How to Evaluate an Affiliate ProgramWritten by Sanjay Johari
There are thousands of affiliate programs offering wide range of benefits to their affiliates. However, many of these programs and claims they make are not to be trusted. Good affiliate programs provide tremendous earning opportunities, but they need to be evaluated to distinguish them from doubtful ones. There are several factors to consider before someone decides to join any affiliate program. Products: Organizations which operate affiliate programs generally have some products to sell. These products can be in form of physical products, e-products or services. It is important to ascertain that organization has some products to sell and that it recruits affiliates to help them in running their business. One should be very careful with any organization that has recruitment of affiliates as their main business. It is best to avoid such organizations because their affiliate structure is like a house of cards which can crumble at slightest impact. The organizations which have products to sell and market them thru affiliate programs cut down on cost of advertising and distribution. This amounts to considerable savings which they share with their affiliates. If a new affiliate is already familiar with products, this can be helpful but this is not a necessary pre-condition to join affiliate program. New affiliates can learn about products quite fast. Organization's Track Record : It is not difficult to find out about organization before joining it affiliate program. Search engines are one of sources which can be used for this purpose. Verifying testimonials presented by organization is another source of information. The organization should have proven track record of operating their programs for several years successfully. If organization is new or just starting, person starting program should be well known with good credibility. This is precaution against joining organizations which promise get-rich-quick scheme and then disappear. Support Availble to Affiliates : Most of new affiliates joining any affiliate program are new to field of marketing on internet. They need guidance and support for promoting their business and earning money for themselves. It is in interest of organization to help their affiliates to succeed. These organizations are in their business for considerable longer time than affiliates, are more knowledgeable about their market and about ways of promoting their products. They are in best position to provide their affiliates with proper guidance. Many organizations have excellent support system by way of trainings, tutorials, articles, books, marketing plans, marketing tools, forums just to name a few. These are generally available from websites accessible to affiliates. Apart form promotional material and information available from website, personal guidance can be vital. A new affiliate may not be familiar with all resources available and will look for mentoring at least in initial stages. It should be remembered by affiliate that her success will add to success of organization, organization is obliged to help her.
| | Promoting Affiliate Programs through Personal RecommendationsWritten by Stephen Kelly
Publishing articles online is a highly effective way to increase affiliate revenue. In current marketing environment, it is increasingly important to differentiate yourself. Consumers have become savvier and are increasingly suspicious of pure shopping websites that send them to another site to complete product purchase. Furthermore, you may capture a consumer’s purchase once, but they are not likely to return to your site. Instead, they will simply return to retailer you referred them to complete a purchase.One, highly effective, way to attract new visitors and motivate them to return to your site later is to publish articles related to product you are trying to promote. For example, if you are trying to promote a new portable MP3 player, you might publish a product review online and include your affiliate links in article. These product reviews add value to your website and can dramatically increase consumer confidence in your site. In addition, if you carefully craft your article, you can include targeted keywords which may help you achieve a higher rank in search engines. If your review is useful, users may even link to it from their personal blog, which may also increase your search engine page rank. You may be thinking, "I am not a writer, so this strategy will not work for me." However, if you choose affiliate programs carefully and focus your energy on products that you have a genuine interest in it becomes much easier. There are a couple of easy things you can do to increase your affiliate revenue and make your affiliate marketing strategy easier. Write articles that give more than a recommendation. You should talk directly to consumer about how this product has impacted your life. Speak directly about your experiences with a product, tell a story about using it, ask questions that make consumer think about how their life would be improved by owning product. By writing a product review, consumers will be less likely to be suspicious when you refer them to another site. In consumers mind, you are simply reviewing product, but are not involved in selling it directly. If your audience begins to trust your recommendations, you will find that you can sell products to them over and over again.
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