5 Simple Rules To Finding A Good Affiliate Program

By Gail Trahd

Finding an affiliate program may be difficult depending upon your definition of what 'good' really is. As an affiliate you’ll be interested in the product and how it fits into your current business model or if you are going to develop a specific plan for one product. Does the product owner offer support in the way of banners, text links, statistics, tracking, or sample emails and content? A good affiliate program will offer all of those things and more.

There are a few simple rules to finding a reputable program that pays well and fits the needs of your business. Many new affiliates find they fail because after signing up for a program and posting the links they find the links can't be tracked or worse, the affiliate isn’t paid. It's easy to become discouraged after all that work and no pay-day.

The first rule is to use referrals and recommendations. Those recommendations may come for the individual business owner or the program itself. For instance, the industry standard for digital products has been ClickBank. They keep a strict watch on their reputation, pay well, and account for charge backs.

If, instead, you are working with an individual business owner get your referrals from other marketers. Make sure you know the reputation of the business, ability to pay on time and the ability to track sales.

Use the search engines to get information on the program or use affiliate marketing forums. You can search forums by using this search string "YourKeywordQuestion site: affiliatemarketingforum.com" without the quotations. This string will search most forums and sites that are public. Even forums that require a login to post can be searched.

Now that you know who is reputable be sure you are working for money that is worth the effort. Look at the program payout and commission structure. The percentage of commission isn't always the best way to judge a product. You may expect a 30% commission on a physical product over $300.00 and a 50% commission on a digital product with little overhead. You’ll have to be the judge about what you can sell, what makes sense to your audience and whether you want to sell high priced items or mid-range items.

Before choosing an affiliate program you want to know what their conversion rates and return rates are. Affiliate programs for products that have been around for more than a couple of months should be able to tell you what their rates have been for targeted and non-targeted traffic. What the click through rates are on ads, ezine sign-ups, purchases and returns are all numbers that should be interesting and help you to make your decision.

But, more important than anything else is the product. If the product is junk then no matter how good the conversions or even return rates, you are associating yourself with a product that isn't quality. Like in any other business our reputation can't be faked and can mean the difference between profit and debt. Just above you were checking the reputation of the business for ability to pay commissions – your customers will be checking you out as well.

If you have the opportunity to purchase the product and watch their sales and follow up process do so. You can also write to the owner and ask for the chance to review the product that you want to promote. If the business is new they may find your proposal enticing.

Another consideration when you are choosing an affiliate program is the education and support they offer. If you are new to affiliate marketing you may want all of the help you can get.

So now you know what to look for - where do you look? If it's digital start at ClickBank and see what's selling. If it's a physical product, such as vitamins, check out Commission Junction or LinkShare - both with great reputation. If you don't find what you are looking for try this search string "YourKeyword" "Affiliate Program" - keep the quotes and change the "YourKeyword" with your keyword.

Use these techniques to find the affiliate programs that are a great match for your business.

Gail Trahd writes about affiliate marketing, blogging, content development and product creation at her blog Visit and claim your Free Special Report!

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