Being an affiliate or a partner to promote an
online program can be as easy as a 1-2-3. You fill up a form and a second later,
an affiliate code is generated and you are ready to go. But, not all affiliate
programs are the same. Therefore, you have to ask questions first before you
join any program. Do a little research about the choices of program that you
intend to join into. Get some answers because they will be the deciding point of
what you will be achieving later on.
Here are some of the questions you can ask
yourself.
1. Will it cost you anything to
join?
Most affiliate programs being offered today are
absolutely free of charge. Others might require you to be a paid member to
participate. However, the best affiliates are the ones who know the product well
and the only way to know if the product is any good is to buy it.
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2. When do they issue the
commission checks?
Every program is different. Some issue their
checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your
payment time choice. Many affiliate programs are setting a minimum earned
commission amount that an affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their
checks to be issued.
3. What is the hit per sale
ratio?
This is the average number of hits to a banner
or text link it takes to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This
factor is extremely important because this will tell you how much traffic you
must generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.
4. How are referrals from an
affiliate's site tracked and for how long do they remain in the system?
You need to be confident on the program enough
to track those people you refer from your site. This is the only way that you
can get credit for a sale. The period of time that those people stay in the
system is also important. This is because some visitors do not buy initially but
may want to return later to make the purchase. Know if you will still get credit
for the sale if it is done some months from a certain day.
5. What are the kinds of
affiliate stats available?
Your choice of affiliate program should be
capable of offering detailed stats. They should be available online anytime you
decide to check them out. Constantly checking your individual stats is important
to know how many impressions, hits and sales are already generated from your
site. Impressions are the number of times the banner or text link was viewed by
a visitor of your site. A hit is the one clicking on the banner or text links.
6. Does the affiliate program
also pay for the hits and impressions besides the commissions on sales?
It is important that impressions and hits are
also paid, as this will add to the earnings you get from the sales commission.
This is especially important if the program you are in offers low sales to be
able to hit ratio.
7. Who is the online retailer?
Find out whom you are doing business with to
know if it is really a solid company. Know the products they are selling and the
average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer offering
you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that program
is really for you and your site.
8. Is the affiliate a one tier
or two tier program?
A single tier program pays you only for the
business you yourself have generated. A two tier program pays you for the
business, plus it also pays you a commission on the sales generated by any
affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs are even paying
small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More like a recruitment fee. And,
if you are interested in a multi-tier program, you might want to consider an
internet MLM program.
9. Lastly, what is the amount of
commission paid?
5% - 20% is the commission paid by most
programs. .01% - .05% is the amount paid for each hit. If you find a program
that also pays for impressions, the amount paid is not much at all. As you can
see from the figures, you will now understand why the average sales amount and
hit to sale ratio is important.
These are just some of the questions that needed
answering first before you enter into an affiliate program. You should be
familiar with the many important aspects that your chosen program should have
before incorporating them into your website. Try to ask your affiliate program
choices these questions. These can help you select the right program for you
site from among the many available.
ori:biztip web.
