Online Affiliate Marketing Programs: Separating The Wheat From The Chaff
Written by: Selina Hernandez
Finding the right affiliate marketing program may seem like a daunting task due to the sheer number of them. For the marketing newbie it is quite common to jump from program to program without ever seeing any real profit. How can a beginning online marketer avoid the pitfalls of selecting the wrong affiliate marketing program? There are a number of things you should look for to help you determine which affiliate programs are the best. Here are some suggestions.
An affiliate marketing program worth your time will function efficiently and reliably. You should not have to deal with numerous glitches, and the user interface should be simple. Naturally, give yourself a little time to get accustomed to the program before making a decision. A program that frustrates you and is difficult to use should be set aside for something better.
The program you are considering should be backed by a reputable service team knowledgeable about the program, the product or service, and affiliate marketing in general. Affiliates should be able to able to ask questions and receive technical support within a reasonable time frame. Contact information should be readily available. If you are a beginner, look for a team that offers training to assist you in selling the product. A strong support team is beneficial for both you and the program managers, as they get paid for more product sales and you earn more commissions.
An affiliate marketing program can have seamless programming and a superb support team, but if the product or service it stands behind is junk, the whole program is worthless. Find legitimate reviews about the product or service. Purchase it and test it out if you can afford it. If you feel at all uncomfortable about the claims the marketers make, pass it up. Start researching a different program.
The marketability of a product or service will make or break your marketing campaign. Look around the Internet. Is there a market for your service? Will the product be well received? Also check out the competition. If there is so much competition that only a handful are making money, you may be wise to search elsewhere.
Affiliates generally receive a commission, or a portion of the money from each sale. The purpose of becoming an affiliate is to increase your income. Therefore, it is important to determine if the level of commission is high enough to make your time worthwhile. The common rate for information products is 50%. Programs that sell physical products often pay less than 10%.
A quality affiliate marketing program will have a high conversion rate. The percentage of people who buy the product after clicking to view it is the conversion rate. A company with a successful conversion rate will often advertise it on their affiliate promotion page. It you cannot locate the program's conversion rate, consider doing a trial run to determine the conversion rate yourself.
Whatever you do, don't rush into affiliate marketing without doing at least a minimal bit of research. There are many good affiliate marketing programs out there. Investing in a fair amount of research up front will improve your chances of finding one and achieving financial marketing success down the road.
