When your blog or site is on the “right age” by having some decent traffic from your marketing investment, then it’s time for you to be acquainted with affiliate programs which will help you add more bucks to your account and support your growing old needs.
Choosing an Affiliate Program has never been an easy task for many people, especially to those new in the e-commerce. The Internet is full of scoundrels and scams, and the hype is so tempting that the gullible affiliates become their prey. Be an Affiliate Program “scam filter”. Here are some points you may want to consider before finally saying “I do” to an affiliate program which may already look very appealing to you:
Affiliate Program Love at First Sight is Not Always True
When it comes to online marketing, you need to remember that the first affiliate program you come across is actually not the best. This can be a costly mistake that you can commit in the end. Before deciding to “tie the knot”, the first thing that you need to do in order to determine the legitimacy of the affiliate program is to try out and “date” their product or services. This could mean extra work for you but it sure is the right thing to do. There are still other ways by which you can conduct a research or investigation on the program. Likewise, you need to be wary of scam sites as well.
Find Your Site’s True Match
The product or service should be relevant to your website. It will be impractical to promote a product or service that has no relation to your site at all, since your visitors will just click away the moment they enter your site. If your business is focused on search engine optimization, then do not choose products that focus on pet products and wedding items.
Generally, affiliate programs seem to work better when links to the merchant site are woven into the content and character of your site. Successful affiliate-marketers do that and usually write product reviews and put their affiliate links within the articles or content of their website.
Go for the Rich and Generous
All things being equal, you ought to look for affiliates who offer rich and generous commission. Most Affiliate Programs provide a commission of 5% to 50%.
The commission you earn for the sale of a product is your income. So while choosing an affiliate program, you should study the commission paid out and decide on a program that decently pay its partner-marketers. Some of these are Amazon.com (5% and 15%), Drugstore.com (15%) and the whopping 58% commission from KeywordSpy.com .
Check Payment Frequency
How often will you receive your commission payout? This is another important question that should be considered. You should avoid any program that requires too many sales to reach the minimum amount. Most reputable online institutions pay their affiliates monthly, or when they accumulate a minimum commission of $50 or $ 100 and send them via PayPal, check and wired bank transfer.
Affiliate Reports
The Affiliate Program you should be joining should have a web-interface where you can log-in, for you to view the real-time statistics on your affiliate account. This will let you know if you are generating clicks and sales and if you are reaping the fruits of your marketing efforts.
Affiliate Resources
Aside from Affiliate Reports, a good affiliate program assist its affiliates by providing a whole range of tools and resources such as banners, text links, sample articles and other training materials for their affiliates. They don’t just leave their affiliates hanging and do their own stuff, but instead they make affiliate life much easier by providing the necessary promotional tools.
Safe and Secured Programs
It is always logical to join affiliate programs that are secure, safe and have positive reputation in the World Wide Web. This can be easily verified from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or other similar institutions. It is also advisable to visit forums and do some testimonial research on the quality of affiliate programs you are eyeing.
Tracking System
The Affiliate Program should have advanced tracking system to record all the sales and clicks made through your affiliate links and banners. If possible, a lifetime tracking cookie should be available to trace your affiliate progress on your website, e-mails and other advertisement forms.
Understand their Terms and Agreement
Finally, you must read and understand the Terms and Agreement before you join as an affiliate even if it happens to be the best website in the world. You should be careful of company program loopholes which can be hiding in their contract with you because you are the one to regret if it’s only them can benefit from your hard work.
Choosing an Affiliate Program that is right for you might be a little time consuming but a worthwhile process. Going through the above considerations and tips will also be a learning curve for savvy online marketers who are serious about starting a successful affiliate relationship with “worth it” affiliate programs.
In the end, it all boils down to your decision. Really, you own the online court, and what you need to know is how to give a good shot and let the sweet point fall for the affiliate program that is best for you.