Some Advice in Determining the Right Affiliate Programs

There are some things that need to be done before we make a determination to join an affiliate program.  Once you have come up with a few program selections, make a list of all the questions that you have, and investigate each of the program you envisage.  The answers that you get will be the deciding point of what you will want to fulfill later.

 

The number one question that you want to ask is about cost; whether or not there is a charge involved in joining the program.   Most affiliate programs being offered today are absolutely free of charge. Therefore, there is no reason for us to take part in paid affiliate program if most of the programs being offered are free.  The fact that they are free does not diminish the quality of these programs.  Even though both paid and free affiliate programs do offer quality that is on par, you may want to consider another aspect that are offered by paid but not free affiliate programs.   A lot of paid affiliate programs do offer benefits, such as passive or residual income, that you may be interested in.

 

Another factor that you might want to take a look at is the time they issue the commission checks, because each program is different.  Some programs like to dispense their checks on a monthly basis, and yet others quarterly Some people may not be able to wait for the whole quarter before receiving their payment, while it is not a problem for others.  Whatever your preference is it is important to know this ahead of time and to pick the payment method fitted to your needs.  Understand that many of these programs do set a minimum commission amount that you must meet before they can issue your check.

 

The hit per sale ratio is another feature to consider.  This is the average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to bring about a sale based on all affiliate statistics.  This is important to know because this will tell you how much traffic must be created before you can start earning commission from the sale.

 

How are referrals from an affiliate’s site tracked?  And, how long do they remain in the system?  The integrity of the tracking system of the program is another important consideration.  You need to be confident enough on the program’s tracking system because this is the only way you can get credit for a sale.  Another important matter is the time period the visitors stay in the system.  Some visitors do not buy initially, but may want to return later to make the purchase.  Will you still get the credit for the sale if it is done months after their first visit?

 

What about the availability of affiliate stats?  Whatever program you decide on should have the capability of offering detailed stats.  Detailed stats such as impressions (the number of times your visitor view the banner or text link ad), hits (the number of clicks produced by your visitors), and sales that have been generated from your site.  This is essential to know in order to judge the effectiveness of your effort in channeling traffic to the site.  This information should also be available at all times online anytime you wish to check them out.

 

Besides commissions on sales, does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions?  This is another significant factor to think about, because a program that pays for these impressions and hits will improve your bottom line.  You especially want to know this if the program you are examining offers low sales to be able to hit ratio.

 

What about the company background and history?  It is absolutely necessary that you know that you are doing business with a solid company.  Do as much research as you can before you make your decision.  You need to know who you are dealing with.  Besides studying their offers and finding out the average amount they have been accomplishing, you also want to know whether or not the program is really for you.  The more due diligence you perform the easier you will conclude.

 

Is the program a one or two tier program?  A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have produced.  A two tier program not only pays for your business but it also pays you a commission on the sales created by any affiliate you sponsor.  Some of these programs ask for one time payment only for their products and, yet, some others require the affiliates to pay monthly membership fees in order for them to be able to compensate all their affiliates.  Each affiliate success depends on the success of the affiliates they sponsor.  The benefit you get from such program is that if you train your sponsors properly, and they’re able to duplicate your success, you will receive passive or residual income from your sponsored affiliates.

 

Lastly, what is the amount of commission paid?  5% - 20% is what most programs will pay their affiliates; others are willing to pay higher commission percentages.  On the other hand, the programs that pay for impressions generally only pay .01% -.05% per hit, not much at all.  Now you understand why you want to know the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio.

 

These are just some of the questions that need to be answered before you decide to take part in any affiliate program.  Before making your choice you need to familiarize yourself with the many important aspects that the potentially chosen program should have.  The answer to these questions can help you in choosing the right programs out of the many that are available out there.