Affiliate marketing programs have skyrocketed in popularity in the past few years
As one of the fastest and easiest ways to start an online home business, people are jumping on this wave by the millions Affiliate programs offer merchants the opportunity to employ vast armies of sales people who get paid for the results they achievers,
The rewards for affiliates can be very good and the skilled affiliate marketer can
earn many thousands of dollars per month This win-win situation has led to an explosion in the number of affiliate programs that are available to affiliate marketer
With this growth of affiliate opportunities have come many questions
Such as how do you go about choosing the right affiliate program for you What qualities should you look for in a program and which gives you a good chance of making a sustainable income, Below are some tips that will help you to evaluate affiliate programs and help you to avoid wasting time and money.
What Commissions Does the Program Pay
It is very important that you know how much you can expect to earn from a sale, There is no point in spending time and money promoting a product that pays very small commissions You could end up spending more on marketing than you make on sales It is probably best to stick with marketing products with a high commission value unless you have found a niche market where you can sell vast quantities of product and make substantial commissions on your volume of sides
how Much Traffic is their Website Getting
Try to discover the amount of traffic the affiliate owner's website is already receiving Alexa.com is a very useful tool for doing this research If the website is ranked in the top,100000 the merchant is getting a good volume of traffic so, it is possible that there may already be too many affiliates If it is ranked below 500000 it may be no good or, it could be a golden opportunity to make some real money by becoming one of the first affiliate
Always research a merchant’s product if their website has a low traffic ranking
It may be a good idea to buy the product yourself if you can afford it, Otherwise you could do a search to find out if there are any negative reviews about it on the internet Be careful who you listen to though because many people are in the habit of bashing affiliate programs with nothing to really support their comments If you find a large amount of negative reviews with little positive ones then it would probably be a good idea to stay away from that affiliate program
How Often Are Affiliate Commissions Paid
Some affiliate programs pay commissions every week some once a month others only pay every quarter, It is important that you know how often you can expect a pay check if you are going to have financial control over your business Do you have the financial resources to continue to market a product if you have to wait a long time before you get paid It would also be wise to find out the minimum commission that you have to earn before you get paid dose
The Affiliate Program Use Tracking Cookies
Many customers do not buy on their first visit to a merchant website, It is important therefore that the merchant uses cookies for their affiliate program so that you get credit if the customer returns and buys at a later date Check out how long the cookies last The longer the cookies lasts the better the chances of you getting paid dose
The Affiliate Program Pay on Subsequent Sales
Some programs will only pay commission on sales that come through customers visiting their site via a direct link from your site They pay you nothing for any subsequent purchases that the customer makes if they visit the merchant's site directly It is important that you get paid no matter what route the customer returns by if you are to build a sustainable affiliate business.
The Marketing Resources, Does the Affiliate Program Offer
Look at the type and quality of the marketing resources that they provide do they provide articles advertisements or other content that you can use to put on your site do they provide free guides special offers free viral e-books or product samples that you can send to your list If the marketing material they provide is good, then it is likely that the business will provide good support for their affiliates finding.
The right affiliate program for you can be tough to do, The best advice is to do your own research
Follow the advice above and listen to your instincts, Use the above questions as an aid to finding an affiliate program that enables you to reach your financial goals You never know You might just strike affiliate marketing gold