About Affiliate Programs

Make money with your web site through affiliate programs. This is pay for performance marketing that works well for both merchant sites looking for cost-effective advertising as well as for any other sites wanting to turn their traffic to your site into higher profits.

You need to look closely at different affiliate programs as each has a different basis for calculating your earnings.  I'll go through each of them so you can understand the difference and assess which sort of program is suited to your site. What you should keep in mind is which program is most likely to generate income for you, given the content of your site, the type of visitors you'll attract, and the type of web site your affiliated link would lead to.

The granddaddy is pay per view or pay per display. A website owner gets paid a certain (tiny) amount each time another site's advertisement is displayed at their site. The trouble with this method is that web surfers have become notorious for simply browsing.  We all do this - we go to a site, have a browse, and move on.  Because of the low "conversion rate" - turning visitors at one site into customers at another - many businesses have stopped offering pay per view commissions to other sites.  This type is only good for very high traffic sites. 

Click through or pay per click - you get paid a certain (tiny) amount each time someone clicks on a link and visits the other site. While this a good step better than pay per view, you need a very high volume site to make earn a significant amount from pay per click. These schemes pay very little per click - many pay $0.01 a click, but there are a few that pay quite a bit more.  If you can find a good, attractive site to affiliate with and they have good looking buttons or banners, you might give them a try.  Every bit helps, and it's almost a sure bet some people will click on the link if you feature it properly.

Pay per lead -  if a visitor from your site actually signs up or registers in some way at the other site, you get paid.  These are good programs to sign up for.  Studies have shown that people are quite willing to register at a site if it has information or products they are interested in.  Some pay per lead programs will even pay you a commission if someone buys or registers at a later date. Choose your affiliated web sites well, put their ads in the right context, and you can generate a good flow to the other site.   

Pay per sale - this the most common type of program, which pays you if a visitor from your site actually buys something at the next one.  The commission rates vary, so you need to ensure you link to a site with a good rate. This type of program actually lies at the heart of the virtual store model, which I discuss in greater detail on another page. Many of the biggest companies you can link to provide you with the choice to offer a general ad linking to their site, or a direct link to a specific product, such as book or CD.  

Multi-level commissions - these programs provide you with a percentage of commissions generated by people referred by people you've referred.  So, for example, if you're signed up for an affiliate program that you advertise at your site, you would get an initial commission for Bob signing up for that program after he visited your site. And, if Bob then advertised the program and Mary signed up from his page, you would get a little extra bonus commission.

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Tip! Think of yourself as the host or hostess at your site - introduce your visitors to your partner sites.

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Words To The Wise

Read the fine print of the affiliate agreements!! Really important details can be buried there...  

One thing to bear in mind is not to spread yourself too thin with affiliate programs. You will more likely to see a good return if you focus on fewer affiliates to promote their products and services more effectively on your site.

You must be clear about the type of program they offer, the basis for the commission you'll earn, how much they pay and under what conditions.

Check to see if they require exclusivity. Some companies will not let you affiliate with them if you advertise for their competition as well.

Look to see if there are restrictions on your site design or content.  Some of the larger companies will not let you into their affiliate program if your site has pop-up or pop-behind ad windows - keep this in mind, too, when you're selecting the web hosting service. Almost all companies are also concerned about the content of their affiliates' site - this makes sense since they do not want their brand name to be associated with sites that might tarnish their reputation. Many companies are also concerned with what kind of sites you are linked to.

Some applications for affiliate programs involve your site being reviewed. The other company will usually want to review your site before approving you as an affiliate.  So, get your site into the best shape possible before you apply to become an affiliate.

Only choose merchants and products that will appeal to the particular kind of people likely to visit your site.  Think of who will visit your site, what their interests are, and what might be related to the theme of your site.

Providing extra context to your affiliate program ads can dramatically boost your click-throughs and ultimate conversion rates.  Remember, your visitors have to be first enticed to click on the ad or link and then want to actually register or buy something at the other site.  The base click through rate is about 1 in a 1000 views of an ad, but can be as high as 10 or 15%.  With the right context - extra things you say yourself about the product or merchant - the click-through and conversion rates can be very much higher.  So, don't expect that all your ads will generate great revenues simply by appearing.  Select a few of your ads to feature and provide extra context to raise your visitors' interest.  Of course, simple repetition also helps, too!

 

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Learn How To  Make Money With Affiliate Programs
Read The Best Seller:

Affiliate Selling: Building Revenue on the Web

by Greg Helmsetter & Pamela Metivier

Table Of Contents: The Basics.  Affiliate Selling: The Next Big Thing.  Types of Programs.  A Strategy for Your Site.  Joining the Right Program  Making Money  Don't Have a Web Site?  Building a Virtual Storefront.  Adding Links to Your Site.

Planning Your Implementation.  Designing Shelf Space and Picking Products.  Increasing Hits and Selling More on Your Web Site.  For Merchants: Building a Program.  Appendix.  What's on the Web Site.  Glossary.  Index.

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