typically three to five days because GameZnFlix only operates two shipping centers.
“That’s an area that’s not really as big of a concern as Netflix thinks it is with their 29 distribution centers. You can only watch so many movies in a week,” Reader said. “Its not next-day delivery, but its two-day delivery or three-day delivery and you still have DVDs and games in a rotation. That’s how we’re able to keep our prices lower than Netflix and with the affiliate program, pay higher commissions.”
Netflix offers an affiliate program where participants receive $9 to $30 for each new signup.
Netflix spokeswoman Catherine England, while not addressing GameZnFlix specifically, said that Netflix does not plan to retool its affiliate program in the near future, nor do they plan to offer video games.
“Our core competency is in movies and we’ve been growing at such a clip where we want to keep focusing on our subscribers and offering them the great service they have come to expect.”
