Leveraging The Efforts of Others: Affiliate Programs

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 26th, 2010

What if you could exceed your sales goals for a given month? Or a year? What if you could double, or treble...or quadruple...or more of your sales goals for a specific month? Impossible, you say?

Well, there is a way: The Way of The Affiliate. The possibility for potential growth through affiliates is virtually unlimited. The more affiliates you have in your program, the more money you can make. If Ray Croc had tried to run each and every McDonald's restaurant himself, he would not have been very successful. For maximum growth, you need others. Consider Avon Cosmetics: its phenomenal success is based on two things - a great product, and an excellent affiliate program.

To Attract Affiliates: Make it worth their time

* Offer a high commission per sale:
The higher the commission, the more affiliates will join your team/business/program.

* Provide the tools required to successfully market your program:
Example: articles, banner aids, and whatever else might make the program easier for the affiliates to operate and help increase sales.

* Provide updated information:
Newsletters, new promotional campaigns or other methods to inform and motivate your affiliates.

Choice of Affiliate Program

* One-Tier Affiliate Program:
Pays on one level and generally offers a larger commission. The affiliate receives a pre-determined amount per sale.

* Two-Tier Affiliate Program:
Affiliates are paid on two different levels in that they can recruit others to sell under them in the program. The Recruiting Affiliate receives a slightly larger commission than the Recruit/Second-Level Affiliate. For example, if the First Level/Recruiting Affiliate normally earns 20% of the sale, then she/he in the Two-Tier Program would make 15%, giving the Recruit/Second-Level Affiliate the difference of 5%.

Setting up the Affiliate Program

* Do it yourself through an Affiliate Tracking Software.
This software provides a method to track affiliate sales. It also allows affiliates to view their progress. There is, however, a disadvantage to this option: you are responsible for making the payments.

* Hire an Affiliate Tracking Company to do all the work for you.
This is a more sophisticated option as they use credit cards, which is important for internet sales. Such companies completely run the affiliate program from billing your customers, paying your affiliates, and paying you. This is a good option to use if you are a beginning business owner or are a busy person. It is a totally affordable option as most of such companies only charge a small one-time fee.

Whichever way you decide to run your affiliate program, it is sure to increase profits for your business.