4) PRESS RELEASES

If your affiliate program is new, unique, or especially profitable, a press release sent to right audience can really give you a boost. A well-written press release just placed on your web site can give your program a "newsy" feel that might really impress people.

5) WORD OF MOUTH

I can't say enough about word-of-mouth advertising. If you're excited about your affiliate program, talk about it. Tell your friends, your family, your co-workers, and people on bus all about how you're making money. People who know you are more likely to take you on your word, and if they tell their friends and family... you get picture.

Promoting your affiliate program really isn't very hard, and it can make difference between success and failure. Use these methods, and you're likely to go far.

If you want to truly manage your affiliate program to best of your abilities, you've got to do it yourself. By using an affiliate management software system, you can keep total control of your program, and keep all your commissions. You can decide how often to get in touch with your affiliates and make it personal rather than relying on group e-mail. Your affiliates will be impressed, and may even work harder for you. And as for recruiting, you're far better off working on your own. The network programs that offer to sell your program to potential affiliates do that for ALL their customers, so people who are being notified about your program are also being notified about countless others. You may get lost in shuffle.

So make a little time and take a little initiative. With just a little extra work, you can run your own affiliate program without sacrificing your personal involvement and your commissions to a network. Running your own program may seem intimidating now, but once you get hang of it you'll be glad you did.