Affiliate Programs

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I never gave this much thought because I guess it comes as second nature to me. However, I get quite a few emails about “Which affiliate program to choose” or “What’s the best affiliate program to choose.”

I’ll give you my method for choosing an affiliate program. This method has worked for me for years.

First let me start off by saying pick an affiliate program that interest you. I know it’s an old cliche but it happens to be one that is very true. Even if you’re not very knowledgeable about something a company sells, you can still be successful if you’re passionate about it! This is probably one of the biggest reasons people fail in affiliate marketing!

How To Find A Profitable Affiliate Program

3 Ways to find affiliate programs

• Search for companies that have products you’re interested in or have a lot of knowledge. Then see if they have an affiliate program. If they do, you’ll usually find a link in the footer in the lower sidebar.  The landing page for their affiliate program should give you all the details on the program itself. Just recently I found a company I wanted to be an affiliate for. I was looking over their affiliate page and under the FAQ of “How much does your affiliate program pay?” it stated “The – business is a low-margin enterprise but we pay a good margin of profits to our affiliates.”Hunh? What the hell was that? No way I’m signing up for that affiliate program! Know what you’re getting paid up front.
• Consider using an affiliate network like ShareASale, Commission Junction, Copeac, AzoogleAds or any number of the others. These network companies will have many companies to choose from with a variety of offers. I personally like ShareASale and Copeac. I’m not fond of CJ, but let’s be real, they’re the largest affiliate network by far and they have a lot of big name companies in their network.
• Google It! Let’s say you wanted to know if Wal-Mart had an affiliate program (which they do). You’d simple go to Google and type in “affiliate program” Wal-Mart, and bingo, you’re staring at the Wal-Mart Affiliate Program. You can do this with any company that you’d like to be an affiliate for. If you can’t find any info on a companies affiliate program, email them. Some companies do not like to advertise their affiliate programs. Another way to search for it would be to type in an item or a sector of items you’d like to sell. For example let’s say you had a car site about tires and wheels, go back to Google and type in “custom wheels” affiliate program, BAM! There you go. Take you’re pick!

Now you know how to find an affiliate program, let’s now see how to pick the right one.

How To Choose The Right Affiliate Program For You

Here’s a fact about affiliate programs. The right affiliate program for me may not be the right affiliate program for you. You’re different than I am. Your sites aren’t like mine and we have different taste. Make sure you pick an affiliate program that is right for you.

The Commission rate should not be your first concern when choosing a Merchant!

• Make a list of several companies that you’re interested in.
• What I do next is look at the ‘cookie’ length, sometimes called “the return days”. When a potential customer visits a Merchants site through your affiliate link, the Merchants site puts a cookie on the Customers computer. Some affiliates only have session cookies and the cookie will expire when the Customer leaves. One such company that does this is Amazon and that is the main reason I do not like them as a company. This means that if the Customer leaves without buying something at that time, but comes back tomorrow and buys a $1000 worth of merchandise, you get paid zilch unless they come back through your site again, which doesn’t happen often! Other companies have cookies that expire anywhere from 7 to 60 days. Some have cookies that never expire unless the Customer wipes them off their computer. I look for companies that have at least a 21 day cookie, preferably much longer. This means that if a Customer visits a Merchant through your site but doesn’t buy anything but comes back within the life of the cookie, you still get credit for the sale! (unless the Customer comes back through another affiliate first)
• What is the return rate? This is something companies do not advertise about their affiliate programs. You’ll have to email or call them. Affiliates don’t get paid for returns! A company may look great but if they have a high return rate, you could be out of a lot of money.
• Payment schedule and payment method.I like to be paid either by direct deposit or via PayPal. I also like companies that pay every two weeks. Amazon pays every quarter - another reason they’re not my favorite affiliate company!
• Marketing Material.What kind of marketing material do they have? How much do they have? A Company with only a few banners will be hard to promote if you don’t know how to make banners, or have the money to have them made. Good companies usually have an abundance of marketing material for their affiliates. Some will even provide you with a keyword list for PPC campaigns. Ask them what they have to help you!
• Visit the Merchants website. Chances are that you buy stuff online and you have your favorite and least favorite companies. Go to the Merchants website and browse through their offerings. Check out everything. BUY SOMETHING! This is a huge plus that many affiliate marketers miss! See how the website flows and if there are any hang ups. I saw one company not long ago that charged a 25% “restocking fee” for returns! OUCH! Not many Customers are going to like that! If you have problems with the website or the delivery time, your customers will also. Keep on looking!
• Comparison shop. Does your Merchant have some of the lowest prices? If not, you may be waiting a long time for a sale. Pick a few items and go to Google and type them in to see who has the lowest prices. I use the name brand and model number so I can compare apples to apples.
• Okay, now you can look at the commission rate. But don’t get stupid over a high percentage number.  Many times I’ll see companies in the same industry paying a wide range of commissions on the same goods. Company A may pay 15% per sale while Company B only pays 8%. At first glance you’d think Company A would be the one to go with wouldn’t you? However, if you comparison shopped you’d find that they have high prices, high shipping & handling charges and may have a crappy website or ecommerce basket that is down all the time. You did browse their website didn’t you? I’d rather sell 100 high dollar items at 8% commission than 1 or 2 at double the commission rate. Many consumers comparison shop, you should also! Here’s another unadvertised fact. Many Merchants pay their best affiliates more than the advertised rate, sometimes a LOT MORE. They do this to keep them happy. After you’ve been with a company a while and feel like you’re doing well, contact the Affiliate Manage and ask for a raise. You can also do this from the get-go if your an accomplished affiliate marketer. But be prepared to prove it to the AM if you want a higher percentage rate!

There you have it. That’s pretty much the way I look for an affiliate program to market. Once you’ve done it several times, it becomes habit! This method will also help you avoid deadbeat Merchants! Lifes too short without paying the advertising bill for a crappy Merchant!