Are You Making THESE Mistakes With Your Affiliate Program?

By Jeff Smith
Posted Sunday, February 15, 2004

You spend a few weeks putting together, or finding your product - now you can sit back while your own ARMY of eager sales people drive sales and fill your bank account.
Sound about right?

It can happen to you.

You really can develop an online business where the vast majority of your sales come from others who are eager to share your product with their customers and subscribers.

Unfortunately 95% of the affiliate programs out there don't follow the success patterns and they pay the price -- no sales, inactive affiliates, lots of administration.

Here's the truth about average affiliate programs...

1. On average, 5% of your affiliates will be active -- which means 95% will NEVER generate ANY traffic or sales.

2. Less than 2% will be SUPER affiliates which will drive BIG sales.

3. For most affiliate programs - less than 1% will stay with you over 6-months.

But wait...

There are some set principles you can follow to make your affiliate program a massive success -- and when you do -- you really can sit back and enjoy the incredible results.

Try these now:

SUCCESS TIP 1: Arm Yourself With Affiliate Tracking Software
There are quite a few options out there.

What you need is a system that allows affiliates to sign up, see their statistics (hits, repeat hits, returns, sales, commissions, payment status, etc...)

You want a system where all of this is automated, that you can use to offer multiple products, that allows you to customize commissions (for special joint venture endorsements) and that enables you to track commissions to be paid and those that have been paid.

Based on personal experience, my preferences are either...

Ultimate Affiliate Software - $200

OR...

AssocTrac - $677

There are also programs where you pay a monthly fee, but generally these require you to pay out over 15% of each sale -- OK if you only make a few sales each month, but if you bank on being successful, you'll want your own software.

SUCCESS TIP 2: Actively Pursue Super Affiliates
Massive success with affiliate programs depends on you seeking out "super affiliates" You have something great to offer webmasters, business owners, ezine publishers -- they just don't know it yet.

Approach them with partnership in mind - open the door by complimenting their business, send an offer they can't refuse and follow up to maintain the relationship.

Use tools like the toolbar from alexa.com to help find sites that have a good supply of traffic.

Every market has a buying cycle.

Determine where your product fits in the buying cycle, and approach related websites, ezine publishers.

For example, you have a book on computer security. Who might you target?

Sites that deal with computer software, PC support, PC utilities, computer games, DSL (which creates a more vulnerable "always on" connection to your PC)

SUCCESS TIP 3: Make Sure Your Product Has A PSP!
What's your Powerful Selling Proposition?

If you had to write one sentence describing the ultimate benefit of your product - what would it be?

For example...For the security book -- "This Secure Your PC Book will make Bulletproofing Your PC as simple as Turning It on!"

If you don't have a PSP - you better get one RIGHT NOW!!

The Ultimate Information Entrepreneur's Success Package can help you create or fine-tune your products to attract massive demand...

Not only does the fate of your affiliate program depend on this - so does your entire online marketing success.

SUCCESS TIP 4: Your Affiliates Are People Too
It's too easy to sign up hundreds, even thousands of affiliates and look at them as numbers or JUST names.

Make your affiliate program stand out by contacting your affiliates - personally, either via personal email, telephone, or regular newsletter.

Help them be more successful with their affiliate marketing.

Yanik Silver has written the book on nurturing his affiliates -- his main success for...

33 Days to Online Profits
Yanik Silver Announcement

Another master of affiliate follow up is Marlon Sanders of...

Push Button Letters Software

SUCCESS TIP 5: Continue To Improve Your Business
To keep your most successful affiliates, you'll want to keep providing new products for them to earn money with.

They can only market a single product to their lists so often -- if you have more products coming through your pipeline, you'll find those affiliates will stay with you and work with you to a greater extent.

In addition - plan your price points and margins for your products with affiliate marketing in mind.

Can you turn your $27 eBook into a $67 course?

How about a $197 multimedia course?

Many super affiliates will not even LOOK at a product unless it sells for at least $50 and they get 45%+ of that product.

This does depend on the market, but the principle holds true -- higher payouts will motivate super affiliates to be more active, longer.

Don't underestimate the power of affiliate programs.

Joint ventures and affiliate programs go hand-in-hand.

These two ADVANCED marketing techniques can easily mean the difference between struggling online to making a very good living online.

Now you know how!

About The Author
Here's the #1 Mistake That DOOMS 95% of Infoproducts...And How To AVOID It! Get Jeff Smith's blockbuster Ultimate Information Entrepreneur's Success Package and find out how You Can Develop Your Own High Impact Infoproducts In Days. (www.infoproductcreator.com)