When looking to supplement your income or even to make all your money online, joining an affiliate program can work, but you need to ask some question...
When looking to supplement your income or even to make all your money online,
joining an affiliate program can work, but you need to ask some questions and check on some things before signing with one.
First off, see if there is any cost connected with being part of the companies affiliate program. Some companies do charge you an upfront cost, but most of them do not have any fee. Do a thorough search online to get information about any program you are interested in.
Another aspect of the company to consider is just how well established it is; how long has it been in business? Before signing with a firm, find out about their full line of products, their prices, how well they sell, and how well they are performing. The latter is key; any company can sell a product at a low price, but only a good company sells products that do well, and that generate repeat business.
Now, the flip side to fees is the commissions; you will find that all of the affiliate programs have methods for paying you for the sales you generate. So, you are going to need to ask some questions about this issue. First off, how often do they pay: each month, every quarter, or something else? In some cases, no matter what their payment schedule, you have to earn a certain minimum amount of commissions before you get any money. There is also the matter of the amount of your commission.
Typically, there are impressions and hits, and actual sales. An impression is when someone just views the banner; a hit is when they click on it, and then a sale is - well, a sale! Naturally, the payment for just a hit is quite small - anywhere from 0.01% to 0.05% - whereas a sale will earn you between five and twenty percent. Ask about both these rates, and make sure that you get something for hits; sometimes a few of those are enough to push you over that minimum, and get a payment.
Also, some companies have a two-tier arrangement when it comes to commissions. In the case of a one-tier system, you get paid for the sales you produce - and that is it. If the company uses a two-tier system, you get paid for both sales from the affiliate program sponsor and any direct business. In some cases, there may be a fee charged - you could call it a recruitment fee - anytime you generate an affiliate sponsor, but it is usually quite minimal.
Now, as your commissions are a function of your sales, you need to ask the company how they track hits and sales. Before you sign with them, ask if you can see their per sale ratio numbers. By looking at these numbers, you can see how often a hit on their banner translates into an actual sale. These numbers are critical as they give you an indication as to how many hits you will have to get before making a sale, and from that you can work out how many hits it will take before you get your first commission check.
Along the same lines as tracking hits and sales is how long information on referrals you generate are retained by the system. After all, most people do not buy a product on their first look. They visit your site, follow the link, check it out, and then leave. Now, if they come back a day later and finally make the purchase, you want to be sure the company has kept the data on them so that you get credited for the sale. Ask the company how long they keep such records. If they have a time limit of a week as opposed to two or three days, that is much better for you.
Finally, there are your overall stats. How many hits are you getting each day, each week; are they going up or down? Does the company let you access your data anytime you want; what sort of information do they keep?
Ask questions, learn all you can about a company, and only then join their affiliate program.
