How To Choose An Affiliate Marketing Program
An often overlooked element in affiliate marketing is the importance of how to choose an affiliate marketing program that is a good fit for you.
I suggest you look at it the same way you would if you were searching for a traditional job in your community because it is important.
Choosing The Wrong Affiliate Program Is Not The End Of The World
The good news is that if you make the wrong decision on which affiliate program to promote, it’s easy to change course.
Here are some of the important criteria considerations:
- How much will you be paid for each sale, lead or action?
- Are you going to get paid on time and in full every pay period? How often?
- Do you want to work for a new company or an established one with a proven track record?
- Is the affiliate company going to change your rate of pay without any notice to you?
- Do you have the tools necessary to be a successful affiliate for the company you choose?
- Do they provide the tools you need to promote them?
- Is there help available if you have an issue?
Once you pick the affiliate market or markets you would like to promote in, it’s time to choose the affiliate programs that will be appealing to your audience.
Table of Contents
- How To Choose An Affiliate Marketing Program
- Choosing The Wrong Affiliate Program Is Not The End Of The World
- 5 Tips For Choosing Affiliate Marketing Programs Best For You
- 1 – Start With The Actual Products And Services
- 2 – Compare The Commission Rates & Payment Schedules
- 3 – Look At The Affiliate Management Structure
- 4 – Read The Affiliate Terms & Fine Print
- 5 – Do The Affiliate Program Company Or Network Have Good Tools And/Or Training?
5 Tips For Choosing Affiliate Marketing Programs Best For You
1 – Start With The Actual Products And Services
- Do you know exactly what you’re selling?
- Is it a good product or service?
- Have you personally used it? If not, would you buy it yourself?
- Does it have a good call-to-action sales letter and professional site?
- Does it have a money-back guarantee?
- Do they have easily accessible customer service?
- Is the checkout procedure smooth and fluid?
Take a real hard look at the products or services being sold. Make sure you want to be associated with the product because if you don’t believe in it nobody will believe your sales pitch.
Google the company and products/services and see what people are saying about the product(s) online.
Trust is the key to affiliate marketing so make sure the programs you recommend are going to make people happy and are refundable for those who aren’t.
2 – Compare The Commission Rates & Payment Schedules
Obvious but important.
Don’t just default to the high commission product in the category. Pick the one you think is the best for you.
Find out the threshold for payment, payment frequency, payment method, and other factors so you know how and when you’ll be paid.
Also familiarize yourself with their chargeback policy which will be detailed in their affiliate terms.
3 – Look At The Affiliate Management Structure
Is there an affiliate manager who can help you or is the program managed by an affiliate network?
Can you get immediate help with any issue or do you have to wait 72 hours to get a return email?
I actually joined an affiliate program once who’s staff never ever returned any of my phone calls or emails. That’s some unprofessionalism that you’ll want to avoid.
4 – Read The Affiliate Terms & Fine Print
You don’t have to spend an entire week reading the entire legal document but at least review the most important factors such as:
- Rules and guidelines of the program – especially related to the type of advertising allowed, CAN-SPAM compliance, and keyword bidding limitations
- The lifespan of your affiliate cookie which tracks your sale
- Chargeback procedures for buyer returns
5 – Do The Affiliate Program Company Or Network Have Good Tools And/Or Training?
- Is the affiliate dashboard well laid out and easy to navigate?
- Do they track your clicks and trends for you?
- Do you get email notifications of sales? Not all of them do including
- Do they have quality banners and linking tools?
- Do they have tutorials (preferably video) to help you get started?
Following this criteria when choosing an affiliate program will help you avoid headaches down the road after you’ve already invested your time and efforts into the program you choose.
Take action and get started now.
The truth is that in affiliate marketing it takes the same amount of time & energy to promote a product or service that pays you $500.00 than it does to promote a product that only pays you $29.00. Doesn’t it make sense to get paid more money for doing the same amount of work? Let me teach you how to sell high ticket products and services for high paying commissions.
It’s free. Don’t be intimidated by getting started.
I’ll walk you through every step.
If you have any questions please contact me bill@highpayingaffiliateprograms.com
