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We’re living in the era of applications. There are thousands of apps for website building, product selling, marketing automation, or customer service. And while it’s great that there are so many choices, choosing a perfect tool for a business can turn into a dreadful ordeal.
Luckily, Tooltester gives us a hand by writing product reviews and blogging about how these products can be used to their full potential.
As the company’s business revolves around product recommendations, joining our Partner Program seemed a reasonable decision. Asked about why the company decided to tie up with us, Robert Brandl, the company’s CEO, said:
“LiveChat pays fair referral commissions and we are seeing a very decent trial to the conversion rate of more than 20%. Since many of our other partners pay a one-off commission, I like that LiveChat offers a lifetime-commission model.”
Tooltester has been within the Affiliate Program since the very beginning of the LiveChat Partner Program. Asked why he chose it in the first place, he said: “LiveChat is among the biggest providers, so we definitely had to include it! It's also the live chat software we currently are using on our own website.”
Here are his thoughts on how this partnership has benefited his business.
Gaining referrals by writing LiveChat reviews
When asked about their main strength, Robert instantly named writing reviews.
"When we review a piece of software, we do a deep-dive. And that can sometimes take more than a week for the initial testing phase", he stated. "We really want to understand the philosophy that lays the foundation of a particular piece of software. Basically, a good reviewer should be able to provide a level understanding of the tool as one of software companies’ own support staff."
The website utilizes content marketing for promotion, acquiring traffic mainly through their own blog and guest posts on other websites.
Another important pillar is YouTube. Through their video review, they manage to not only drive traffic to their website but also create highly-engaging content. The revenue comes from affiliate programs, including the LiveChat Affiliate Program.
According to Robert, no special tools are needed to promote LiveChat.
“I wouldn’t say I promote LiveChat. Rather, I give my visitors the opportunity to check the review of one of the best tools available. LiveChat is a very slick piece of software. Great design and excellent user interface make it stand out in the crowd. It’s like ‘the Mac of live chat products’ - as I like to call it.”.
When asked about the best main selling point for LiveChat, Robert said "I usually like to recommend it to visitors who don’t mind paying a little extra and want to have a hassle-free, well-designed and well-thought-out product”.
Since the site promotes its own content, Robert relies solely on his own blog writing and reviews - he only added the LiveChat logo in the article.
Tooltester’s customers never complained at LiveChat.
"As a review site, we usually receive negative feedback" Robert admitted.
“With LiveChat, we’ve had zero complaints so far. It is excellent, considering that there are quite a few other live chat tools whose unhappy customers regularly complain on our site."
Partnership benefits
Tooltester joined the Affiliate Program in September 2013 (when live chat products were not as popular as they are now) and gained their first commission after just a few weeks.
Even though not all of their referrals converted, during 9 years of partnership, Tooltester has successfully referred over 300 subscriptions.
Asked about what else he values in this partnership, he said:
“Our partner manager is extremely responsive and always willing to help out with any questions. We also get great data from the affiliate interface and are able to create custom campaigns that help us track success in different geographies.”
When asked about the characteristics of a good affiliate program, Robert mentioned trust. That's a key characteristic for every program for him.
"It’s important to have live stats available straight away," he pointed out. “Affiliates always have to put quite a bit of trust in a company. Tracking errors can just occur anytime. It helps if the company has a good reputation and a strong brand”, he added.
In addition to that, he thinks sub-ID tracking and deep links are essential for a successful affiliate program.
Robert also shared his plans concerning the future of Tooltester. “We will soon launch a completely rebranded website that will position us as the go-to software review website for small businesses. Live chat is an exciting field and will always play an essential role in in our future plans!”
