affiliate program
By William DeHart
of FinancialCircuit.com
Affiliate programs are one of the best ways to generate a strong revenue stream. There are literally thousands of affiliate programs to choose from. Program features and support vary tremendously. The 10 essentials listed below are designed to streamline the search process and help you distinguish an excellent program from an average one.
- Look for a unique product in a ripe market. Let's face it; there are an
awful lot of affiliate programs trying to sell books these days. If you
decide to jump on the bandwagon and offer the same product as everybody
else, you are at a statistical disadvantage of ever generating meaningful
revenue. Look for affiliate programs that offer unique products in a ripe
market.
- Seek programs that have growth potential with an expanding product
offering. This will improve your revenue expansion. Your customers will keep
coming back to see what's new and exciting. If a merchant's product offering
is dead end, what do you think your potential with that merchant will be?
Look for merchants that are dynamic and constantly expanding their product
offerings.
- Maximize your pay rate. The higher the pay rate, the less traffic you
will need to meet your revenue goals. Programs that only offer a few pennies
or a few dollars demand that you have tremendous activity to make any
meaningful revenue. There is a wide range of pay rates among affiliate
programs. Look for programs that offer a decent pay rate for the business
you generate.
- Only accept a clear pay structure. Any legitimate affiliate program
should spell out exactly what you will receive for your effort. This seems
basic enough, yet there are many programs that present very nebulous pay
rates. Unless the merchant spells out exactly what you will receive for
your efforts, avoid them.
- Increase your revenue potential with two-tier programs. What if you refer
another affiliate to the merchant? You've just helped grow the business of
that merchant. Shouldn't you be paid for that? Being paid for helping grow
the business of the merchant seems only fair. Two-tier programs reward you for
both referring other affiliates to the merchant as well as end customers.
Look for programs that will pay you for your affiliate referrals.
- Seek programs that generate repeat business. With most affiliate programs
you will be referring customers to the merchant site usually with a banner
or a button. The problem is that customers will often bypass you and go
directly to the merchant the next time they want to buy. The way to prevent
this is to seek programs that give you your own site as part of the program.
Then your customers will return to your site rather than the merchant the
next time they want to buy.
- Avoid merchants which will compete with you. If a merchant has an
affiliate program, but also has brand recognition, the customer may try to
go directly to the merchant. If the customer has a choice to either go
through you or go straight to the merchant, which do you think they will
choose? Fortunately, some affiliate programs demand that customers must come
through an affiliate site. Look for merchants that will not compete with
you.
- Make sure the program has a good tracking system. Nowadays, it is
reasonable to expect that your sales statistics will be readily available to
you. Always confirm the tracking method of any program. If possible, look
for programs that offer real time tracking 24 hours 7 days a week and that
are accessible from the web.
- Look for programs that offer marketing support. Amazingly, many affiliate
programs have little or no marketing support. This is counterintuitive
considering it is in the merchant's interest to help the affiliate succeed.
Fortunately, some programs do offer marketing support. Look for programs
that give you the most tools to succeed.
- Choose a program with community support. Again, it is in the merchant's
interest to foster support for their affiliates, yet many affiliate programs
offer no community support. Community bulletin boards tend to foster
information exchange between affiliates and usually offer news and expert
advice. Look for programs that believe in providing community support.
About the author:
William DeHart is the resident marketing guru at FinancialCircuit.com, the next generation affiliate program in the financial services industry. He provides marketing coaching to FinancialCircuit affiliates.
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