When to say "When" to an affiliate program
How long should you promote an affiliate program before you make
the decision that it just isn't going to work for you? Let's
face it, no matter how well a particular product may do on other
websites, it just might not be right for yours. Statistics show
that only a small percentage of affiliates for any given program
actually make any money. What happens if you are one of those
that falls into the category not making money? Is it time to
take down the site and let the domain name registration expire?
No way! But it just might be the right time to make some changes
to your strategy. Analyze your website and the programs that you
have signed up for. Determine which of those REALLY appeal to
your target audience. I said REALLY because I want you to look
at the programs from the viewpoint of your visitors, not from
the viewpoint of which ones are supposed to make you the most
money. There's a lot of advice out there on which programs to
pick for your website, highest commissions, monthly payout,
online reporting, etc, etc, etc. The fact is that you don't
always have that choice to make. You need to concentrate on the
products that your visitors will be the most interested in. What
programs compliment your website's content and theme are much
more important than signing up for every program promising to
make you rich with only one sale. I'm a great example of the
above information. One of my websites caters to a highly
targeted audience. I have tried many affiliate programs and
advertising solutions on that site over the past two years. You
know which program consistently beats all others? Amazon.com! I
get paid quarterly not monthly (make that a month or two after
the quarter has ended), I only get credited for that visit, not
repeat visits, and up until about a month ago had to wait until
Monday of each week for my emailed statistics. Believe it or not
boys and girls, Amazon.com doesn't fit into the 'model affiliate
program' mold that we read so much about. Now, I'm not trying to
be hypocritical here, I too feel that you should do your best to
find quality affiliate programs that offer all of the above
benefits and then some. I'm just trying to tell you that if you
find a program that really appeals to your target audience, you
CAN make some money with it. Don't pass up products that your
visitors would really be interested in just because the program
doesn't have the highest commissions. Because if your visitors
do purchase from a particular program and you can show
consistent sales you will be able to appeal to the merchant and
ask them to consider increasing their payout to you. This
happens a lot in this industry, especially if it is a good fit
for both sides. Worse case you might be able to get away with
telling them that if they don't cooperate with you, you're going
to change to another program. Chances are they don't want to
lose your business, and they will work something out for you. So
now we've done the easy part and dumped the programs that we
know aren't appropriate for our site. What about the ones that
are fairly targeted to our content and that our visitors might
be interested in? How do we know when the amount that we are
going to earn doesn't justify the time and effort to promote a
particular program? I once read that you should give at least
3000 impressions to any given program before making the decision
to keep it or drop it. I don't quite agree with this statement.
According to this, I post a banner on my site, and if it hasn't
made me any money by 3000 impressions, dump it. We all know (at
least I hope we do!) that there is much more to being successful
with affiliate programs than just adding banners to your
rotation. So how do we set a benchmark? This has to be
determined by you. It is based on your website, your visitors,
the program, and the amount of effort you have put into
promoting the program. Have you blended the product offerings in
with your content? Have you given personal recommendations for
any of the products? Have you displayed the links and/or
graphics prominently so that the majority of your traffic has a
chance to see them? Have you mentioned new product offerings to
your newsletter subscribers? If you can answer yes to the
majority of the above questions, then you can make a
determination as to how long to try the affiliate program. If
you've done these things and your visitors have passed right by
the offerings for a decent time frame and nothing has
happened...its time to move on! Find another program and give it
the same due diligence. If you do this with each and everyone of
your targeted programs, you WILL find a program that will
perform for you! This process should be familiar to you...many,
many internet marketers preach this concept...simply known
as...TESTING!! Your online career is a series of continual
tests. Try one product, if it doesn't work for you, get rid of
it and try another one. After you have done this testing, then
and only then, can you say "When" to an affiliate program.