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Affiliate
Program Primer
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by:
John Calder
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© 2004, John Calder
http://www.TheEzine.net
Ever since Amazon launched what is perhaps the most well-known, but not
the first, affiliate program in 1996, other merchants in every business
category imaginable have followed suit. And even though many webmasters
have earned money from these programs ever since, there are still a lot
of questions to this day about affiliate (also known as associate or
referral) programs. So maybe it's time to revisit some basics for new
or soon-to-be Internet marketers.
An affiliate program is, at the bottom line, a commissioned sales job.
Like the Fuller Brush salesman of old, you are an independent
representative of a company, offering their products or services to
potential customers. When one of them buys, you get a percentage of the
sale. But, in the high-tech version, you have a few very powerful
advantages over the classic door-to-door sales rep.
To start, you can represent multiple products from more than one
company at a time, on as many web sites as you own, in as many markets
as you choose. You don't have to travel anywhere, yet the web puts you
in front of a worldwide market. This gives you an incredible diversity
of products, markets, and "neighborhoods" to sell in, all from right in
front of your computer screen. You could possibly make multiple sales
at one time, yet you never have to deal with door-slammed-in-your-face
rejection. On the Internet, you don't always even have to make a sale
to earn a commission. Some affiliate programs will pay you if someone
just clicks on a link at your site, fills out an application, or even
asks for more information. And here's the best part - your web sites
work for you around the clock, every day.
Commission rates vary by type of product. Physical goods (that have to
be shipped) tend to pay lower rates than products like software or
ebooks that can be digitally delivered. However, 5% of a $2000 TV is
more than 50% of a $50 ebook, so you have to remember to look at the
big picture when deciding what affiliate products to offer. For best
affiliate sales results, you'll want to offer products and services
designed to appeal to the target audience of your web site. For
example, it makes no sense to place affiliate links to mechanic's tools
on a cooking site, while it makes perfect sense to place them on a site
about restoring cars.
There are several ways to join affiliate programs. Some companies
operate their own program, and you will apply through the company web
site. But many merchants choose to operate through an affiliate
network. These third-party companies offer sign-up, tracking, payment,
and overall affiliate program management services to merchants and
affiliate marketers. A few top names are Commission Junction,
LinkShare, and Clickbank. Just search for "affiliate program" or
"affiliate network" and you're bound to find more.
Your sales and clicks are tracked by software. It's your responsibility
to make sure your links follow the guidelines stated by your merchant
or affiliate network. Some browsers, ad-blocking software, link
cloakers, and coding techniques (such as frames) can prevent the
tracking links on your site from working properly, and you may not get
credit if one of your clicks leads to a sale. Most all affiliate
marketers sooner or later run into this, and when it happens, it's not
intentional, so don't feel victimized. Technology is very good, but
it's not perfect.
For almost every Internet marketer, affiliate marketing offers a fast
and inexpensive way to get started in an online business. These
programs can help you generate income while you learn the ropes and
work towards developing your own product or service, if that's your
goal. And yes, you can even become an affiliate for the Fuller Brush
Company!
About the Author
John Calder is the owner/editor of The Ezine Dot
Net. Subscribe Today and get real information YOU can use to help build
your online business today! http://www.TheEzine.Net
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DOT Net RSS feeds are available.
(You may reprint this article in full in your newsletter and/or web
site)
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