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- Jul 26, 2007
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So I just spent the good part of the morning researching various affiliate programs as well as rereading the search results for affiliate programs on this site. Here's some pointers for everyone else that's (like me) just getting going with the wonderful world of affiliate marketing. I hope this info saves you some time.
1. If you want to know what other industries are offering as far as commission, if you are planning on starting your own affiliate program (also called an advertiser) is to join an affiliate program as a publisher/affiliate (it's free). You can do this by going to: www.cj.com (commission junction). There are other sites you can go to as well, this one seemed to be the first user-friendly one I came across. This info is seriously fascinating. (Another interesting thing I just realized is that a daily newsletter that I had signed up for promote a "cool site of the day". I just realized (duh) that she is either paid by the advertisers to promote them or she is an affiliate for them.
2. The commission junction people recommended that we wait about 3-6 months after our site is up and running before we lock into an affiliate program with them, as there is a 12 month contract, which would be pointless if our site isn't fully optimized.
3. The great thing about affiliate "hub" type sites like CJ is that they handle the tracking and payouts- oh, and the ads (if you are an affiliate) are premade. (This is probably assumed by most people, but I didn't know it!)
4. Shareasale.com is a good site to start out with as it is significantly more affordable than CJ. (CJ has a $3k set up fee, 12 month contract, a per transaction fee of 30% which must total at least $500/month.) ...Granted, they may have a lot more affiliates that go thru them, so it may be worth the extra money- but I know for us starting out, we are going to focus on optimization and building a community first.
Oh, and here's a great site that gives a good rundown on the basics: http://www.associateprograms.com/articles/175/1/How-to-start-an-affiliate-program
Anyone have any more tips?
1. If you want to know what other industries are offering as far as commission, if you are planning on starting your own affiliate program (also called an advertiser) is to join an affiliate program as a publisher/affiliate (it's free). You can do this by going to: www.cj.com (commission junction). There are other sites you can go to as well, this one seemed to be the first user-friendly one I came across. This info is seriously fascinating. (Another interesting thing I just realized is that a daily newsletter that I had signed up for promote a "cool site of the day". I just realized (duh) that she is either paid by the advertisers to promote them or she is an affiliate for them.
2. The commission junction people recommended that we wait about 3-6 months after our site is up and running before we lock into an affiliate program with them, as there is a 12 month contract, which would be pointless if our site isn't fully optimized.
3. The great thing about affiliate "hub" type sites like CJ is that they handle the tracking and payouts- oh, and the ads (if you are an affiliate) are premade. (This is probably assumed by most people, but I didn't know it!)
4. Shareasale.com is a good site to start out with as it is significantly more affordable than CJ. (CJ has a $3k set up fee, 12 month contract, a per transaction fee of 30% which must total at least $500/month.) ...Granted, they may have a lot more affiliates that go thru them, so it may be worth the extra money- but I know for us starting out, we are going to focus on optimization and building a community first.
Oh, and here's a great site that gives a good rundown on the basics: http://www.associateprograms.com/articles/175/1/How-to-start-an-affiliate-program
Anyone have any more tips?
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