Affiliates! Take your Share of the Cake Now! - Extract#1
Chapter 1: Select your Affiliate partners carefully
1. Choose the right affiliate programs:
An affiliate agreement is a business relationship between the
merchant of a product or service and a website owner who promotes
the merchant's offerings.
The website (affiliate i.e. You) earns a commission from the
merchant (i.e. program owner) for each referral that results:
-in a newsletter subscription for "Pay per lead" programs, -in
a visitor referral for "Pay per click" programs, -in a sale for
"Pay per sale" programs.
The affiliate plays no role in the sales contract; the product
is sold by the merchant to the customer.
As the most of affiliates directories do, I personally do prefer
"Pay per sale" affiliate programs. This is simply because these
programs have the most profit margin. Think about results/effort
ratio (we will see this later).
What about two-tier programs?
They are "2 levels" affiliate programs that make it possible
to you to recruit "sub-affiliates". Thus, the merchant, the first
level affiliate (i.e. you) and the second level affiliate (your
downline) will all make profit.
Well, I do not support this kind of programs as they are considered
somehow as Multi Level Marketing. And MLM has a mitigated reputation
in the Internet.
What makes a specific affiliate program good?
When you are hunting for the rare pearl (i.e. the program that
suits you), make sure all the following criteria apply on it:
-The category: This is very important. Choose affiliate programs
relating to the main topic of your web site.
-The general aspect of the program: Check for the program information
page on the merchant's web site. It's a good indicator of the
program's quality.
-The sign up process: It must be easy and secure.
-The Control Panel: As an affiliate I really appreciate the
Control Panel provided to me after registration. There, I can
get access and control for all cooperations, products sales, earned
commissions... Real time statistics are highly recommended too.
-The tracking software: Ask the merchant for details before
you join. A powerful tracking system is somehow a regular payment
guarantee.
-The commission rate or amount: I consider that 15% is not acceptable
and 25% is a little bit reasonable.
-The payment method and schedule: It is amazing that some merchants
omit paying their affiliates. Also it is good to be able to choose
the payment method: check, wire transfer.
-The minimum earnings before receiving payment: The affiliate
must have earned a minimum amount in commission before payment
can be made. If the minimum amount is not reached within the month,
the total is carried over to the next month and added to the next
payment. Always ask for this precious information. It is good
to know about.
All these criteria determine the Quality of an affiliate program.
There are plenty of programs offers on the Internet, but only
few are based on quality.
I believe that providing Quality service or content is the solid
guarantee for steady success. It is a simple philosophy and I
have always gotten by on it.
All the best!
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