Affiliate FAQ

What is an affiliate program?

An affiliate program is one where the merchant (in this case us - Ticketswitch) shares its revenue with an affiliated website (you) when the affiliate delivers a sale from their website(s).

Why should I become an affiliate?

It's completely free to become a Ticketswitch affiliate. You get access to a wide range of ticketing inventory - including UK based product (West End theatre, concerts, the arts & galleries and attractions) or international products, such as Disney or Port Aventura as well as many others. We offer a ticket portal website for you to link to, as well as an easy to use link generator and a 24/7 live time reporting website. On top of all that, we offer you a percentage of what we earn on the sale of a ticket.

What are the criteria for becoming an affiliate?

A fully operating/live site with the potential to sell lots of tickets! We'll need to know what marketing activities you're willing to undertake in order to promote events, such as exposure on your site, number of members for newsletters/e-shots, as well as any site statistics you may have available.

What procedures do I need to undergo to become an affiliate?

You'll need to submit an application form in order to request to become an affiliate. We'll then review your website and your needs and get back to you with a decision within 24 hours. If your application is successful, we'll draw up the standard Affiliate Contract for you and send it off to you. As soon as this is signed by both parties, we'll set you up on our system and provide your login details for our link generator, reporting website and your very own Ticketswitch ticket portal. You can view an example affiliate contract here (the affiliate contract may be subject to change).

How long will it take to process my application?

We can get you up and running within a few days.

I don't have a website yet, is it too early to apply?

No, please do still apply and we can get everything set up and the contract signed in the meantime; so everything will be ready when you are.

What commission levels do you offer?

New affiliates receive 33% of what we (Ticketswitch) earn on the sale of a ticket.

How long will it take to process my application?

We can get you up and running within a few days.

Are commission levels reviewed? How often?

Yes, we review all affiliate commission levels yearly.

What is your average sale?

Theatre : £95.00
Music : £80.00
Events : £45.00

How many tickets are sold on average per transaction?

Theatre : 2.45
Music : 2.3
Events : 2.5

I have more than one website. Do I need to apply separately for each one?

No. Just supply us a list of all the websites you're planning to feature a link from and we'll list them on your contract.

Do you provide banners and images?

Yes, just let us know what you need and we'll provide them for you.

What is a ticket portal?

Our ticket portal is the very easy to use website that we provide to all affiliates. It is what you'll link to from your site to enable your site's visitors to purchase tickets. It is fully customisable - allowing bespoke layout, branding and colour schemes, multi-lingual (English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Czech and others) and allows customers to purchase multiple items in one simple transaction.

Can I customise the ticket portal? In what ways?

The ticket portal can be branded with your logo and website colour schemes. We have several styles and layouts for you to choose from and can provide live examples if you would like to see them.

Can I have a ticket portal for each of my websites?

Yes. Just let us know what sites you need them for and we'll do the rest.

How and when will I be paid the commission I've earned?

You will receive a report on the 3rd working day of every month for the previous month's transactions. You will be paid by the end of that month directly by BACS, providing you've given us your bank details.

How can I track my sales transactions?

You can login to our online reporting service using your affiliate user ID and password. The reporting website is located here.

Can TicketSwitch implement my third party analytics/web tracking code?

Yes, providing it is relatively simple, we can implement tracking code on your affiliate ticket portal service. Google Analytics is the most prominent web tracking provider which we currently support.

Do you provide reciprocal links?

We currently do not offer this.

What am I responsible for as an affiliate?

To actively market events and sell as many tickets as you can. The affiliate program is designed for people and organisations that maintain websites; we cannot create your links or build pages with links for your business.

What is Ticketswitch responsible for?

To provide support for the affiliate program.

Who do I contact if my question isn't answered in the FAQ's?

Contact our affiliate manager or email affiliates@ticketswitch.com, your query will almost always be answered within 24 hours.

What are sub id's and how do they work?

Sub ID's are used when you want to track sales from a particular section of your site, or perhaps if you want to track sales from an additional website without using a separate ticket portal and therefore a separate user. Sub ID's can be appended to most TicketSwitch URL's by adding "&sub_id=<tracking code>".

How do I make the most of the program?

We want you to be as proactive as you can to market and sell product relevant to your site(s). The first and most important step you can take is to create direct links to products from your affiliate website using our link generation tools (available here).

Who handles Customer Service and Payment Transactions?

Each ticket supplier is responsible for handling customer service calls (the customer will be provided with contact details for each supplier they have purchased from), as well as handling transaction payments which includes credit card authorisation. Each supplier also handles all ticket dispatch (except for self print methods).

How often do you get hold of special offers and promotions that we can promote?

We almost always have a few offers running simultaneously.

Do TicketSwitch provide other methods for integration and ticket sales?

Yes, alongside the link generation website we provide XML and RSS feeds as well as a fully transaction XML API. You can view documentation for both delivery platforms by selecting the appropriate link below:

- XML and RSS Feeds

- XML API

For support using these documents and the various API's, please contact feeds@ticketswitch.com