How To Choose An Affiliate Program That Can Make You Money
There are numerous things to consider when you are thinking of promoting an affiliate program. Clearly you want a good product or service, but what else should you think about? Before joining any program, do a little analysis and ask yourself these nine questions.
1. Is this a product that I feel good about promoting, would I buy it? Choose a program that you enjoy and believe in. It is much easier to endorse products and services that you enjoy.
2. Is there a charge to join? The majority of the affiliate programs being offered now are without charge. So why pay them to promote their product? Think of it like a job, would you pay your company to hire you? Probably not, so why pay for an affiliate program.
4. How often and when do they distribute the commission checks? Every program is different, do they issue their checks monthly, every two weeks, or every quarter? Select the one that is suited to your life. It is becoming standard practice for affiliate programs to have a minimum payout. You want to be aware of what it is and if there are any other conditions. Additionally, do they have more than one payout choice, or is it only through checks. Numerous affiliate programs are now offering choices of how you would like to be paid.
5. Does it have a good hit per sale ratio? Hit per sale is the average number of hits to a banner or text link before there is a sale - this is based on all affiliate statistics. Hit per sale percentage is very important to know as this will give you an idea of how much traffic you will need before you can earn a commission. Bear in mind this is an idea not a solid fact, it could take more traffic, but it also could take less. Use this percentage as a broad idea of traffic, not as a fact.
6. How do they track referrals from an affiliate?s site and how long do they remain in their system? This is how you get credit for a sale. The period of time that visits stay in the system is also vital. It can take people some time to decide if they want to purchase, and if they saved the main sales site you want to feel certain that the system keeps track of where they first came from. It is good to know you will still receive credit for the sale if it is done months after the original visit.
7. What kinds of affiliate stats are followed? You should be able to get detailed stats, and be accessible online anytime you want to check them. Checking your statistics is valuable. If you are aware of how many impressions, hits and sales are being generated from your site you can make changes or corrections if needed. Impressions are the number of times the banner or text link was viewed and a hit is the number of times the banner or link was really clicked on. This is helpful knowledge, as it lets you know if you ought to modify where or what type of link you are using. If the number of views, hits and sales is good leave it alone. But if the numbers are low, you may want to change it.
8. Who is the retailer? You want to know who you are doing business with. Is it a rock-solid company? What are the other products they are advertising and the average amount of sales they are getting. The more you know regarding the retailer, the easier it will be for you to know if that program is really for you and your site.
9. Does it have a one tier or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for the sales that you make. A two tier program pays you for your sales, and it also pays you a portion of the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsored. Some two-tier programs pay a recruitment fee for each new affiliate you sponsor before they make a sale.
10. What is the percentage of the commission? You will discover commissions can go from 5% - 75%. If you use a program like Adsense, they pay 0.01 to 0.02% for each click. The amount paid is not a lot, but if enough people click the link, it can add up. It is not always sensible to look just at the percentage of the commission. If a product that has a fifty percent click to sale ratio, and pays 25% commission of $8, is compared to a product that has a 10% click to sale ratio and pays a 60% commission of $22. Which is better?
Prior to joining an affiliate program ask yourself these questions. The more familiar you are with the program the more likely you are to make money.
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