Wholesale Affiliate Program Mysteries Explained, What Is A Merchant?

MLM, Affiliate Network, 2-Tier, Merchant.

For people just considering getting into affiliate marketing It looks awfully like the entire affiliate marketing industry has been filled with jargon to confuse newcomers.

Thankfully, in reality, it is not that hard and with a little research can be relatively easy to work out.

In this article we are going to demystify the term Merchant.

What does it mean?

According to Merriam-Webster a Merchant is defined as:

1: a buyer and seller of commodities for profit : trader
2: the operator of a retail business: storekeeper

For people involved in affiliate marketing the second meaning is more appropriate.

Essentially, a merchant is somebody that has an online business that 'hires' affiliates to work as freelance salespeople and pays them a commission of all the business they generate.

But what makes a good merchant and what makes a bad merchant? And  what is the best way to work with them?

Rating Merchants

As anybody buying things online and they will tell you there are good and bad merchants to work for.

Thankfully the biggest danger as affiliates is doing work without being paid for it and this can often be avoided by checking merchants before you sign up.

Before you start any new promotional campaign, you need to ensure the company you are doing the work for has the money to pay you when it's successful.

If a program says "Low Funds", proceed with caution. If it’s closed, move on to something else.

Building Better Merchant Partnerships

Like any business relationship the closer you work with a merchant the better the results will be for both of you.

Talk to the merchant's affiliate manager and ask them for feedback on your campaign.

This person is likely to not only understand promotional methods, technical problems, and product lines and can help you design campaign so that both parties make money.

Also keep track of the sites offers and products.

This will help you build better relationships, help you negotiate for better commission rates and get more money.

And that is what you're after.