REVIEWS

[Editor’s Note: Websitebilling.com went out of business on 5/22/03]

Covering all your bases

Like many business people, I spend a considerable amount of time researching and scenario planning.REVIEWS

[Editor’s Note: Websitebilling.com went out of business on 5/22/03]

Covering all your bases

Like many business people, I spend a considerable amount of time researching and scenario planning. Some may say this is a waste of time or a case of paranoia, always thinking about the worst thing that could happen. Personally, I think it is people with mentalities like that who find themselves being quoted with silly remarks like “who would ever need more then 640K?” I believe that some of the most successful companies today are in debt to the insight of their staff whose job it is to think about the future in this pessimistic light and plan for those worst case scenarios.

In my own scenario planning, one of the first things I looked at closely was how I was making money, and the processes involved. Now this is quite a broad subject matter and it spiders out to many different subcategories and scenarios including a detailed look at everything from Internet connections to merchant accounts.

Realistically, life and business are made up of many intricate parts. For example, as a pay site owner, you could have a great Internet provider, awesome web design, and kick ass content but without a reliable merchant account you’re still dead in the water.

It is the latter pay site requirement that I would like to focus on in this article, as the need for a way to collect money from our customers is a concern to all of us, whether you are a pay site owner or an affiliate of a pay site.

Obviously, as a pay site owner there is always the option of handling your own merchant account and affiliate program. One thing to consider if you decide to handle your own transactions is the repercussions of losing your merchant account or having your account frozen by another entity. As well, consider the trust issue for the ever-weary webmasters who are generally most comfortable with an affiliate program that uses a third party processor to ensure honest reports. For most small and medium sized companies, the 10-15% charged by these third party processing companies to provide you with merchant accounts and affiliate tracking is usually well worth the cost.

The down side to using a third party processing company is that you have to remember to not take for granted that your processor of choice will always be there, and will be mailing the checks to affiliates without fail.

Think about the worst-case scenario for just one second. If the unbelievable becomes reality, do you really want to be among the others moaning about how crappy the situation is? Wouldn’t you rather be one of those with the insight and ability to pull an ace out of your sleeve and benefit from the lack of planning on the part of your competition?

It’s a simple concept and as the saying goes, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you have a few options for third party processing companies, why not set them all up so that in the event that you find yourself in a worst-case scenario, you can come out smelling like roses.

New favorite in web site billing

One of my new favorites in third party processors is the team at www.websitebilling.com.* I recently incorporated their scripts into my site, and was so impressed with their product that I decided to write my most recent review about their services. I met the Web Site Billing team at the last Internext conference. They had a nice sized booth, staffed with a couple great guys, and in particular I started chatting with Evin Daily, who has since turned into my personal account rep.

I have to say that first off I was impressed with his follow up after the conference. He first asked me what my needs were, and then found ways for his company to help me reach those goals. When I told Evin that I planned to use his company as a back up plan, and didn’t foresee large transactions, I felt his level of customer service and follow up were the same if not better then the level of customer service I have received as a premium customer with some of the other larger processors.

Overall services

Web Site Billing’s overall services include processing for credit cards, checks, and 900 numbers, featuring weekly payouts, fraud control, 24/7 live operators, real time reports, no setup or monthly fees, as well as access to their free affiliate and partner programs.

Above their excellent level of customer service, what sets them apart from the other processors is that they claim to be the first to eliminate pin code management for 900 transactions, via their product “WSB900- the most advanced 900 payment system on the market.”

Using their services

The administrative area for WSB’s clients is easy to use whether you’re a pay site owner, affiliate webmaster, or customer purchasing a membership. What I like the most about their product is the amount of flexibility and foresight that went into building their systems. The scripts can be set up and installed in a matter of minutes, and their tech help is always on hand to help if you run into any questions or issues.

Flexible site grouping and promotions enable you to mix and match your sites’ memberships and webmaster promotions. Also, for those who sell tangibles, there is an easy to use shopping cart script also available.

What I like the most about WSB’s affiliate program is the ability for webmasters to easily add and manage all their affiliate ID’s from one central log in. If a webmaster already has a username and password set with Web Site Billing, they can simply type it in on their affiliates page and click on “add to my portfolio.”

As the pay site owner you are completely free to mix and match offers depending on what or how much is purchased, you can tailor an offer for thousands of affiliates, or create individual offers for each affiliate. It’s as flexible as you need it to be.

Final thoughts

So far my overall experiences with the Web Site Billing has made me second-guess my original choice in using them as a contingency plan rather then as my primary processor. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a superb level of customer service, easy to use scripts, and as a dependable third party processing company.

* Web Site Billing also permits webmasters to work with their own personal merchant accounts. It’s called their gateway service. For more info check out their website (www.websitebilling.com).

Working in the adult Internet since 2000, Chrystal Hanson is currently the CEO of Atomic Creations, Inc., a company located in Victoria, BC, Canada, which she started in 2001. Additionally, she created the first content management solution available for sale to webmasters called A-ConMan.com.

Chrystal was featured in Klixxx Magazine in August 2001 with other influential women in the industry.