What's
quickest way to increase your website sales and extend your reach on Internet all at same time? If you said with your own associate program, you would be correct. An associate (or affiliate program as they are some- times called) allows others to to sell your products/ services and receive a commission on each and every sale or click. Just think of having a sales force that can grow as big as you'd like... and you only pay them when and if they bring you a paying customer. Make no mistake, affiliate programs are powerful tools that can rapidly improve your online sales.Associate programs can be set up in a variety of ways ranging inexpensive to pricey, depending on route you wish to take. The important thing is to pick one that suits your needs and your budget.
First things first: What are your options for setting up your own program? Glad you asked....some people "pay per click," crediting their associates a certain amount every time someone clicks through on their affiliate banners or links. But I prefer "pay per sale," which means that you only pay out when someone clicks through and actually makes a purchase. In this way you're not just paying for traffic but for actual results, which is sale.
You basically have two options for setting up your own program: Purchase software or use a third party service. The nice thing about a third party service is they manage all accounting issues, including click-tracking and sending your associates their commission checks, too. This takes a large load off of you so you can spend your time doing more productive tasks... but this luxury doesn't come cheap. Let's examine some of your options:
3rd Party Associate Services:
1) Clicktrade.com: http://www.ClickTrade.com
Outsource your affiliate program to ClickTrade and they'll take care of everything from tracking to paying your affiliates. Your program can be set up on a pay per lead or pay per sales basis, they do charge 30% for all of their hard work and a $500.00 initial deposit.
2) Clickbank.com: http://www.ClickBank.com
Anyone who sells information products online can easily set up an affiliate program with Clickbank. Each of your affiliates will need to have a Clickbank account (which is free) so they can be set up with a special link for tracking their sales. They accept payment for you by credit card and you'll be charged a percentage of each sale. Simple and easy. Clickbank accounts cost 49.95 for you to accept credit cards through them then 1.00 plus 7.5% of each sale made.
