6 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE YOU CHOSE AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM
by:
Oluwafisayo Akinlolu
So you want to choose an affiliate program or are you already involved in one?
These are six tips you must understand deeply. But first, understand that affiliate programs work just like network marketing. I said it works like it because it involves down-lines.
Now to get started. Once you understand these tips and use them wisely, you would make a real success out of the affiliate program you choose.
1.Choose the Right Affiliate Program.
Before you pick an Affiliate program, make double sure it is the right one. Check the company's profile. You cannot be in a moving vehicle and remain stagnant. If your affiliate program is one that makes steady progress, you also make progress. If it is stagnant, you inevitably will be stagnant. Check for the company's age. Companies in their first two years pay high, but they face the risk of quitting all too soon. They are but infants. Companies in their first seven years are more likely to be stable. Older companies are reliable. Very reliable. They have a track record which you can easily check out and have good organisation built from years of existence.
2.What are the Companies' Products.
Please be very careful. Only a thin line separates Multi-level Marketing (MLM) or affiliate programs from illegality. You are however safe if the company has a product it sells. Never join a pyramid scheme. I am not an expert at that but I suppose pyramid schemes are scams. If the company does not offer a product or service, you might as well forget it.
3.Check the Compensation Plan.
Your primary reason for joining an affiliate program is to make money! Should I say that again? To make money! So please, check the compensation plan. Make sure it suits you. When dose the company pay? At what rate? How does the company pay? If it doesn't go down well with you, just forget it and find yourself another affiliate program with which you feel comfortable.
Note however that even if the commission schedule is small but sure, the work you do can help you blow it all up. Think of $1 in 1000 places ($1000). It can be achieved weekly. You can realise that with almost all affiliate programs.
The bottom line, choose a program that suits you.
4.Join Free Programs But....
A lot of affiliate programs allow you to join for free. I suggest you join the free ones. My reason is; you can easily leave without much loss. I feel sorry for people who have tried several programs and paid heavily just to realise it is not the right one. But if you think you can afford it, then the choice is yours.
Once you've made a choice, remember these last two tips!
5.Build Your Team of Affiliates.
This can be the most excruciating part of it all, but once you have a team of down-lines who are active, it is well worth it.
Always remember, "for every twelve, there is always a Judas." There will always be bad apples in a barrel. Find the good ones, train them, help them and you have simply helped yourself.
How do you know the good ones? Simple; watch out for those that ask questions, contact you and fulfil all requirements in short periods of time. Go for them and you are building a money spinning business.
6.Put Yourself in the Shoes of Those you Want to Recruit.
Make things easy for them. Put together all the information and deliver it to them. I know it took you sometime getting the information. Help them get it in a shorter time. Probably in few hours. Contact them always. Answer their questions. Give them all the help you can. Show them what to do and help them do it right.
Remember, you help them; you simply help yourself. Put yourself in their shoes and do exactly what you would have loved if you were in their shoes.
About the Author
President Empower Wealth Creation Network Foundation
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What do all “super affiliates” want more than anything else? Let’s say it together, they want to get paid and get paid handsomely.
So, what does it take to keep super affiliates on their game and advertising for your business? Well, you could say money again and while that wouldn’t be wrong, the answer has a lot more to do with the assurance of potential for income.
You see some merchants are floundering with the concept of “the cookie” and how long a cookie should be set for. They think that if they shorten the lifespan of the cookie that they won’t keep paying for the affiliate to acquire the same lead several times. So, what you might see in various affiliate programs are merchants who short the affiliate by only giving them a 48-hour window to deliver a lead from the customer’s initial click-through.
Statistics show that most customers will visit a site an average of five times before completing the lead or sales process. I’m thinking that the merchant’s 48-hour window might be a wee bit narrow for the affiliates to get what they want from the transaction and a little short-sighted for the merchant since “super affiliates” aren’t likely to want to help them as a result.
That’s short-sighted thinking. Studies show 98% of sales come within the first 48 hours after a person clicks through to a site. If that’s the case, why wouldn’t you extend that cookie for the maximum time allowed, because it makes the affiliate happier. In fact, some affiliate networks are equipped to track sales as long as 180 days after initial click-through.
If it’s not glaringly obvious, let me say it simply for you. Super affiliates like merchants who set cookies for extended periods of time. The potential for income from their advertising efforts to your potential customers is much greater and for them, that translates to more income return for their efforts to market you.
Super affiliates are “basically, commissioned sales people with the whole world to work for, who can walk away at the drop of a hat. Super affiliates are in the driver’s seat in their relationships with marketers, not the marketers. So you should treat that affiliate as you would anyone in the power situation. They are top producing digital sales people, pay them well and make sure they’re happy.
So, what do all “super affiliates” want? To be paid well and to be ensured happiness throughout the process.
