Choosing the right affiliate program
| Category: Affiliate Marketing - Basics | Date: 2003-04-28 |
Isn’t it always good to get back to basics, rudiments before launching an assault using affiliate marketing as your weapon?
In this article, I discuss some important factors you ought to consider before joining any affiliate
Does the Affiliate Program match my website content / the theme of my website?
This might seem an obvious point to make, but there is no harm in reminding ourselves of this very important fact. So many affiliates focus on the commission-side of the programs, that they totally overlook this crucial issue. There is NO point in signing up for an affiliate program that pays $60 in commissions and does not fit the theme of your website, because - and take my word for it - you’re ultimately going to be disappointed with the results!
Before embarking in the search for the right affiliate program for you, take a little break! Think first about the theme of your website. Ask yourself what is its FOCUS and what exactly would a prospective customer / visitor be looking once tuned into it. Be as SPECIFIC as you can, this is very important in yielding a high conversion ratio (the number of visitors who would actually click and buy, earning you that much coveted commission). If your website focus is on newsletter publishing and marketing don’t feature e-books on search engine positioning, you are way better off looking for e-books with a newsletter publishing/marketing focus.
Always remember that putting yourself in your visitors’ shoes is the most important e-marketing concept that you cannot do without.
A good company and a quality product
When recommending a product and/or a service it is your reputation that is at stake. The people who buy the product / service upon your recommendation are doing so because they trust your good judgement. Losing the confidence and trust of your website visitors will be absolutely devastating to your future as a successful - or a would be successful - affiliate marketer.
Always recommend a product and/or a service that you personally believe are of great quality. Note how I chose the word believe, and not a loose verb like think! You do not simply recommend a product because it is proclaimed to be the best out there. The Internet is so full of hype, and there is no better one to trust than your good self! I am personally a great believer in the buy and then recommend tag, i.e. I do NOT recommend anything at all to my visitors unless I got my hands on the product and seen what it’s like. I strongly advise you to do the same; your reputation is simply priceless. I know the thought of spending your hard earned dollars is quite repugnant to you, but you will learn that you WILL recoup it many times over, and repeat sales are a priceless reward you cannot do without. A quality product does implicitly mean a good company. Make sure the product you are promoting comes from a company that has great customer service, and is reputable enough to back up the product. Think of how good the company is from your visitors’ perspective - those who are potentially going to buy - and your own. Some issues you might think of are: customer service, money-back guarantee, professional easy-to-use website (from your visitors’ perspective) and do they offer statistics, pay on time and offer some marketing help to the affiliates (from your own perspective).
Now, how are you going to find out about these affiliate merchants? The best way to go about it is to ask for the objective assessment and opinion of your fellow webmasters who promoted the specific merchant you are interested in. You usually do this by posting your question in an affiliate-related forum.
Good profit margins
Our aim is to earn a healthy income from affiliate programs, right? Let’s do some Maths - I just love Algebra ;-) - to find out what this amounts to in terms of profit margins - in other words your commissions -: Let’s assume you are promoting a product that sells for $20, and your aim is to earn a monthly commission of $500 - I consider this the very minimum you should earn from a single affiliate program to classify it as earning you a decent income -. If you are earning a commission of 10%, that is $2 per sale, then you need to sell 250 products to reach your objective. Arghhh! What a daunting task, eh? Now, let’s say the commission is 50%, i.e. 10$ per sale. What you need to sell now is a reasonable target of 50 products per month.
If you are to earn a decent income from affiliate programs you should get your figures right! The amount you earn per sale should be decent enough to warrant your interest. Let me put this in simpler words: The commission should increase as the cost of the product decreases. Makes absolute sense, doesn’t it?
What you need to constantly remember is that you are the prized asset of the affiliate merchants: without you and your marketing efforts they are bust! You should get, at the very least, a reasonable share of the pie.
An ever-ongoing process
The world of affiliate programs is so volatile and unpredictable. Just how many good affiliate programs, in a stroke of u-turn, become bad and ugly? How many others go bankrupt and close their doors without paying their affiliates?
It’s important that you stay tuned to what’s happening in the affiliate world and constantly do some research about the Affiliate Merchants. This will not only allow you to add more quality programs to your tally, but to actually exclude those that won’t benefit you.
About the Author
Athmane Kecir is the editor of AffiliateKonlwdge.com, the best information-driven, affiliate trageted website on the web.
Subscribe to the AffiliateKnowledge free e-zine at: http://www.affiliateknowledge.com/newletter.php
athmane_kecir@affiliateknowledge.com
http://www.affiliateknowledge.com
In this article, I discuss some important factors you ought to consider before joining any affiliate
Does the Affiliate Program match my website content / the theme of my website?
This might seem an obvious point to make, but there is no harm in reminding ourselves of this very important fact. So many affiliates focus on the commission-side of the programs, that they totally overlook this crucial issue. There is NO point in signing up for an affiliate program that pays $60 in commissions and does not fit the theme of your website, because - and take my word for it - you’re ultimately going to be disappointed with the results!
Before embarking in the search for the right affiliate program for you, take a little break! Think first about the theme of your website. Ask yourself what is its FOCUS and what exactly would a prospective customer / visitor be looking once tuned into it. Be as SPECIFIC as you can, this is very important in yielding a high conversion ratio (the number of visitors who would actually click and buy, earning you that much coveted commission). If your website focus is on newsletter publishing and marketing don’t feature e-books on search engine positioning, you are way better off looking for e-books with a newsletter publishing/marketing focus.
Always remember that putting yourself in your visitors’ shoes is the most important e-marketing concept that you cannot do without.
A good company and a quality product
When recommending a product and/or a service it is your reputation that is at stake. The people who buy the product / service upon your recommendation are doing so because they trust your good judgement. Losing the confidence and trust of your website visitors will be absolutely devastating to your future as a successful - or a would be successful - affiliate marketer.
Always recommend a product and/or a service that you personally believe are of great quality. Note how I chose the word believe, and not a loose verb like think! You do not simply recommend a product because it is proclaimed to be the best out there. The Internet is so full of hype, and there is no better one to trust than your good self! I am personally a great believer in the buy and then recommend tag, i.e. I do NOT recommend anything at all to my visitors unless I got my hands on the product and seen what it’s like. I strongly advise you to do the same; your reputation is simply priceless. I know the thought of spending your hard earned dollars is quite repugnant to you, but you will learn that you WILL recoup it many times over, and repeat sales are a priceless reward you cannot do without. A quality product does implicitly mean a good company. Make sure the product you are promoting comes from a company that has great customer service, and is reputable enough to back up the product. Think of how good the company is from your visitors’ perspective - those who are potentially going to buy - and your own. Some issues you might think of are: customer service, money-back guarantee, professional easy-to-use website (from your visitors’ perspective) and do they offer statistics, pay on time and offer some marketing help to the affiliates (from your own perspective).
Now, how are you going to find out about these affiliate merchants? The best way to go about it is to ask for the objective assessment and opinion of your fellow webmasters who promoted the specific merchant you are interested in. You usually do this by posting your question in an affiliate-related forum.
Good profit margins
Our aim is to earn a healthy income from affiliate programs, right? Let’s do some Maths - I just love Algebra ;-) - to find out what this amounts to in terms of profit margins - in other words your commissions -: Let’s assume you are promoting a product that sells for $20, and your aim is to earn a monthly commission of $500 - I consider this the very minimum you should earn from a single affiliate program to classify it as earning you a decent income -. If you are earning a commission of 10%, that is $2 per sale, then you need to sell 250 products to reach your objective. Arghhh! What a daunting task, eh? Now, let’s say the commission is 50%, i.e. 10$ per sale. What you need to sell now is a reasonable target of 50 products per month.
If you are to earn a decent income from affiliate programs you should get your figures right! The amount you earn per sale should be decent enough to warrant your interest. Let me put this in simpler words: The commission should increase as the cost of the product decreases. Makes absolute sense, doesn’t it?
What you need to constantly remember is that you are the prized asset of the affiliate merchants: without you and your marketing efforts they are bust! You should get, at the very least, a reasonable share of the pie.
An ever-ongoing process
The world of affiliate programs is so volatile and unpredictable. Just how many good affiliate programs, in a stroke of u-turn, become bad and ugly? How many others go bankrupt and close their doors without paying their affiliates?
It’s important that you stay tuned to what’s happening in the affiliate world and constantly do some research about the Affiliate Merchants. This will not only allow you to add more quality programs to your tally, but to actually exclude those that won’t benefit you.
About the Author
Athmane Kecir is the editor of AffiliateKonlwdge.com, the best information-driven, affiliate trageted website on the web.
Subscribe to the AffiliateKnowledge free e-zine at: http://www.affiliateknowledge.com/newletter.php
athmane_kecir@affiliateknowledge.com
http://www.affiliateknowledge.com
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