NETWORK SOLUTIONS AFFILIATE
PROGRAM SURPASSES 5000 MEMBERS
Business Wire
March 25, 1999, 12:07 p.m. PT
Business Editors/High Tech Writers
HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 1999--
New enhancements to the program add flexibility for Affiliate members
Network Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSOL), the world leader in Web
addresses registration, today announced that its Affiliate Program,
launched last September, surpassed 5,000 members and is continuing to
grow. Designed for companies with a Web presence, the Affiliate
Program enables participating companies to create a link for their Web
visitors directly to Network Solutions' service offerings. Members
receive a percentage of each sale as a referral fee. Network Solutions
also unveiled enhancements to the program that improve the flexibility
and technical implementation of the program.
"The popularity of our Affiliate Program is proof that Web
address services are a value-added offering that companies want to
extend to their Web site visitors," said Ben Turner, Network
Solutions' vice president, marketing. "We will continue to enhance the
appeal of the program through new features and incentive programs."
The top 10 Network Solutions' Affiliate members average about
500,000 impressions per month on their Web sites, helping to increase
Network Solutions' brand awareness. About 20% of the members are
international. One of the top members, Internet portal company
www.com, gets about 3 million Web site impressions per month and
receives a number of requests for Web address registration from
visitors. "We jumped at the opportunity to become a Network Solutions'
Affiliate," said www.com's CEO Scott Purcell. "Since Web address
services isn't our core business, we didn't want to spend a lot of
time developing an interface of our own. With the Affiliate program,
we have an immediate, hassle free way of directing customers to
Network Solutions and earning referral fees."
On Network Solutions' new consolidated Web site, Affiliate
members can now select from a suite of Network Solutions' products to
offer from their Web sites, adding value for their own target markets.
In addition to Web address services, Affiliates can now choose to also
offer the dot com mail(tm) personal e-mail service and the dot com biz
card(tm) service, which are designed to provide personalized business
solutions that enhance on-line identity. The dot com mail service
enables a business to use its unique Web address for e-mail,
reinforcing its "brand" with every e-mail sent. For example, when a
business reserves its domain name with Network Solutions, it can set
up e-mail for joesmith@abccompany.com-- without purchasing and
maintaining its own internal e-mail system.
To provide Affiliate companies with more flexibility in
marketing, Network Solutions now offers a selection of 10 banners in
various sizes based on service offerings. Affiliate members can post
the banners they select to their Web sites to let visitors know which
Network Solutions' services they offer.
A technical enhancement simplified the registration process for
customers of Affiliate members who are small Internet Service
Providers (ISPs). When their customers register a Web address, the new
feature automatically submits the ISP's host server information into
the registration template transparent to the customer.
Ben Turner will speak on the topic of affiliate strategies at the
Affiliate Solutions '99 seminar being held Friday, March 26 in New
York City. The seminar, which is hosted by Refer-It.com, Be Free, Inc.
and others, will address the topic of revenue sharing from a number of
perspectives and feature speakers from Lycos, TheGlobe.com,
GeoCities, 24/7, DoubleClick, iTraffic, AdGuide, Reel.com, BeFree, and
Adauction.com and other industry leaders.
Companies can apply to the Affiliate Program on Network Solutions
Web site at ( networksolutions.com ).
About Network Solutions
Founded in 1979, Network Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSOL) pioneered
the development of registering Web addresses ending in .com, .net,
.org and .edu. Network Solutions also provides Internet Technology
Services that assist large commercial organizations in the evolution
and management of their Internet technologies. For more information,
see the networksolutions.com Web site.
Network Solutions registers the majority of Web addresses through
agreements with Internet companies around the globe, including more
than 70 domestic and 90 international companies in its Premier
program. Network Solutions has created value-added small business
solutions through agreements with leading companies including American
Express (NYSE:AXP), and Verio Inc. (NASDAQ: VRIO). Through its
Alliance program, Network Solutions works closely with EarthLink
(NASDAQ: ELNK), MindSpring Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: MSPG), Sage
Networks, Inc., and ValueWeb. Network Solutions has also entered into
marketing agreements with companies including Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:
YHOO) and Netscape Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: NSCP).
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and
information constitute forward looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The
potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, uncertainty
of Internet governance and regulation, increased competition in the
domain name registration business, customer acceptance of new products
and services offered by the company in addition to or as enhancements
of its registration services, risks associated with the company's
international business, uncertainty of future revenue and
profitability and fluctuations in its quarterly operating results.
More information about potential factors that could affect the
company's business and financial results is included in the company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in the
company's Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed on January 4, 1999,
as amended, Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
1997 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March
31, 1998, June 30, 1998 and September 30, 1998. |
