A Two-Edged Sword
One of the best things about promoting affiliate products is that there are literally thousands, if not tens of thousands, to choose from. Some will say that’s also the worst thing about becoming an affiliate. So many choices can be totally overwhelming.
It’s truly a two-edged sword. So what’s the answer? Here are several strategies to help dispel the confusion. Because affiliate marketing can be highly profitable, it would be highly detrimental to let indecision act as a roadblock.
Look for Products That Sell Well
As is often said, “Nothing succeeds like success.” When choosing an affiliate program, you should look for products that sell well.
You also has to take a careful look at the quality of the products because you will subsequently be known by those products. Poor or inferior products (even though they pay high commissions) equates to refunds. This is not the way to move forward and make more profits.
Digital Products or Physical Products?
You must decide whether to go with digital products (books and download programs) or physical products early on. Some programs, ClickBank for instance, offer digital products only. If your field involves selling tangible products, then you may have to consider other sources to find affiliate products to promote.
Many well-known companies, such as Radio Shack and Office Depot, now offer affiliate programs. There’s no right or wrong in this decision, only what fits best with your marketing strategy.
Commissions
The reason for becoming an affiliate is to earn income online. This means how commissions are paid – both the percentage and how often – is very important. Some affiliate programs are set up to pay out weekly, bi-weekly, once a month, every quarter, etc.
Some programs pay for clicks and impressions as well as sales. Others offer a two-tier program wherein the affiliate is not only paid for sales, but for the sales of other affiliates recruited under them. You should definitely do your homework before starting with any program and thoroughly investigate how and when commissions are paid. Also remember to ask any questions you may have.
Ease of Entry
It’s especially important for newbie affiliates to find it easy to get started with a program. Jumping through several hoops at the outset is counterproductive. Programs that allow a quick sign up and startup are your best avenue when first getting started.
The more complicated ones, such as those that require applicant approval, the affiliate can consider later when he or she is earning more. Also, some programs require a signup fee. While these sites may have reasons for doing so, you should avoid them because it lessens the return on investment.
Fraud Protection
If there’s a way to beat the system, any system, someone will find it. That means it’s vital that the affiliate program of choice offers high-level fraud detection. The affiliate program should be set up to track offenders (such as individuals who repeatedly demand refunds) and stop their activities.
Joining affiliate forums where such things are discussed may offer insight. Keep in mind that the safer a program, the more profitable it will be for all concerned. While earning money is the purpose of becoming an affiliate marketer, money and commissions aren’t the only criteria for choosing the best affiliate program.
The affiliate should consider many other things, including compatibility, ease of entry and fraud detection. A good match with a credible program will result in ongoing cash flow for months and years to come.
Great list, Kevin.
I particularly always look at the quality of the product first. I never want to put my name or brand behind something that’s subpar and isn’t up to my high quality standards.
The next deciding factor for me is the commissions. I love instant commission affiliate programs for the obvious reason of fast payment and also because they allow me to reinvest my money back into paid advertising methods much quicker so I can quickly scale up.
Again, awesome check list here. It’s sure to help others with their selection process.
Ti
Ti Roberts recently posted…[SEO Rebel Roundup!] Epic Traffic Posts, Bragging Rights and Twitter Cards?
Thanks Ti! I agree… I don’t like to promote products that are subpar either because that can definitely make me look bad.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting
Kevin Ocasio recently posted…4 Simple Ways to Create Content on a Shoe String Budget
Hello Kevin,
Great tips on how to go about selecting an affiliate.
I agree with Ti in making sure to always look at the quality of the product before signing up as an affiliate.
I remember reading a post that said it’s good to try the product before becoming an affiliate, after all you’re putting your name behind a product or service, you want to make sure you’re promoting a quality product. This advice always stuck with me and now I’m looking through the Clickbank marketplace to find a product I would want as a consumer.
Glad I stopped by, enjoyed the read and looking forward to reading more of your posts. Have a great week ahead.
Corina Ramos recently posted…Learning A New Skill
Hello Corina,
Glad you liked my post! And I agree, if you have the budget for it, it’s definitely a good idea to purchase a product before promoting it as an affiliate. You’ll then have first hand knowledge that will help you to write a much better review for your readers.
I’m gladded you stopped by also Corina. Thank you for taking the time to comment and I hope to see you back
Kevin Ocasio recently posted…Social Marketing Resources To Get You More Twitter Followers, Retweets, Likes And +1′s
Great tips . I would like to know about those affiliate programs that pays for impressions or signups , instead of just sales
abhishek recently posted…Android App That Takes Picture of Phone Thief
Hi abhishek… CPA networks have offers that pay per lead (or signup) with some offers only requiring a valid email for you to get paid. You can check out Offer Vault for that. As for per impression, I found a site that offers this, but have never used them so cannot personally recommend them – adversal.com.
Hope this helps!
Kevin Ocasio recently posted…Email Marketing: The Best Way To Build Relationships That Earn You Money
After being burned once, I’m very wary of new, unproven affiliate programs. I would suggest doing a thorough check before sending anyone your traffic. Believe me, you don’t want to find yourself waiting for a check that never comes. And never EVER send anyone direct traffic, because they WILL cut you out and advertise directly with your source. Yes, there are some unscrupulous folks out there, so you’ve gotta do your due diligence.
Great points! One great way to promote affiliate programs is to send traffic to your own squeeze page, get the person to opt-in, then promote the affiliate program on the backend. Thanks for stopping by
Kevin Ocasio recently posted…Your Go To List of Outsourcing Resources!
I always choose clickbank as my affiliate program. I always thought digital products were the way to go because the buyer would immediately download them. Now I’m thinking about physical products, since I hear about so many marketers having a lot of success with them.
hi there kevin. yep it would be advisable to try products first before promoting it to your audience. i have purchased some services from affiliates such as ty tribble’s MLM blog secrets and auto traffic nirvana. but i am hesitant promoting them due to the hype integrated with those products. perhaps i should not promote any since i am not satisfied in my purchases except for Attracta (i do not know if accept affiliates unfortunately).
marilyn cada recently posted…9 Simple Guidelines for Building a Site
If you’re not satisfied with the product, how can you genuinely recommend it to others? It’s a good idea to only promote products that you KNOW are good, quality products.
Kevin Ocasio recently posted…A Link Building Strategy That Will Benefit You
I’ve purchased two affiliate products that will work well with my niche and I like them both. I have an issue with one though. There were a million up-sell attempts when I got the product and I find that so annoying, I’m sure many people feel the same way, but it must work or the seller wouldn’t do it.
I find that people prefer to purchase physical products – at least in my experience with affiliate marketing. I had an account with Clickbank and Amazon, but the success was mostly with Amazon, and I feel that that was mostly due to the fact that people know and trust that name brand.
You could sell an ebook, and it could be filled with trash, but a tangible product is a tangible product that you know other people have also purchased and been satisfied with.
I hasn’t thought about going for the products that sell because they are usually the ones with the highest competition as far as keywords go, but I might have to try to find a sub-niche of a product that has already had a lot of success. Thanks for the tip.