Affiliate marketing company Be Free Inc. launched B-INTOUCH, an e-mail
marketing service designed to expand affiliate e-commerce capabilities to
anyone with an e-mail address.
The company said B-INTOUCH gives merchants an opportunity to commerce-enable
Internet users who don’t have their own Web sites.
Merchants can recruit
anyone with an e-mail address as an e-marketer, enabling them to earn money
by selling products through a text link placed in their e-mail message.
“barnesandnoble.com has been using Be Free’s B-INTOUCH technology since the
launch of our MybnLink program in July of this year,” said Carl Rosendorf,
senior vice-president of barnesandnoble.com.
“Be Free’s technology has
expanded our market to anyone with an e-mail address. They recommend books to
their friends and family while generating commissions at the same time.”
“B-INTOUCH gives Be Free’s merchants an entirely new performance marketing
vehicle,” said Ellen Brezniak, vice president, product marketing for Be Free.
“B-INTOUCH is an extension of Be Free’s technology offerings beyond affiliate
sales channels.”
After registering with the merchants of their choice, individual e-marketers
have access to hyperlinks that can be pasted into their e-mail through Reporting.net, a Web site that also
allows e-marketers to track their sales and commissions and communicate with
merchants.
When their family, friends or colleagues click on the links, they
will be taken to either a specific section or the home page of the merchant’s
online store, presenting them with purchase opportunities.
B-INTOUCH offers merchants much of the same functionality that they have with
BFAST (Be Free Affiliate Serving Technology), including personalized
messaging for e-marketers when they access their sales and commissions
reports on Reporting.net and the ability to send e-mail to individual
e-marketers based on specific criteria, such as sales performance and
clickthroughs.
Merchants manage their B-INTOUCH e-marketing channels
separately from their BFAST affiliate sales channels.
Be Free has a no-tolerance policy on spamming. Be Free said it recommends
that merchant agreements contain anti-spam clauses and that misuse of e-mail
result in removal from the program.