Cody Moya’s article “Choose your affiliate partners carefully” is reprinted here. [Article]


Cody Moya’s article is reprinted here.

Choose your affiliate partners carefully

When entering into an agreement with an affiliate partner, it is important to understand that such arrangements are business deals, and therefore they are not to be entered into lightly or with no planning and foresight. When you sign up with an affiliate partner, you are agreeing to promote his or her products, so you are tying your fortunes, and your reputation, to that of your merchant partner.

For all these reasons, it is important to establish some firm parameters regarding who you want to do business with, and which products you do not wish to be associated with. For instance, many web site owners object to entering into affiliate partnerships with producers of adult or sexually explicit materials. While these types of products can be very profitable, many people shy away from the legal and moral issues they may encounter. If there are products you do not want to promote, be sure to keep that in mind as you search for affiliate partners.

An affiliate program works much like a finder’s fee in the real world. In exchange for you, the owner of the web site, referring a customer to the merchant partner, you receive a commission, in the form of a percentage of the sale. The affiliate has no role to play in the actual sale; the product is sold to the customer by the merchant. The affiliate simply keeps a portion of the sale in the form of a commission.

There are also various two tier affiliate programs available. These programs allow the original affiliate to recruit sub-affiliates, and to capture a percentage of the sales they refer as well. Not all affiliate programs offer two tier levels, but some do.

How successful (or unsuccessful) you are as an affiliate will depend on a number of factors, but arguably the most important is the choice of affiliate partner. A good selection of affiliate partners can make you a fortune, whereas a bad set of choices can leave you with an empty mailbox and an empty bank account.

When searching for the perfect affiliate partners, it is important to choose affiliates who closely match the subject of your own web site. For instance, if your web site is focused on building model planes, an online hobby shop might make a good affiliate, but a pet supply company would not.

It is also important to visit the web site of each potential affiliate partner. Pay close attention to the quality of the web site. Is it professional looking and attractively designed, or does it look thrown together and sloppy? The quality of the web site is often a good indication of the quality of merchandise sold there. Associating yourself with poor quality merchandise will only waste your time and sully your reputation.

It possible, it is always a good idea to get a sample of the merchandise the affiliate is offering. Actually testing the products yourself is your best assurance that the products offered are top quality, and in addition, you will be able to add an actual testimonial to your page.

It is also important that the signup page be easy to complete, and that it take advantage of secure socket layer technology. In addition, it is important to ask the merchant for information on the click tracking software they use. It is important to be able to check your click throughs, sales and commissions whenever you want.

The method of payment is important as well. Most affiliates allow you to choose the type of payment you want, i.e. check, wire transfer, ACH transfer, etc. This will allow you to choose the payment method that is best for you.

Many affiliate programs also set a minimum amount that must be in your account in order for payment to be made. Make sure the minimum is reasonable to avoid waiting months for your funds to arrive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cody Moya writes about How to Earn As Affiliate in his Free Courses on Internet Marketing. You can sign up for his free Courses and get additional information at his website: http://FreeInternetMarketingCourses.com

*IMNewswatch would like to thank Cody Moya for granting permission to reprint this article.