| WHY JOIN AN AFFILIATE NETWORK? |
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What is an Affiliate Network?
An affiliate program is a marketing program where you receive commissions for promoting our company’s products & services. The company provides you with all the marketing tools you will need such as banner ads and links to be placed on your website, social networks and other marketing pieces. When the links or ads on your site are used to generate a sale for the product/ services, a commission is paid out to you.
Why Join An Affiliate Network?
Affiliate programs have been growing in popularity every year. It has been estimated that affiliate programs will become a $4.6 billion dollar market by 2016. They are viewed as an extremely profitable marketing place as worldwide merchants are rapidly establishing affiliate programs. Studies have shown that quality affiliate programs help increase the global brand awareness of products, increase traffic to participating websites and most importantly grow sales. With relatively little financial investment required to get started, affiliate programs are a win-win for both the merchant and the affiliate.
What to consider when joining a network
Not all affiliate programs are created equal. Certain items should be considered before taking the time to become part of a network:
- Interest in the products
Choose a network that offers products that are of interest to you in some way. The most efficient step to take is to join a network that offers products similar to yours. These will be easier to promote and will be more intriguing to you and the other affiliates as both parties would have a vested interest in sharing these products. Also make sure there is a demand for the products in order for you to be successful. Before deciding on a product, do some research into the number of people looking searching for keywords associated with that products. Higher search volume increases the likelihood of sales.
- Commissions
A significant amount of time is invested in operating a good marketing program. The commission percentage attached to the products advertised has to be worthwhile. Also check into the back end of the payment. Specifically look at what the minimum payouts are, what the schedule is for being paid and that the method in which you are paid will work for you. Nothing is worse than signing up for a program, getting it working then finding out that you can’t collect your earnings.
- Support provided
Ample support should be provided to you by the operator of the network and the participating affiliates. If problems arise with the affiliate program, it is essential that support can be received in a timely manner. Be certain that you have several methods to get in touch with customer support should it be needed. Good affiliate programs also offer tips and advice on methods to increase sales as well as adequate tools to track sales. This will give visibility on the campaign and allow for any adjustments that might need to be made.
Also make sure that the participating affiliates provide quality marketing materials for their products. Any sort of promotion should be communicated effectively and corresponding marketing materials should look professional.
- Cookie Duration
Cookies are the codes attached to the promotional materials given by other affiliates. Look for longer duration as that it increases the length with which a commission can be earned as that allows for commissions to be made. For example, a cookie that is for 30 days means that customers have 30 days to go back to the merchant website to make a purchase in order for a commission to be paid out. If someone were to visit after the 30 days, you wouldn’t get paid.