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Written by
George Anagnos.
Some time ago,
I designed and managed two of Britain's biggest affiliate sites -- each
was for a big university. The timing seemed to coincide with the rise in
popularity of affiliate programs among established merchants. But, as always,
there's much more involved than meets the eye when you plan a successful
affiliate program.
First and
foremost, you must find your niche market. For example, say your site is
about bonsai trees. Before you build it, you must do some research to figure
out how many kinds of bonsai trees exist, what their origin is, and how
to care for these trees. Next, you must decide how to organize all your
research into a compellingly-designed Website with original content (posting
new content at least monthly). Also, make sure you attract qualified visitors
who are interested in bonsai trees. Only after you've done all these things
can you start to take the affiliate game seriously.
To
do so successfully, it helps to follow what I call the Ten Affiliate Commandments:
1.
Thou shalt not try to sell everything to everyone.
Even
the most successful companies can't sell everything to everyone (although
Virgin came dangerously close). First, qualify your visitors, then sell
them something they really want, like books on bonsai trees or a miniature
set of gardening tools. Japanese DVDs, videos, or domain names would not
be suitable products to include for sale on your site.
2.
Thou shalt not rely on the merchant's tracking mechanisms.
When
you deal with merchants directly, rather than on a pay-per-sale basis, you
should always use a redirect script. A redirect script logs every click-through
from every banner or text link from your Website to a merchant's site. After
it counts the monthly click-throughs, you can compare the script's figures
with those of the merchant's. Don't be surprised to see that the merchant's
so-called "accurate" tracking mechanism has recorded only half of your visitors.
But if the number of monthly click-throughs falls short of your script's
figure by only 2 to 5 percent, it may be a result of incomplete click-throughs
or visitors who don't accept cookies. That's perfectly natural.
3.
Thou shalt not publish erroneous links.
Whatever
you do, triple-check all the links to all your merchants. Make sure that
the periods and commas are exactly where there should be; otherwise, you'll
kick yourself later for having posted a bad link that didn't pay you (especially
if that one erroneous link repeats across all of your site's pages).
4.
Thou shalt not be tempted by big fees.
If
you have one affiliate with a well-known brand, like Amazon.com, that gives
you a 15 percent fee, and another affiliate with a no-name brand that gives
you a 30 percent fee, my advice is to go with Amazon. Your visitor knows
Amazon to be a reputable seller of books and feels at ease when they buy
from Amazon. However, your visitor might not feel as comfortable buying
from NoNameBookshopAroundTheCorner.com. Chances are that users will click
through, but they won't buy, because they're demotivated by the lack of
a strong brand.
If and when you reach an acceptable level of income (like there is such
a thing!), you can risk the switch to a lesser-known seller. If you don't
see results, you can always switch back to the established brand.
5.
Thou shalt not deal with merchants who don't pay for returning customers.
The
policy of some affiliates is to pay you only if the customers you've referred
to them are new ones (they verify customers by checking their email addresses).
So, whatever you do, don't sign an affiliate agreement that doesn't pay
you for returning customers.
6.
Thou shalt seek to deal with merchants who pay you for life.
It's
rare, but there are merchants who will pay you for life, which means that
if your visitor makes his or her first purchase through your site, then
every time he or she goes back to purchase something, you get paid a commission
regardless of whether he or she revisited your site or not.
7.
Thou shalt link to products but get paid for other purchases, too.
Links
to specific products have triple the click-through rate of links to a Website's
home page -- which could potentially mean triple profits for you. For example,
if you link to a specific book rather than to the bookstore, many affiliate
programs will pay you more (sometimes triple) for linking to a specific
product rather than their home page or a category of products.
However,
if your visitor clicks through to the affiliate's Website but then buys
another item, you won't be paid a commission. Or, if your visitor first
buys the item you link to, and then buys another one, you receive a commission
only for the first item he or she purchased. Try to ensure that you're paid
for as many of the purchases that eventuate through your referrals as possible.
8.
Thou shalt not expect to be paid for extras.
When
you calculate your commission, don't include extra costs, such as delivery
charges, wrapping paper, or tax.
9.
Thou shalt not be fooled by higher rates.
If
a merchant offers commissions that differ in accordance with the number
of sales you generate, don't be fooled by the high rates you'll receive
if you sales reach, say, $1,000 per month. Only superaffiliates hit those
marks, and your chances of being one, especially as a novice, are slim to
none.
10.
Thou shalt not think of your visitors as suckers.
Remember,
your visitors are not stupid. So don't sell hard -- you'll simply come across
as an annoying salesperson and lose the sale. Instead, detail the product(s)
or service(s) you offer in language that visitors can understand. Show them
how your product(s) or service(s) can help satisfy their specific needs.
Follow
these guidelines for a successful affiliate program, and good luck!
George
Anagnos is a recent victim of the dot-com downturn in Britain. He lost his
marketing job and is currently is pursuit of a new career. Any takers or
simply curious people should visit his website at www.GeorgeIsYourMan.com
.
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