FAQs

Joining:

WHY JOIN?
HOW DO I JOIN?
HOW DOES IT WORK?
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Links and Tracking:

WHERE CAN I GET REPORTS AND LINKS?
HOW DO I CREATE LINKS TO Coastal Contacts?
HOW DOES Coastal Contacts TRACK ORDERS?
WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE TRACKING?
HOW CAN I KEEP TRACK OF HOW MANY PEOPLE PURCHASE AND WHAT THEY BUY?

Website Info:

DOES MY WEBSITE QUALIFY?
CAN A WEBSITE BASED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES BECOME AN AFFILIATE?
WHAT IF I OPERATE MORE THAN ONE WEBSITE?
SHOULD I MENTION Coastal Contacts ON MY WEBSITE?
CAN I USE THE Coastal Contacts NAME AND LOGO ON MY WEBSITE?
CAN I LINK TO YOUR HOMEPAGE?
CAN I CHANGE THE IMAGES PROVIDED BY Coastal Contacts?
CAN I USE DESCRIPTIONS, ETC?
CAN I LINK TO A SEARCH?
CAN I LIST PRODUCT PRICES?

Payment Info and Account Updates:

HOW MUCH WILL I GET PAID?
WHEN DO I GET PAID?
WILL I EARN COMMISSIONS FOR PERSONAL ORDERS?
WILL I BE PAID FOR IML (INVOICED) ORDERS, EVEN IF THE CUSTOMER HASN'T PAID YET?
HOW DO I CHANGE MY ACCOUNT INFORMATION?

All you need to know about joining

WHY JOIN?

– Costs nothing to join
– Lowest Price Guarantee on our products
– Worldwide shipping options
– 15% commission on all new shipped orders
– 60 day cookie
– Excellent support from an experienced team
– Excellent tracking and reporting tools
– Tons of great tools and resources to help you convert those sales
– Fun prizes to be won each month
– $2500 quarterly bonus for top sales performer!

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HOW DO I JOIN?

Click on the "sign up" link on the affiliate homepage or click here to set up an account with LinkShare. If you already have an account with LinkShare, simply find Coastal Contacts and register for the program online.

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HOW DOES IT WORK?

The Coastal Contacts Affiliates Program allows you to make money by referring customers to the Coastal Contacts website. When you send a customer to us and that customer places an order, you earn a commission. We process, fulfill and provide all customer services for you. We also provide you with detailed reports on sales from your site available to you through the LinkShare network. Every month, we send you a check for the commissions you earned from all the sales you referred to our site.

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HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Applying to and participating in the Coastal Contacts Affiliate Program is absolutely FREE. Sign up here today.

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HOW DO I GET STARTED?

It's easy to make your own contact lens store. Here's how:

1. Read the Coastal Contacts terms and conditions.
2. Fill out the online application found on http://linkshare.com or click on the "sign up" link
3. If you are accepted into the program, you will be send a username and password to use on http://linkshare.com.
4. Go to http://linkshare.com and read "Resource Center," which gives a quick introduction on how to create your links and build a great online contact lens store.
5. Decide how you want to sell contact lenses on your site. You could build a store, link to different sections of our site, display banners, provide text ads or use our contact lens menu. It's totally up to you!
6. Create links to Coastal Contacts using the "Create Links" section on http://linkshare.com. It automatically creates the HTML you need to track your sales. Just cut and paste these links into your web pages!
7. Return to http://linkshare.com to see how your site is doing, how many people are browsing, and what they're buying. You can look up reports whenever you want and they're updated daily!
8. Get paid! We will send you a check no later than 45 days after the close of each month. Sales reports are pulled on the 20th of the month and checks sent shortly after. There is a minimum payout of $50.

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All you need to know about links and tracking

WHERE CAN I GET REPORTS AND LINKS?

At http://LinkShare.com you will find all kinds of great ways to Coastal Contacts, and these links earn you commissions on every sale you send our way. You create links on http://LinkShare.com using the easy to use interface. Simply select the type of link you want to create, click a button, and your HTML will appear for you to use on your website.

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HOW DO I CREATE LINKS TO Coastal Contacts?

Coastal Contacts ships orders around the world. If you live in Europe and would like to be an affiliate with Coastal Contacts Inc, please visit our sister company's website Lensway.com for further information about their affiliate program in Europe. Our other websites are:

United States - www.coastalcontacts.com
Canada - www.clearlycontacts.ca
United Kingdom - www.coastalcontacts.co.uk
New Zealand - www.clearlycontacts.co.nz
Australia - www.clearlycontacts.com.au

If you are interested in working with any of these sites other than Canada or the US (which you can apply for online) please contact affiliates@CoastalContacts.com.

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HOW DOES Coastal Contacts TRACK ORDERS?

All links from your site to Coastal Contacts contain a unique ID so that every time a user comes to us via your site, we know to credit you when a purchase is made. Make sure that all links on your site are created on http://linkshare.com so that they are tracked correctly.

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WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE TRACKING?

Coastal Contacts uses LinkShare's tracking system. You have access to an online password protected reporting system called http://linkshare.com that provides you with detailed statistics for your website.

The code on your web page that loads the links to our site includes a distinctive Source ID code (assigned when you register your site). Each time someone clicks on that link, the unique Source ID code is sent as part of the link so that the person who clicked your link is identified as coming from your site.

To be able to identify and track visitors and properly assign commissions to referring sites, we add a special code for each person that visits each page and each link within that page. This code stays with the vistor throughout the site. At the time the person completes a purchase, the code is identified and the sale amount and the Source ID of the referring site are stored in a database so that your commission can be calculated.

By using LinkShare's tracking, Coastal Contacts will also give you credit for cookied sales within 60 days of an initial click from your website to Coastal Contacts. Cookied sales are sales that have come from customers that have visited Coastal Contacts directly within 60 days of first landing on Coastal Contacts from your site.

There are situations when you won't get credit through your links. Examples include cancelled orders, returned orders or orders that were not properly submitted (incomplete orders).

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HOW CAN I KEEP TRACK OF HOW MANY PEOPLE PURCHASE AND WHAT THEY BUY?

You will have access to reports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so you can track sales and traffic activity. There are a number of online reports on http://linkshare.com that are updated daily. These reports tell you how many users saw and clicked-through to links to Coastal Contacts from your site, how many orders were placed, which products were purchased, how much your website has earned in commission, and much more. These reports will help you maximize your commissions.

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All you need to know about links and tracking

DOES MY WEBSITE QUALIFY?

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CAN A WEBSITE BASED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES BECOME AN AFFILIATE?

You can have several websites under one affiliate account. To set them up, please contact us at affiliates@CoastalContacts.com and provide the names and URLs of the additional sites. You will then be able to create links specifically for each site and make separate reports for each website. You will receive one commission check for all of your sites.

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WHAT IF I OPERATE MORE THAN ONE WEBSITE?

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SHOULD I MENTION Coastal Contacts ON MY WEBSITE?

We're proud of our relationship with our affiliates. By downloading our logo, you add instant brand recognition to your store. However, please do not indicate that you are "part of" Coastal Contacts, "partners" with us, or that you "work for Coastal Contacts". For legal reasons, it's very important that our relationship be properly represented on your web site.

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CAN I USE THE Coastal Contacts NAME AND LOGO ON MY WEBSITE?

Yes, with the restriction of not altering our logo in any way and adhering to the guidelines above and in the Affiliate terms and conditions. You can download logos at http://linkshare.com.

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CAN I LINK TO YOUR HOMEPAGE?

Yes. However, keep in mind that your sales and conversions will increase if you have specific product or category landing pages. If you would like more help with this please contact affiliates@CoastalContacts.com..

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CAN I CHANGE THE IMAGES PROVIDED BY Coastal Contacts?

We have created images for you that represent our brand name and logo in a consistent fashion, for you to use without alteration. If you do not wish to update your banners on a regular basis, you could select "dynamic banners" from http://linkshare.com and your banners will update automatically as we make changes to the dynamic links.

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CAN I USE DESCRIPTIONS, ETC?

There are product descriptions available for your use on the affiliate homepage under "Best Selling Products". We encourage you to use these, or renditions of these. Please note that your site is more likely to have a higher natural search engine ranking if you have original material. Please do not copy descriptions directly off our website's storefront.

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CAN I LINK TO A SEARCH?

Yes. You can use the LinkShare Interface on http://linkshare.com to make a search box on your website. A search box is one of the most effective ways to generate sales from your site. You could also use a menu dropdown with all listed contact lenses on your homepage so shoppers can find what they are looking for more easily.

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CAN I LIST PRODUCT PRICES?

We frequently change our prices so it's best not to list prices unless you are dedicated to keeping up with the regular changes. We do provide data feeds that help with pricing updates. Please also note that the price may be different depending on the quantity of boxes the customer buys. Something that may be $19.99 for one box may be $17.99 per box if 6 boxes or more are purchased. This can be hard to communicate if only one price is listed on your website.

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All you need to know about payment info and account updates

HOW MUCH WILL I GET PAID?

Commission rates are based on the net sales you generate per month. You can earn 15% for all new shipped orders. Below is the scale that will be used to work out your monthly earnings after all cancelled and returned orders are taken into account:

SALES LEVEL	COMMISSION RATE	COOKIE DURATION

New Orders	15.0%	60 Days

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WHEN DO I GET PAID?

Affiliate checks are sent out on the 20th of each month for the sales produced the month prior. There is a minimum payout of $50 for checks to be sent. If you prefer a wire transfer, please let us know at affiliates@CoastalContacts.com so we can make arrangements for you. There may be a small fee for wire transfers. You will not be paid for any cancelled or returned orders.

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WILL I EARN COMMISSIONS FOR PERSONAL ORDERS?

Yes. Join the Coastal Contacts Affiliate Program today, set up your links, and buy products for yourself through your links. This is our bonus to you for joining the program. Remember, when you set up your links, please also include one of our affiliate logos on your site.

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WILL I BE PAID FOR IML (INVOICED) ORDERS, EVEN IF THE CUSTOMER HASN'T PAID YET?

Yes. As long as the order has shipped and has not been returned you will be credited for the sale. IML (Invoice Me Later) was created to offer customers the opportunity to try our products and services risk free.

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HOW DO I CHANGE MY ACCOUNT INFORMATION?

All account changes can be made through the LinkShare interface. Simply sign into http://linkshare.com to manage your account updates from there.

If you have any questions that have not been answered, please contact affiliates@CoastalContacts.com

Are you ready to go? Please sign up here.

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It's simple

Start receiving commission on every new sale you send our way. The more sales you refer, the more money you make!