Turn Your Customers Into a Sales Force For Your Product or Service

Written by Ron Sathoff and Kevin Nunley


Continued from page 1

Commissions can be based on a percentage ofrepparttar purchase, a set dollar amount, or a small fee for each person who clicks through to visit your site. Most often, firms offer a percentage of sale averaging around 20 percent. Kevin offers commissions up to $75 per sale at http://drnunley.com/affiliates.htm

Training Your Sales Force A lot of web sites started big affiliate programs only to shut them down a few years later. Customers don't automatically get behind your affiliate program. Like any sales force, they need training and constant encouragement.

Your affiliates will need clear instructions on how to set up their affiliate links. Usually you can adapt these fromrepparttar 102599 instructions you get from your affiliate system provider.

Show affiliates how to promote their site and your links. The most effective way to make sales is for affiliates to include their link atrepparttar 102600 bottom of all their email messages. Show members how to create a signature file in their email program.

Also take care to explainrepparttar 102601 difference between sending mail to someone you know and spamming strangers. More than a few affiliate programs have been derailed by members who spammed without understanding what they were doing wrong.

Develop Your Marketing Materials Affiliate members will need a series of marketing materials from you. Have a professional writer create several sales letters members can use in autoresponders. Provide an email letter members can send when they are asked for more information. Also give members a page of web copy to put on their sites.

Make your customer sales force a priority. Plan your strategy, then work your plan consistently. Create a newsletter and publicly congratulate members who make sales. Share member success stories that could motivate other members to higher sales. Roll out new products, services, or improvements from time to time. They will give your members exciting new things to sell and keep your affiliates energized.

Ron Sathoff and Kevin Nunley provide affordable writing. See their low-cost sales letters and web copy at http://InternetWriters.com Reach them at mailto:service@InternetWriters.com or 801-328-9006.


Affiliate Programs - Points To Consider

Written by Todd W. Winslow


Continued from page 1

* What isrepparttar hit per sale ratio? (The average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale - based on all affiliate statistics.) This is extremely important, as this number will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can expect to earn a commission from a sale.

* How are referrals from an affiliate's site tracked, and for how long do they remain inrepparttar 102598 system? You need to be confident inrepparttar 102599 program's ability to track those people your refer from your site. This isrepparttar 102600 only way you'll get credit for a sale. Additionally, how long those people stay inrepparttar 102601 system is also important, asrepparttar 102602 visitor may not buy initially, but may return later to make a purchase. Will you still get credit forrepparttar 102603 sale six months from now?

* What kind of affiliate stats are available? Doesrepparttar 102604 program offer detailed stats? Are these online and available in real time? It's important to be able to see your individual stats, so you know how many impressions, hits and sales you have generated from your site. (Impressions arerepparttar 102605 number of times repparttar 102606 program's banner or text link was viewed by a visitor to your site. A hit is simply someone clicking on a banner or text link - takingrepparttar 102607 visitor from your site torepparttar 102608 program site.)

* Doesrepparttar 102609 program pay just commissions on sales, or do they also pay for hits and/or impressions? Getting paid for impressions and/or hits, in addition to commissions on sales, is important. This is especially true if repparttar 102610 program has a low sales to hit ratio.

* Who isrepparttar 102611 online retailer? Find out who you are doing business with. Is this a solid company? How do they fill orders? What types of payments do they accept? How long have they been in business? What are their return policies and how do these affect you? What products do they sell and what is their average sale amount? The more you know aboutrepparttar 102612 retailer offeringrepparttar 102613 affiliate program,repparttar 102614 easier it will be for you to determine if this isrepparttar 102615 program for you and your site.

* Is this a one or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for repparttar 102616 business you personally generate. A two tier program pays you for your business, plus it pays you a commission onrepparttar 102617 sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor into their program. Some two tier programs will also pay you a small fee on each new affiliate you sponsor - a recruitment fee.

* Finally, what isrepparttar 102618 amount of commission paid? (And fee for impressions/hits - if available.) 5% - 20% is common for commissions paid on sales. $.01 - $.05 is common forrepparttar 102619 amount paid for each hit (click through). If you find a program that also pays for impressions, don't expect repparttar 102620 amount paid to be much at all. From these numbers you can see thatrepparttar 102621 program's average sale amount and hit to sale ratio are extremely important. This is especially true if yours is a low traffic site to begin with.

These are just a few ofrepparttar 102622 main aspects of affiliate programs which you should be familiar with if you plan to incorporate any such program into your web site. I hope this providesrepparttar 102623 reader with additional insight and helps them in selectingrepparttar 102624 right program for their site.

Todd W. Winslow is the co-owner of TADD Marketing Group, L.L.C. He is also the founder of TADD Publishing Group which publishes a variety of e-mail newsletters http://www.taddgroup.com, and is co-creator of The Mystic Beagle - a romance and relationship advice web site http://www.mysticbeagle.com


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