Affiliate programs - What are they ?
If you want to have 100's or even 1000's of other websites (called affiliates) promoting your products and services then you need to follow some basic steps to get going. You also have different options open to you.
You can engaage an affiliate network like Commission Junction, Be Free, LinkShare or Performics. These networks handle almost everything as well as tracking and payments and for this they charge you a hefty percentage of the sale. These networks will also charge you a couple of thousand dollars to get your affiliate program up and running.
There are also many smaller affiliate networks to choose from that charge smaller fees. Alternatively you can engage a web firm to integrate affiliate tracking software onto your website and get your program going in-house. This is usually the cheaper option but the most time-intensive for you to get going.
Some key terms
Affiliate: The owner of the site that displays a merchant's products and services. Affiliates agree to place merchant promotions on their Web site in the form of graphic or text links for the purpose of selling a merchant's goods and services. In return, the affiliate earns commissions, which vary by merchant, on click throughs, leads, or purchases made through the links on their site.
Affiliate Marketing: A system of selling products or services in context over the Internet that allows online merchants to promote their goods or services within the content of 1000's of affiliated web sites. Affiliate marketing allows merchants to pay their affiliates based on performance.
Affiliate Sales Channel: The relationship created when merchants and affiliates enter into a joint agreement that allows the individual sites to display the merchant's products or services in exchange for a performance-based commission.
Affiliate Site: Internet location or URL where affiliates place links to a merchant's Web site. An affiliate can have one or many web sites.
To successfully launch an affiliate program merchants must usually follow these steps:
1. Pre-launch
2. Launch
3. Affiliate recruitment
4. Creative development
5. Affiliate program management
Pre-Launch
Before launching a program, your site and products are presented to some professional affiliates to get their input and feedback on how well your product will do, what needs to be changed on the site, and what, if anything, they would like to see from you in terms of support tools and affiliate based features.
This may involve:
+ Conducting competitive analysis
+ Review of your products
+ Network competitor insights
+ Key target partner review and
+ Initial recruiting and commission structure recommendations
Launching
+ Initial recruiting and commission structure recommendations
+ Affiliate communication strategy
+ Development of affiliate content
+ Completion of "Pre-launch" checklist provided by Affiliate Network.
This will usually include:
-Welcome page
-What's new section
-Support forum links
-Points of contact
-Recommended product links
-FAQs
-Best sellers lists
-Partner bonus section
-Content usage FAQs
Affiliate recruiting and management
+ Strategic affiliate recruitment
+ Manual affiliate application approval.
+ Nominating an affiliate manager
+ Affiliate communications
+ New affiliate welcome and 'getting started' suggestions
+ Ongoing Affiliate account management
+ Daily affiliate support
+ Handle affiliate's technical and program related questions
+ Affiliate segmentation;
+ Campaign development;
+ Incentives;
+ Contests;
+ Payment management
Here are some options for starting an affiliate program
iDevAffiliate.com: Affiliate Software.
Here's their description: "Adding affiliate tracking software to your site is one of the most effective ways to achieve more sales, more traffic and more search engine ranking! Our affiliate software installs in just minutes and through the use of Smarty Templates, easily integrates into your existing website."
Clixgalore.com.au: for Australian website owners.
Here's their description: "Easily build your own Affiliate Marketing program and drive buying customers to your website, boosting your sales, leads and website traffic by promoting and using your own large 'pay for performance' Affiliate Marketing sales team. This sales team will widely promote your websites products and services. Affiliate Marketing and Affiliate networks are very effective website promotion strategies. Their strategic use can significantly boost your sales results, product branding and website traffic. Join the clixGalore Affiliate Marketing network and easily build your own 'sale - CPA', 'lead - CPL', or 'click - CPC' based Affiliate program. clixGalore works seamlessly with 99% of all shopping carts and stores."
CommissionMonster.com.au: for Australian website owners.
Here's their description: Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing and sales solution offering internet marketing services to advertisers, publishers and agencies. All Commission Monster clients relationships operate on a pay-for-performance basis....
About the Author: Visit Page One Rankings to learn more about Australian seo services, internet marketing in Australia and outsourcing in Australia.
More articles by konsort
Print Article | Download PDF | 33 views | Apr 24 2008
|
|
