Which Affiliate Program To Choose From? 9 Answers You Must Have…
Before you join any affiliate program, you need to do some research and get some answers. Always ask these questions first.
1. How much does it cost to join the affiliate program?
Most affiliate programs being offered today are absolutely free of charge. So why join those that charge you a fee before joining. There are however, some affiliate programs for customers only. That is, you can become an affiliate only after purchasing the product.
2. When can you receive your commission checks?
Every program is different. Some issue their checks bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly, etc. Choose the one that is most suited to your payment time choice. Also take note that many affiliate programs do require a minimum earned commission amount before they issue the commission checks.
3. What is the hit per sale ratio?
This is the average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is extremely important because this will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.
4. How are your affiliate link tracked and for how long do they remain in the system?
You need to be sure that you get credit for people that you refer from your site. This is the only way that you can get paid. The period of time that those people stay in the system is also important. This is because some visitors do not buy initially but may want to return later to make the purchase. You must know if you will still get credit for the sale if it is done some months from a certain day. That is, find out how long the cookie is tracked.
5. What are the kinds of affiliate stats available?
A good affiliate program to choose should offer detailed stats. They should be available online anytime you decide to check them out. Constantly checking your individual stats is important to know how many impressions, hits and sales are already generated from your site. Impressions are the number of times the banner or text link was viewed by a visitor of your site. A hit is the one clicking on the banner or text links.
6. Find out also if the affiliate program also pays for the hits and impressions besides the commissions on sales?
It is important that impressions and hits are also paid, as this will add to the earnings you get from the sales commission. This is especially important if the program you are in offers low sales to be able to hit ratio.
7. Find out who the online retailer is?
Find out whom you are doing business with to know if it is really a solid company. Do a check or google the retailer. You don’t want to be promoting scams. Find out the features and benefits of the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that program is really for you and your site.
8. Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program?
A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have generated. A two tier program pays you for the business, plus it also pays you a commission on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs are even paying small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More like a recruitment fee.
9. What is the amount of commission paid?
5% - 20% is the commission paid by most programs. 0.01% - 0.05% is the amount paid for each hit. If you find a program that also pays for impressions, the amount paid is not much at all. As you can see from the figures, you will now understand why the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio is important.
These are very important questions that need you to have answers first before you enter into an affiliate program. You should be familiar with the many important aspects that your chosen program should have before incorporating them into your website. If you cannot find these answers in the website, email their sales or support to get answers. This will also allow you to find out if their customer service is prompt or satisfactory. These can help you select the right program for you site from among the many available.
Go do it. You do not even need a website. I’ll elaborate further in later posts.
