Affiliate Marketing is one of the many ways you can monetize your blog to earn money. Although a little bit similar to other advertising options, Affiliate advertisement has a world of its own. It requires a whole new and different marketing approach. And it has a huge potential, if realized correctly. Affiliate ads can earn a lot more for you than normal ads. But it takes a lot of hard work and precision. Before you consider affiliate marketing, however, the first thing you need to think about is choosing a proper affiliate program. If you get this step right, the ‘precision’ part of your campaign is well underway. Here are some tips that can guide you through the process of choosing the perfect affiliate program.
Terms of agreement
Before signing up for an affiliate
program, you need to take a close look at the agreement conditions and
terms of services. You need to make sure that the agreement isn’t
against your interest. Any questionable clause, and I might drop the
program altogether. For example, if the payment threshold is high, say
more than $50, or if payments are not monthly, or if the program can be
terminated at any time by the merchant, then I would not join that
program.
Commission rates
Next, you should decide whether it is
worth the effort. It isn’t always about the commission rate. People
think the more the better. But that’s not always true. For example, if a
program gives you a 75% commission, but the products are worth $5 or
so, then there is no use pursuing that program. If, on the other hand,
the commission is 25%, but the products o for $100 or so, then you have
yourself a good deal. This depends on the potential customers as well.
If there are around 100 customers per month for the $5 product, but only
a couple for the $100 one, then the former is worth more. It is all
about calculating worth.
Assess the market
Before jumping onto an affiliate program,
consider what products are you gonna promote, and what is their market
worth. Run a Google search and find out whether people are looking for
such stuff or not. For example, you know cell phone accessories have a
large market, since almost everyone these days has a cell phone. SO
selling such accessories can be worthwhile. But things like gardening
tools don’t have much of a kick. For all that it’s worth, you might get
just a couple hits per month. So it might pay off to access the
product’s market before choosing a program.
Product range
An affiliate program that has a good
range of products to sell might be beneficial in the long run. You can’t
just stick to one product. As your blog grows, so does your outreach.
You might need to promote more products. SO choosing a large affiliate
program such as Amazon can pay off.
Context
The concept of targeted marketing applies
here. It means promoting products to people who are actually interested
in them. The products that you want to promote should relate strongly
to the topic you are writing about. So before picking an affiliate
program, ask yourself this. What is my audience? What do people come to
my blog for? And what kind of products (if any) they might be interested
in? In my above cooking example, my audience are people who are looking
for tips on how to cook, or how to cook better. Now if appliances make
the process easier, they might want to buy that appliance, which is why I
would most probably put up an affiliate link over there. See my point?
You must endorse the products
Before signing up for an affiliate
program, take a good look at the product or service you’ll be endorsing.
This is a very important step. You really need to be motivated enough
yourself so that others will follow your example. Believe in the
product. That’s how you can convince others. For example if you are
writing about cooking, then you might say something like “this product
is really the best for the job, as it is sturdy, reliable, and easy to
use.” This will show that you know what you are talking about, and you
genuinely believe in the product.
Quality
Your next concern should be quality. The
type of products you promote says a lot about yourself. The products you
are going to sell should be good quality. And so should the sites you
link to. Legitimate and quality programs and products are the key to
your success, since people always look for legitimacy and authenticity.
Management
After a program passes those preliminary
tests, you should look for information about the program’s management.
First, send an email to the program’s contact person to check their
response time. The maximum tolerable delay is 24 hours, Also, feel free
to contact the affiliate manager. An unresponsive or unhelpful affiliate
manager is not a good sign. For any company, relations with its
affiliate partners is important. Which is why you need to communicate
with the manager or contact person frequently. It won’t help if they are
unresponsive. And if affiliate partners are dealt with by their
customer relations department, then it’s really not advisable to join
such a program.
Viewership
Another factor that goes into choosing an
affiliate program is the demographics of your audience. More
specifically, their locality. Not all programs ship products to all
countries, not even Amazon. If a product is not available to your
audience in a particular country, then that’s just your efforts down the
drain.
References
Finally, you should ask the program
manager to supply you with the contact information of a few of their top
affiliates – which they should be happy to do. Ask your fellow
affiliates what their experience has been with the merchant in question.
Using these guidelines each and every time I choose an affiliate
program has enabled me to be successful and rarely surprised. In
addition, the major affiliate networks, LinkShare, Be Free, and
Commission Junction are finally taking steps to help affiliates to
understand the merchants they are working with. There are now mechanisms
in place that allow affiliates to easily pick programs that carry less
risk.
These were my best tips on how to choose a
good affiliate program for your blog. If you have any other great tips,
then you’re more than welcome to share them with us. Cheers :)
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