Practice Pay Solutions

Recruiting Your Affiliate Market in 2010

Affiliate marketing-using one website to drive traffic to another-is a strategy that can be overlooked by online professionals. While website maintenance, e-mail correspondence and search engine optimization capture much of the time and energy of eCommerce companies, affiliate marketing carries a much lower profile. This year, take advantage of this opportunity to revisit your old program or seek out powerful new affiliations.

In a sense, affiliate programs have always been around: The concept of revenue sharing-paying commission for business referrals-has been an integral part of commerce for centuries. While some less well-known manifestations popped up around the advent of the Internet, the first major affiliate program was started by Amazon.com in 1996. Associates of Amazon could place banners or links on their website to connect visitors to a particular relevant book or other product. If the visitor purchased items from Amazon at this time, the affiliate would receive commission. This has served as a model for subsequent programs.

How it works: When a visitor comes to your site and clicks on an affiliate banner, you will earn commission on anything they purchase through that link. In turn, if your company's banner on your affiliate's site drives traffic and ultimately a sale to you, you pay them a commission. By engaging in this type of partnership, you not only increase revenue by gaining a percentage of their sale; you also boost your sales and increase awareness of your company!

Here are some quick tips:

There are many kinds of affiliate programs. Some of the most prominent are:

Pay per sale (account for approximately 80% or programs): advertiser is paid on basis of number of sales that are directly generated by an advertisement

Cost per action: advertiser pays for each specified action (a purchase, a form submission, and so on) linked to the advertisement

Pay per click: the marketer pays search engines and other affiliates for a single click on its advertisement that brings one visitor to its website.

Cost per mille: online advertising can be purchased on the basis of what it costs to show the ad to one thousand viewers

Select relevant affiliates: Your website visitors will appreciate it if you connect them to other organizations or services they may be interested in.

Be clear about your expectations and terms: Affiliates want to know what they stand to gain. They are looking for a partnership that will quickly and effortlessly boost their sales and brand recognition. Chances are, they don't want to read a whole lot of hoopla about your business. They want to hear straightforward facts-average purchase totals, percentages offered, etc.-so they can measure a partnership with you up to other opportunities.

Establish a solid policy: This policy should include what is and is not acceptable when it comes to marketing your brand, including whether e-mail marketing campaigns are acceptable, where you would like your logo or tagline displayed, whether your affiliates can offer incentives for purchases from you, etc. Also, include any repurcussions for not following to your agreement.

Perform regular checks: Be sure to audit the activity in your affiliate program and keep track of all the sites/area where your brand appears.

Stay Up-to-date: Keep informed of all trends regarding affiliate programs, any and all "bad press" (see the anti-affiliate legislation in New York) and the latest methods/resources.

Make it easy to get started: Include Quick FAQ's that answer all the basics, easy access to banners, content, etc. that they will need to add to their site. You should also offer technical support during the set-up process and helpful suggestions for how best to market.

Gain a familiarity with what you are promoting: Stay consistently aware of all the products, services, special promotions, etc. that your affiliate is offering on their site. While any questions regarding your affiliates' services should be redirected to them, it shows a great deal of professionalism and dedication if you are knowledgeable and support their services.

Build relationships: Ensure active affiliates by getting to know them and making sure their needs and expectations are met. Follow-through with all requests and solicit feedback when appropriate. Let your affiliates know you are grateful for their support and recognize their contribution to your business success.

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Links:

• www.cj.com