Get all your affiliate marketing questions answered before joining an affiliate program of your choice, so you can make an informed decision on whether or not it will be worth your time.
Affiliate marketing is a huge draw for most people looking for a great way to make money.
Consider this: the most successful affiliates earn hundreds, thousands, or even millions of dollars per month without ever driving to an office, punching a time clock, or even changing out of their pajamas.
Great affiliate marketing, on the other hand, is as much about the program you choose as it is about how motivated you are to sell. Before you even consider applying for an affiliate program, ask – and answer – the following critical questions:
What types of data can I access through reports?
Any affiliate message board will reveal affiliate marketers wishing for greater transparency. It’s logical: Affiliate marketing is a complex process, and without reporting tools that show every detail, there’s no way to know if you’re marketing to the fullest. Take a close look at reporting tools when looking for an affiliate program.
- Will you have access to a comprehensive suite that tracks visitors, profits, refunds, conversion rates, and other metrics?
- Will your reports provide you with real-time data, allowing you to make campaign adjustments on the fly?
Some affiliate programs will send you a brief weekly or monthly report and expect you to believe it – don’t. Instead, choose a program that provides you with complete access to as much data as possible, allowing you to keep meticulous track of your commissions and change and improve your campaigns on the fly.
Customer service: How long will it be before someone contacts me?
Because affiliate marketing is a complex machine with many moving parts, you will encounter technical difficulties as a partner.
Links will cease to function. Commission tracking will be disabled. Ad images will no longer load. When these things happen, having good customer service can mean the difference between being able to pay your rent and being evicted.
Gather information by visiting FAQs or affiliate program message boards.
- Will someone answer the phone if you call? What kind of response time can you expect if you email?
- If social media is an affiliate program’s primary communication tool, will you send a tweet and then have to wait five days for a private message back?
Some of the best affiliate programs prioritize customer service, so don’t be satisfied if your requests aren’t met promptly.
Residual commissions: How long will customers pay for services?
Affiliate programs provide two methods for earning commissions. You sell something, get paid a commission, and the transaction is complete with one-time commissions. Things get a little more complicated with residuals.
Residual payments allow you to earn commissions for months or even years at a time. If you sell monthly subscriptions to web-based photo editing tools, for example, you’ll be paid a commission each month your customer pays their subscription fee.
However, if a customer signs up for the photo editing service, doesn’t like it, and cancels after a month, your ongoing commission from that client is forfeited. Find out how long customers typically use the tools you’re trying to sell before you sign up for any residual commission program. It’s worth your time to join that program if customers stay with the service for six months, a year, or more.
Look for other programs to fill your residual income niche if customers sign up and then leave after a few months.
What will you give me as collateral to help me sell?
In an ideal world, each of us would be part social media expert, part web designer, and part publicist. In reality, however, many people require assistance in making sales, and a single banner ad and a few paragraphs of sales-y copy will not suffice. Before you join any affiliate program, you should understand what material you’ll be given to help you sell from beginning to end. Inquire around.
- Will you be provided with a customizable landing page?
- What are the most common sizes for banner ads?
- Pre-made tweets, web badges, or testimonial videos?
A good affiliate program not only provides a diverse set of sales tools, but it also frequently creates new content or updates existing content to stay ahead of the competition. If the affiliate program you want to join hasn’t updated its banners since 1972, you should look elsewhere.
How long will my sales be tracked using cookies?
If we had to define the ideal affiliate transaction, it would be as follows: customer clicks on your link, customer purchases, and you receive your commission. The conclusion. Unfortunately, many customers prefer to browse before they buy, and they may return to the point of sale site several times before making a purchase. Because most affiliate programs use cookies to track the origin of sales, it is critical to have a longer-lasting tracking cookie on the website where the sale is made.
So, even if your client clicks on your sales link but does not make a purchase for nearly two months, a 60, 90, or longer-length cookie will still track your sale and get you the commission you deserve. Whether you want to make affiliate marketing a side hustle or your sole source of income, you need to find programs that will give you the best chance of success.
No program can guarantee massive commissions or consistent income, but using the questions above as a guide will significantly increase your chances of making money.
Other questions to ask
- What is the commission rate? This is the percentage of each sale that you’ll earn as an affiliate. Some programs offer a fixed amount per sale instead of a percentage.
- What is the cookie duration? Cookie duration refers to how long the program will track clicks from your site and give you credit for the sale.
- What types of affiliate methods are allowed? Some programs allow methods like email marketing, PPC, SEO, content marketing, while others may not. Understanding what is allowed will help you strategize your promotion efforts.
- Are there any restrictions on how you can promote their products? Some programs may have rules about where and how you can promote their products.
- What is the product reputation? It’s important to join a program that offers products that are useful, reliable, and well-regarded, so that you can maintain your own reputation.
- How often are affiliates paid? It’s crucial to know how often you’ll receive payment — whether it’s once a month, every quarter, etc.
- What is the minimum payout? Some programs have a minimum payout, meaning you must earn a certain amount before you receive any payment.
- What kind of support does the program offer? Good affiliate programs should offer excellent support to their affiliates, such as promotional materials, affiliate training, and a dedicated affiliate manager.
- What is the conversion rate for their products? A high conversion rate means that people who click on their links are likely to buy their products.
- Can you use affiliate links in email or must it be on your website? Some programs have restrictions on where you can place affiliate links.
Before joining an affiliate program, it’s a good idea to read the terms and conditions, ask these questions, and consider whether the program is a good fit for you and your audience.
