Bytes 4 Money

The internet has enabled affiliate marketing to jump to high levels of popularity and profits.  It has even made it possible for a lot of people to quit their nine-to-five jobs and focus on generating a full-time income with affiliate programs alone.

One of the keys to success in affiliate marketing is choosing the right programs to promote.

There are many factors to consider like competition, the quality of the product or service, what kind of tier system is in place (if any), the type of support you and the customers get from the help desk, etc.   But what’s the number one consideration that affiliates use when they look for a program to promote  is the commission rates.

Specifically, you want to know

1. how much do we get paid and
2. when do we get paid? 

This is natural and obvius as the main reason why we are in affiliate marketing is to make money!  If you are going to invest the time, money and effort,  you should be well compensated. 

However, if commission plan is the beginning and end in your decision to promote a product or service, you are not in the right path for a successful affiliate business.

Above the compensation plan, the very first consideration you should have when choosing a program to market is the value of the product that you will be selling.  The best way to determine this is to decide that if you, as a consumer, would actually purchase the product for you own personal use for the price that is being asked.  If you wouldn’t purchase the product you’re selling as a consumer, then as an affiliate marketer, it’s going to be hard to find someone else to buy it.  This is common sence but, very often, I see affiliates that pick an affiliate program leaving out of consideration this important factor.

That being the lead factor, it is not meant to put in the shadow other factors when picking an affiliate marketing program.  A big part of choosing the right merchant is still how and when you get paid.

On average most merchants will pay you once or twice a month, either by direct deposit (becoming more popular) using PayPal, or mailing you a check.  You usually have to collect a certain amount before affiliate commissions are paid out.  There are other merchants that offer different payment plans, so it all depends on your lifestyle and how you structure your affiliate campaigns.

If it costs you money to join an affiliate program then you should answer the questions below: 

• What are you paying for?
• Why are you paying for it?
• Are there any future expenses?
• What’s your return on investment (ROI)?
• Is any of it refundable?

If you decide that spending cash to join an affiliate program is not worth it, then the chances are you will find some free programs in your particular niche that have a reputation for quality products and paying on time.

Whichever way you decide to go, make certain that they have a way for you to track your sales and the more detailed the better.  You really need to know where your referrals are coming from and if your advertising is working.  Something else to find out is how long your referrals will stay in the merchant database because people do not always buy the first time around.  If they decide to purchase the product a couple months after visiting your affiliate site, will the merchant give you any credit for the sale?

There are many other points to consider before joining an affiliate program.  Do some research on the blogs and forums.  Check out what people are saying good or bad about the affiliate program you are interested in joining.   Always round up as much information as possible, make your decision, and them just do it.

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