Affiliate Programs 101
By Laura Rush
October 6, 2003
You've seen those small flashing banners for Amazon.com on everything
from news sites to search engines to personal blogs. It seems like everywhere
you click, someone else is out there trying to get a little piece of the
e-commerce pie.
And why not? After all, affiliate programs are the ideal way to help
make your Web site more profitable and something merchants everywhere should
consider tapping into.
What Is An Affiliate Program?
Affiliate programs, also known as revenue-sharing programs, enable
Web site owners to include another merchant's banner, logo or text ad on
their own site as a means of earning a commission. Thousands of affiliate
programs abound on the Web. If you're interested in tapping into the revenue
potential of affiliate programs, your first step should be to research
those programs that would be of interest to your site's visitors.
A great place to start is Refer-it.com,
the leading search engine for revenue-sharing programs. Its constantly
updated database includes descriptions and ratings of thousands of quality
affiliate programs.
Selecting an Appropriate Affiliate Program
Researching quality and relevant programs should be any merchant's
first step. Foregoing this step can result in a loss of time and money.
The following steps should be used as guideline once you've come across
a program that sounds appealing:
1. Read the Agreement. A thorough reading of the affiliate
agreement may reveal a clause or two that could be considered "red flags."
For example, programs with payment thresholds greater than a specific dollar
amount (for example, $100 if the merchant sells small ticket items), or
programs that do not pay their affiliates monthly may not be suitable for
you if you're planning to rely on regularly recurring revenue. Also, a
program that allows a merchant to terminate the program without notice
could leave you with broken links strewn about your site, not to mention
the unexpected loss of revenue.
2. Contact the Management. The next move should be to directly
contact the affiliate program manager. Keep an eye on response time --
you should receive a response in no more than 24 hours. A red flag here
is an unresponsive affiliate manager. Having assigned affiliate managers
is a sign that a company that treats its affiliates as true partners.
3. Ask for References. Ask the affiliate program manager to
provide the contact information for a few of their affiliates. Then ask
the affiliates directly about their experience with the merchant. Don't
be afraid of asking the pertinent questions such as "have they ever been
late with a payment" or if the program actually generates any revenue.
It's important to understand the merchants with whom you will be working.
Remember, it's all about minimizing your risk.
Rejection vs. Acceptance
So you've found a good program, and you've checked references. It's
seems like a good match -- now what? Each affiliate program requires that
you fill out a sign-up form, which asks for a description of your site,
contact info and statistics, including page views. For many programs, this
part of the process is often the deal-breaker. If your site is fairly new,
leave the impression information blank or try to provide a conservative
estimate.
Expect to get a few rejection letters from merchants. This is normal.
Possible reasons for rejection may be simply that your page view level
does not meet specific requirements. Keep these affiliate programs in mind
as future possibilities..
Many merchant programs will just automatically approve your site into
their program, and will notify you via a confirmation e-mail that contains
the information needed to access your affiliate account.
Once you've been accepted, you'll need access your affiliate code and
add it to your site. Most merchants offer a choice of generic banners,
text links, product links and promotional banners. Keep in mind, however,
that if you have joined several affiliate programs, and have added all
those banners to your site -- banners that are served from merchant sites
-- you will experience slower-than-normal load times on your site. A good
strategy would be to select quality merchants and try to maintain a balance
of content and banner ads.
Performance Anxiety
If you're serious about using affiliate programs to supplement your
revenue, then it pays to monitor all of your affiliate programs to see
which ones are performing best. The easiest way to do this is to keep track
of the revenue they are earning for you each month or quarter. Keep in
mind, though that many affiliate programs do, in fact, pay quarterly, and
therefore will issue checks only after a predefined sales level is achieved.
Also, some merchants provide a reporting center where you go and regularly
monitor sales, click-throughs, and commissions.
Position merchants that perform well in high-traffic areas and remove
those programs that are not performing.
A little promotion couldn't hurt either. Promote your site and your
affiliate links as often as you can. For example, if you send out e-mail
newsletters to your customers, try mentioning your affiliate programs.
With some time and attention, your affiliate programs should be bringing
in a decent chunk of change. If not, then it may be time to evaluate your
choice of programs.
Next week we'll we take a look at how to start your own affiliate program
and let other merchants do the work for you.
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