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Is That Affiliate Program For You?

By Vickie J. Scanlon


Affiliate Programs is another avenue in which to make money on your site or blog. The only thing that you need to be concerned about is if the affiliate program matches or blends with your niche and that it is legitimate. What are the typical things that you should consider when committing to an affiliate program-be it a stand alone affiliate program or an affiliate program offered through an Affiliate Brokerage Firm like Commission Junction or Clickbank?

Surprising there is some difference and similarities when choosing a stand alone or an affiliate program offered through an affiliate brokerage firm. Let's begin first with the stand alone affiliate program.


Stand Alone Affiliate Programs

A stand alone affiliate program is a program that is offered solely through a company, without the assistance or an affiliate brokerage firm. Thus, it is in the company's sole discretion on how and when you will be paid, as well as, the rules you must abide by to stay within their eligibility rules. 


When Will You Be Paid

With any program, it's always important to know when you will be paid, and how you will be paid. Right.

This is when it is important to read the fine print. And let me be clear, it's not always on the affiliate program detail page, where they try to encourage you to join their program. Many times you have to sign up to find the important details.

Once accepted to the program, it wise to look at the details before putting any links or banners on your site. What details you say?  First and foremost, how many sells you have to make or  the financial threshold you need to reach before being paid. (If you're a new site, you're not going to have a lot of visitors right away, and that means the money is going to be staying with the company for a while.) Second, how you are going to be paid-check, paypal, etc.


Checking out the Company

It's also wise to check out the company. You don't want to advertise for a company that may be, well, not honest. Here are some items to check before advertising on your site:

1. Make sure that they have contact information.

Contact information is important. If they have an email, or phone in which they can be contacted, you might want to give them a call or send them an email to see if there is someone at the other end that will respond to you.

If no one answers the phone or  your email is returned as undeliverable, or goes unanswered, it's time for the red flags to begin flying.


2. A lot of chargebacks?

If you receive a lot of chargebacks, you better take a closer look at the program. Which means, you better get online and start finding out what is going on with the company. In any event, I would say it may be time to let the program go. Why? They may be having a problem with honoring the customers' orders, etc.


3. Your affiliate checks bounce?

Your affiliate checks bounce. This is an ugly one, and can happen. You'll lose twice, you'll be charged for the bad check that bounced and you'll be out the money. It's time to remove the affiliate program.

Many stand-alone programs are honorable, but not all. So it is wise to do your research, to see what the consumer is saying. Trust me, the people on the Internet will give you a strong indication of what is going on.


Affiliate Brokerage Firms

Affiliate brokerage firms give you some protection, which is important, if you want to be paid. So let's take a closer look at things that can transpire.


1. Again, affiliate brokerage firms gives you an element of protection against the affiliate program. For example: If they don't get paid, they will ask the affiliate program for the funds. 
And/or they will deactivate the links until payment has been rendered to the affiliate brokerage firm. But will you get paid? In most cases, Yes. However, you also have to realize that
the links on your site are not active. Sometimes the affiliate brokerage firm will notify you of the deactivation, sometimes not. So, it's always wise to click on a link of your programs, now and again, just to make sure everything is up and running and going strong.

2. Affiliate brokerage firms require affiliate programs to notify the affiliate if changes are going to be made to the set of rules that they implemented when you first joined. The rules usually tell you how much commission you will make if you produce a sale for the different items that they offer on their website. What you have to watch out for is the what can you sell to make a commission from their company.

For example, let's say you have a program like cell phones. When the program first began you would get paid if you sold cell phones, plans and accessories. But down the road the affiliate program changes the rules. The new rules state you will be paid a certain dollar amount if you sell only cell phones. The cell phone plans and accessories that they offer on their site are excluded. Translated, if someone buys an accessory item or a plan through your link, the company gets the sale and you get nothing.


3. If the affiliate program decides to lower the commission, be wary. That could mean they are about to shut down their affiliate program or they are having some financial difficulties.

4. The number of links and banner slowly decrease in number, or they are not updated. Means the company may be having money problems or may be closing down their program.

5. A lot of chargebacks? Yes, this can happen even in if you work with an affiliate brokerage firm. So first, take a closer look at the program. If you found problems after you checked the affiliate website and also, Google the affiliate program for reviews, it's time to email the brokerage firm.

And then again, to keep your creditability in tact, it's time to remove the affiliate program from your website.

Whether you are working with a stand alone affiliate program or an affiliate program through an affiliate brokerage firm, remember to research the company. This includes gathering any and
all information about the status of the company and it's products, checking the website, and looking at consumer reviews. 



About the Author:

Vickie J Scanlon --   Visit her site at: My Affiliate Place for ebooks, affiliate program to join,  business computers, utilities and accounting software, tech accessories,  and the "how to" of affiliate/internet marketing. 

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