Skype announced yesterday in an email that they would be closing their affiliate marketing program after joining Commission Junction in April 2005. As a Skype Affiliate they offered upto 15-25% commission from customers who purchased one of the following with a 30 day referral window which made it quite profitable for affiliates.
- Skype Credit – With Skype Credit, customers can make international low-cost calls to landlines and cell phones, send text messages, and much more.
- Skype Subscriptions – Using Skype Subscriptions, customers can make international low-cost calls to landlines and cell phones, as well as send text messages at a savings per minute. You will pay a flat monthly fee- no long term contract required.
- Skype Numbers – You will create your own number that anyone can call from their phone and you pick up on Skype wherever you are in the world.
- Skype Credit eGift Card – Send a Skype eGift Card online and show friends and family the wonders of Skype Credit.
Who loses out when Skype program closes?
It seems one of the biggest losers appears to be a number of affiliates based in New Zealand based on CJ affiliate data shown below. There is also a suspiciously high number of affiliates based in the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Pakistan.
The other big party to lose out will be the affiliate managers from FountainJump who ran the campaign on behalf of Skype.
Alternative Solutions to Skype Affiliate Program?
Skype was the dominate player in the online telephone space and was the dominate brand for that space which helped with conversion. There are a handful of alternative CJ affiliate programs but none offer exactly the same services as Skype but several are quite suitable for businesses or replacement for landlines.
