What Makes A Good Affiliate Program?
With so many affiliate programs out there, it makes sense to
work with the best. High commissions and good affiliate
administration is a good start. Of course you want high
commissions, but what about commissions that keep coming in
without additional work on your part? Sounds good to me!
2-Tier affiliate programs are worth looking for. They allow you
to set up your own "sales force" and receive commissions on all
the sales they make. It can add up pretty quickly. Residual
affiliate programs pay you repeatedly month after month. Usually
you'll find these with subscription services, or medical related
"refills". These too can be very profitable. It is well worth
your time to search out decent 2-tier and residual programs.
Regarding sales commissions, they can depend on the traditional
profit margins of an industry. For example computer hardware has
very low profit margins and 5% would be a good commission
percentage. Information products tend to have very high profit
margins and 40-50% are decent commissions in that industry. Some
companies offer performance incentives. The more units you sell,
the higher your commission percentage. Another thing to consider
is cookie duration. Cookies tell the vendor who sent the
customer and makes sure they are credited properly for any
sales. I tend to avoid programs with a short duration cookie.
Many people do not buy the first time they visit a web site.
With a cookie of short duration you are giving the vendor
customers, but are less likely to reap the rewards for your
efforts. A vendor who REALLY wants to work fairly with you will
offer a better deal. The best offer a lifetime cookie. Customers
you send would be "yours" forever. (or until they have to
replace or reformat their hard drive, thus losing the cookies)
Good program administration is essential too. Some offer full
tracking services to help you determine successful advertising
efforts. Being able to check click-throughs and sales keeps you
on track to meeting your goals. Proven advertising materials are
invaluable. Many programs offer a nice variety to use "as-is" or
customized to match your client base.
Whatever your industry, you can probably find an affiliate
program with products or services that work well with yours.
They are great ways to expand your product line without spending
a lot of money. If you are looking for products to market,
affiliate programs can be an easy way to test "best sellers"
easily and inexpensively.
We're offering a free e-book containing some of the best
residual affiliate programs and free or low-cost advertising
resources. Download at:
http://www.fortuneexpo.com/resaffbook/resaffbook.zip
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