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Choosing
The Best Affiliate Programs For Your
Website
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by:
Justin Hallman
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Which company has the best affiliate program? How do I choose the best
affiliate program? Can you help me pick an affiliate program? I am
often asked these questions. And, the answer many people expect is :
the program that pays the most. However, the point that many rookie
affiliates miss is that just because mortgage, gambling, and credit
card programs are paying the most per sale or per lead dosen't mean
that you will ever make any money promoting their products. In fact,
the overwhelming majority of affiliates never earn a dime. Most are
lured in by the promise of easy riches, discover that it's not so easy,
shortly thereafter, and then give up before ever earning their first
paycheck.
So, how do you earn that first paycheck from an affiliate program?
1. Pick an affiliate program that fits the theme of your site. This is
obvious, but as I stated above, many people are lured in by the
temptations of quick and easy money from higher paying programs. You
should never have to change the content of your website to match your
affiliate program, either. Make the programs work for you, not against
you.
2. Choose a program that pays per sale over per lead. Some affiliate
programs pay a percentage for every sale made and some affiliate
programs pay per lead, or a certain action taken by the prospective
customer, such as filling out a loan application. The per lead programs
seem like they should have the higher conversion rates, but this is
just not true. I've repeatedly had more success with pay per sale,
rather than per lead. My theory is that people are bombarded with these
forms and applications and sales pitches everyday, so they tend to
block them out. Time is extremely valuable, especially in today's
society. To get credit for a sale with these programs, people must
invest time that they simply don't have or don't want to use signing up
for these offers. It is much easier just to buy something online, than
it is to invest time online doing work. That's why information products
sell so well online, despite the fact that many times the information
for sale is available free online, if you have the time to spend
gathering it.
3. Pick an affiliate program that offers a wide variety of items for
sale and preferably, one that offers dynamic content ads. You should
always pay attention to what's hot and don't be afraid to rotate items
that you promote. Just because something sold well yesterday, dosen't
mean it will sell well today or tomorrow. If you run a website that
promotes books, for example, you would probably want to rotate into
your website ads promoting the current week's bestsellers. Visitors to
your site will thank you for the fresh content, even if it is an
advertisement. The easiest way to do this is with an affiliate program
that delivers dynamically generated ads based on your established
criteria.
4. Choose a well-known merchant. Trust is a very important factor in
converting sales. More times than not, a customer is going to buy from
the merchant that they know and recognize. Many smaller merchants will
increase the percentage they offer to affiliates as a way of try and
drive more traffic to their site and to promote their brand. Not
surprisingly, many of these merchants come and go. It's safer and more
profitable to go with the big names. You're also more likely to get
paid (and on time!) by these merchants.
5. Pick an affiliate program that sells products that you have tried
and like. If you have had a good experience making a purchase from a
company, see if they have an affiliate program you can join. It is much
easier to promote a product that you like, and your product endorsement
will come across as more authentic. And, if the visitor to your site
tries and like the product as well, you gain instant credibility and
trust, which will lead to future sales.
Hopefully, these tips will help you when deciding which products to
promote on your site.
About the Author
Justin Hallman writes for www.publishprofits.com
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