There are some things that need to be done before we decide to join an affiliate program. First of all, it is wise to narrow down your selection instead of choosing just one program. Once you cut down your choices, come up with questions that you like to get answer for, and do research on each program selected to get your questions answered. The answers that you get will be the decisive point of what you will want to bring about later.
One of the questions that you will want to ask is whether or not there is a fee to join the program. Although some affiliate programs do impose charges, most that are being offered today don’t necessitate you to pay in order to join. Because of this, there is no reason for us to participate in paid affiliate program if most of the programs being offered are free. The fact that they are free does not decrease the quality of these programs. On the other hand, even if a program is a paid affiliate programs they might offer you benefits, such as passive or residual income that might not be offered by other free affiliate programs.
Each program is also different in their method of commission check distribution, which is another aspect that you want to review. Some programs dispense their checks on a monthly basis, and others on a quarterly basis. 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 select 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 dispense your check.
As an affiliate, your job is to generate traffic to the merchant’s site. Therefore, you want to know how much traffic needs to be produced before you can start seeing sales. This is called hit per sale, an essential statistics in affiliate marketing.
What about the tracking system? This is also another crucial point to consider. How does the merchant track affiliate’s referrals? How long do these referrals remain in the system? Ask yourself if you can can be confident on the merchant’s tracking system. 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. Not all visitors to your site will buy right away, some of them may want to think over it, and return later. If that’s the case, you want to know if you will still be credited for the sale when it is done months after the first visit.
What about the availability of affiliate stats? Whatever program you choose should have the capability of offering detailed stats. Detailed stats such as how many impressions, hits, and sales have been generated from your site. Impressions are the number of times the advertisement, whether it be in the form of banner or text link, is displayed to the visitors of your site. A hit is when the visitor actually clicks on any of the advertisement. You need to have this information to not only assess the effectiveness of the ads, but also to know whether or not your endeavor in driving traffic to the site is paying off. This information should be available online anytime you wish to check them out.
Besides commissions on sales, does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions? A program that pays for impressions and hits will boost your bottom line. Therefore, it is important to know this, especially 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 whom you are doing business with. Do your research before making your decision to investigate whether or not the company is solid. Study their offers, and find out the average amount they have been achieving. The more you perform your due diligence the easier it will be for you to conclude whether or not the program is really for you.
Is the program a one or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have originated. 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. This is done through monthly membership fees that each affiliate agrees to pay when they join the program. The sponsoring affiliates will acquire a portion of these monthly fees. With this kind of program not only you need to be successful in originating sales, you also need to be successful in training your sponsored affiliates. This needs to continue along your downlines in order for you to be able to build a successful and effective business. Each affiliate success will depend on the success of the affiliates they sponsor. Some people may not like to be responsible for training the affiliates in their downlines; and therefore, they would prefer to join a single tier than two tier program. However, if training is done successfully, and your sponsored affiliates are able to duplicate your success, you will gain the benefit of passive or residual income from your sponsored affiliates.
Lastly, what is the amount of commission paid? Some programs do pay high commission percentages, but most of them only pay about 5% - 20%. Further, those programs that pay for impressions, only pay .01% - .05% for each hit, not much really. Based on your situation, this may or may not be enough for you. And, this is why you want to know the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio.
The above is just some of the elements that you need to think over in each program; there is more, of course. However, you can at least familiarize yourself with the elements presented above, and get your questions answered. The answer to your questions will help you in choosing the right affiliate program for you.
