12 Tips On Selecting An Affiliate Program

People sign up with affiliate programs everyday, looking to expand their income and make a good living for their efforts. The unfortunate part of all this is that most people will sign up with a company without really knowing what the company is all about. In many cases, the majority of these people who sign up, never see the income they had hopes for. In too many situations they find themselves loosing interest and give up because they are greatly disappointed.

There are many factors that can play into this type of situation. The most common complaints are; lack of support and getting paid the proper commissions. With the many affiliate programs that are offered on the Internet, you need to be able to distinguish between a well-established affiliate program, verses one that is not.

Here are 12 tips on what to look for when selecting an affiliate program:

1.) Look for the length of time the company has been in business. Are they a legitimate company that is well established with a solid presence on the Internet?

2.) Do they offer a quality product or service? If they offer to pay you a high commission, but do not have a quality product or service, is it worth your time?

3.) Does the company stand behind their products or service offering a 100% guarantee?

4.) Do they offer all the promotional tools you will need, like banners, text links, ads, flyers, etc?

5.) Look for companies that provide you with training materials and marketing support to help you achieve success.

6.) Look for companies that will give you updates on new products or services, selling tips and training material.

7.) Does the company have a statistics/log page that you have access to? This page should show you your current sales, sign ups, commissions, etc. Look for programs that have real time tracking capabilities that you can access 24/7.

8.) Do they have an administrative page that you can make changes to your personal information?

9.) When a sale is made or an affiliate joins their program through your website, do they send you notification of this? What form of information do they send you? You should receive information on the type of sale, the name of the person, phone number and email address of your new sign-up. This is an important issue when you are in a two-tier affiliate program.

10.) Do they offer a fair commission structure? A reputable company will make it very clear what you are paid for your efforts. You should avoid any company that does not paint a clear picture of the commissions you receive. Most established companies offer 20% and up.

11.) Check on what form of tracking code they use. Are you paid only on the initial sale, or do you get paid on repeat business.

12.) Look for companies that are offering unique products or services that are relevant to your website. Choose merchants that offer products or services that you yourself believe in.

To summarize, signing up with a company that is well established can generate a stronger business partnership, which will increase your motivational interest as well as significantly increase your levels of success.

John Kovacs is the CEO and founder of "A Home Business Opportunity". His website mainly focuses on supplying free marketing tips, resources and support for home startup businesses and Internet marketing. To get a step-by-step guide in building an online business, visit http://www.ahomebusinessopportunity.net

In The News:


RBID.com New Business Affiliate, Leverage Inc., Strategic Deal ...
MarketWatch - Oct 9, 2008
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Stephane de Mahieu, general manager, Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc., an ExxonMobil affiliate, discussed the project's contributions to the nation ...

E Canada Now

YouTube’s new revenue model: affiliate links?
The Inquisitr, Australia - Oct 7, 2008
The model makes sense in terms of relevancy, but the angle is interesting, because it’sa traditional affiliate model, and it looks like Google hasn’t done ...
Google introduces YouTube click-to-buy CNET News
YouTube Makes Affiliate Play with Click-to-Buy Links ClickZ News
paidContent.org - YouTube Adds Affiliate Links To Its Videos ... Washington Post
Search Engine Land - Internet Search Engine Databaseall 471 news articles

The New Era of Travel Affiliate Marketing
Search Engine Watch - Oct 10, 2008
With shrinking commissions and lower margins, how can those affiliates increase their own revenue share? How are they going to separate themselves from the ...

EARNINGS WATCH Updates, advisories and surprises
MarketWatch - Oct 10, 2008
Brinker had said in August that it agreed to sell a majority interest in Romano's Macaroni Grill to an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital for $131.5 million. ...

Viacom Updates Full Year 2008 Business Outlook
MarketWatch - Oct 10, 2008
Viacom said affiliate and ancillary revenues grew at a double-digit rate in the third quarter. Viacom President and Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman ...
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Boston Globe

Viacom lowers 3Q earnings outlook
Variety, CA - Oct 10, 2008
Affiliate and ancillary revenues grew at a double-digit rate in the third quarter, the company noted. Execs will elaborate on the revised outlook Nov. ...
Slowing Ad Market Slams Sumner Redstone's Empire AdAge.com (subscription)
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Virgin Games moves affiliate business into dgm
E-consultancy (press release), UK - Oct 10, 2008
Virgin Games’ CPA offer on dgm will be the ideal network complement to our award winning in-house revenue-share affiliate programme. ...

Ad Server Solutions Enterprise Versions Released
Newswire Today (press release), UK - Oct 8, 2008
Publishers will be able to create their own niche advertising networks and affiliate networks with revenue sharing agreements that meet both the network's ...

Fox Fails On Dodgers/Phillies In HD
TVPredictions.com (press release) - Oct 10, 2008
The reason for this is that Fox uses a splicer system whereby each affiliate can take the signal unaltered from Fox and send it out over the air without ...
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