Online entrepreneurs usually have several goals in mind for their businesses. Perhaps they're looking to reach an untapped market, thereby bringing an existing product to a new audience. Or maybe they're trying to bring some sort of convenience to consumers. The bottom line, however, is that e-tailers want to make money. And, if they can do so without a significant output of resources, all the better.
That's where affiliate programs come in to play. No doubt you've heard about affiliates, but if you're still not quite sure what, exactly, one is, or how it can boost your bottom line, it's pretty easy to get up to speed. Affiliate programs (which are also sometimes referred to as affiliate marketing and associate programs) provide online businesses with rewards and incentives — generally monetary — for sales and customers their efforts provide. In short, it's a commission system.
For example, perhaps you own a Web shop that sells wine. You could team up with another site, which would be your affiliate, that sells corkscrews, wine glasses and decanters. After working the details out with the affiliate, you'd add a link to the affiliate's site from your own. In this case, every time a visitor to your site clicks that link and purchases a corkscrew from the affiliate site, you get a cut of the proceeds.
It's a win-win scenario: The affiliate gets more traffic directed toward its site and, therefore, increased sales, while you receive a share of the profits. These arrangements are sometimes reciprocal, too, meaning that the corkscrew vendor could direct its traffic to your site for the perfect bottle of wine.
So, if you've been considering trying out an affiliate program, where do you begin? Here are some tips to get you going. And if you're already on board, you can use these pointers to help fine-tune your system.
As you start researching potential selling partners, check to see if (most) of the following is offered:
online reporting;
an opt-in affiliate newsletter; co-branded pages;
customizable content;
reputable customer service;
an easily navigated user interface;
a privacy policy;
use of third-party tracking software;
and a payment model that is on par with other similar sites that generates enough revenue to make it worth your time.
In regard to the last item on the check list, you'll find that there are several common revenue-sharing models. There isn't really one best option-it all depends on your circumstances, but here is how it generally works: The pay-per-click model means you are paid every time a visitor from your site clicks through to the affiliate's. In a pay-per-sale arrangement, you receive a set amount every time a visitor from your site clicks through and actually purchases something from the affiliate. (Of course, there are other models, as well, but they're generally for very specific sorts of situations.)
An excellent resource for affiliate programs is the directory Refer-It.com (a sister site of ECommerce-Guide in the Small Business Channel). It provides listings of affiliates that you can research to see what might be a good fit for your particular market.
Once you find an affiliate, test it out before finalizing a deal. Ola Edvardsson, editor of AffiliateTips.com, says to evaluate how responsive a potential affiliate is, for example, by e-mailing the site and seeing how long it takes to hear back from the company.
He also suggests finding out how long the site has been up and how long the firm has been in business. The Internet is rife with fly-by-night companies, and if you can avoid dealing with them, you'll be all the better. As far as money, Edvardsson recommends dealing only with affiliates that pay on a monthly schedule. Getting paid just twice a year for your efforts can be risky, because by the time you realize that your check isn't coming, you've already invested a great deal of time.
Also, check out affiliate links yourself. See how many clicks it takes to get to the product described in the link. For example, it's best if a link for a specific brand of cat food goes directly to a page where you can purchase it rather than a general page that lists many varieties.
Finally, another aspect of affiliate marketing you will want to study before signing up is the how the reporting is done. The affiliate should provide you with regular reports detailing commission/referred sales and traffic stats. Some affiliates make these available online, while others require that you e-mail a request for them.
Check the details in these reports against the reports for your own site. Every time one of your site's visitors leaves your site through an affiliate's link, it is recorded by your server. You can usually access this data in a report labeled Top URLs Requested (or something similar). Most server log analysis software provides the ability to run such a report. If there is a discrepancy, it's a good idea to remove the affiliate until the issue is resolved.
So if you're looking to add some extra income to your bottom line — and who isn't? — you can by taking advantage of the maturing affiliate marketplace. It's true that being a team player can pay off.
Sally Marek Curran is a regular contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com.
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