Home > Profit > Affiliate Programs > Getting Started

by Diane Leonte

With the increasing popularity of affiliate programs it is not surprising to find everyone is jumping on the band wagon and joining one or several affiliate programs, with the hopes of earning enough money to quit their day job, or at the very least provide them with a nice supplemental income.

Now this is good news for the affiliate program owners. Affiliate program owners see a continuos increase in revenues generated by their affiliate sales force who are spending their own time and money touting the affiliate program owners products and services all over the Internet. Best of all, with the exception of what they paid for their affiliate software, the affiliate program owners do not have to spend one extra cent on their affiliates/sales reps, or in many cases not even have to give up a good deal on the commission pay outs for all this new business.

But what's really in it for the affiliate? Well affiliate program owners will tell you only 5% - 10% of the affiliates are making $1,000 to $5,000+ a month working their affiliate programs.

What makes it work for so few and not the other 90%- 95% is that they have incorporated most if not all of the following strategies into their marketing plan. These strategies will work just as well for one affiliate program as they will for several.

1. Choose Wisely.

Select affiliate programs from well known established companies that have a reputation for delivering quality products and/or services. Ask for references and testimonials before joining if you are unsure. Any reputable affiliate program owner will be happy to give out names of people to contact if they have nothing to hide.

Choose a program that pays you 25% or more on your personal sales, and one that pays residual or recurring commissions. Those that pay on your additional tiers are even more attractive, as this becomes a way to build residual income over time.

2. Create a Web site.

It is a very good idea to create your own web page on your domain which links to the self replicating web site the affiliate provided for you when you joined their program. Prospects are more likely to buy from a web site they know and trust, rather than the obvious reseller URL. Bringing the prospect to you web site will give you the opportunity to offer a further endorsement of the product or service before sending the prospect on to the affiliate's website. This strategy also serves a few other purposes as well;

-you will have the opportunity to request the prospects e-mail address for your opt-in list,
-introduce the prospect to any other affiliate programs you may be promoting,
-give you a more professional appearance.

For an example of this type of front-end approach, take a look at the web page I have set up for this purpose, http://wealthinmind.com/marketing.html

3. Get the list, the list, the list.

No other promotion will serve you better than obtaining our own opt-in e-mail list. This can be done by creating your own newsletter or ezine. For those of you that just bristled when reading this, I can tell you as a publisher of a newsletter, you can do it. If the thought of publishing a full blown newsletter overwhelms you, then think about creating and maintaining an email broadcast instead to obtain opt-in subscribers. Everyone has either a special interest, skill, or talent that can be put into a tips email daily or weekly e-mail broadcast. This is all you need to get your opt-in list started.

4. Generate Traffic to your Web site.

I want to emphasize "Your Web site" not the affiliate's website. Having your own website will give you more opportunities to influence the prospect into becoming a Buyer. Most buyers do not buy on the first message. Having buyers come to your website from an Ad (first message) you placed instead of linking directly to the affiliate's website, is providing you with one more opportunity to sell the product or service using endorsement before sending them onto your affiliate website for the close.

5. Add Value.

With all the competition you have from other affiliates selling the same product and services that you are, it is a good idea to differentiate yourself from the fray. This can be done by offering something free with the purchase of the product or service. Generally a free subscription to a newsletter, a free report, or an ebook can generate enough interest for the prospect to take the extra step and click on your link.

6. Say it in a different way.

Almost every affiliate program offers their affiliates Ad copy to use when advertising. Generally there are no more than 3 choices. In this highly competitive market you cannot expect to draw the interest of many "would be" prospects by serving up the same Ad copy they are seeing day in and day out from Ads placed by your fellow affiliates. A good affiliate knows their product and all the features and benefits associated with it. It is the salesperson who takes the time to learn everything there is to know about the product or service they are selling who has no trouble coming up with original compelling Ad copy which expounds upon the features and benefits of what they are selling and entices the prospect to look more closely.

(Virtualis is a highly respected web hosting company where I have my website hosted, they offer an excellent affiliate program, and specifies the following to each affiliate in their welcome letter;

"To ensure that you as a VR(Virtualis Rep) have the correct information necessary to effectively sell services for Virtualis, we have the VR Test. Although this test is not (yet) mandatory, if you do not take this test, you will not be able to partake in much of the VR community such as posting to the Board, chatting in the chat rooms, viewing your commissions, voting, and more. The test is not hard and will enhance your Web knowledge (if needed) and Virtualis knowledge tremendously".

This drives home the point, that top salespeople know how important it is to know their product or service inside out.

In summary, do your homework about any affiliate program before joining, advertise a unique message for the product or service, present it on you own personal web domain, and add value.

Lastly, give it TIME and be PERSISTENT.