This is the first in a series of educational post about getting started as an affiliate marketer. Whether you’re new to the industry or have some experience under your belt, you should get more tips and strategies to enhance and improve your campaigns.
What’s Affiliate Marketing and CPA Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a channel or method where advertisers (also known as merchants or product owners) recruit partners to help them:
- Generate prospective customers OR
- Pre-sell them on the idea of buying the product OR
- Getting involved in the sales process themselves
Depending on the advertiser you’re working with, you might be known as an affiliate/affiliate marketer/partner/associate/reseller.
You might be paid on:
- The number of prospects generated (lead generation) OR
- The value of products bought (revenue share/pay-per-sale) OR
- On an ongoing basis receiving regular payments as long as the customer continues the product/service. (continuity/rebilling/subscription)
CPA marketing or Cost-Per-Action marketing is primarily focused on the lead generation aspect of the business. You might receive a $30 payout on a $4.95 trial by the customer. The advertiser is able to recoup their commission payout to you by selling a premium product on the backend (as a product upgrade), or enrol the customer in a monthly subscription.
Hence, for many new affiliates, the CPA route might be easier to get started.
Payouts are typically related to the amount of effort needed to get the lead/prospect to take an action.
For submitting their email address or zip code, it might be $0.50 – $2. For activities requiring more effort, such as filling in a request form, or purchasing a trial pack or product, it could be upwards of $100.
–
Evaluating Affiliate Networks
The majority of affiliate networks use DirectTrack, a software developed by Digital River. One issue with Direct Track (DT) is that some spyware detection/protection software identifies DT cookies as spyware and hence removes it. Because your commissions are tracked by the cookies embedded in a user’s browser, having the cookie removed means the action/sale can’t be tracked to you, and you won’t receive credit for the sale.
There’re currently more than 350 affiliate networks (about 5-10 major networks and about 300+ small outfits) in the industry.
There’re also a number of merchants (large and small) who offer their own in-house affiliate programs (such as Amazon and the eBay Partner Network), so affiliates will sign up directly with them.
For a list of affiliate networks I work with and recommend, you can check out the Affiliate Network Review resource page.
Getting Started As An Affiliate
Here’s the major problem for most new affiliates – getting too bogged down buying educational courses, reading blogs and forums and going to tradeshows, seminars, meetups – without ever actually making much progress in starting or putting enough time into their own campaigns.
Here’s a tip: Get started today.
If you’re new to the industry, you might try setting up a personal blog and apply to affiliate programs which are easier to get into (the Amazon Associates affiliate program is a pretty easy starting point – note: they have recently discontinued some forms of promotion, so be sure to read their terms and coniditions carefully).
Another tip: Sign up via an existing affiliate’s link then drop them an email
If the affiliate knows you, they can put in a word to their affiliate manager and this might increase your chances of getting accepted into the affiliate network (note: it may not always work).
If you’re like to go with this strategy, you can check out the Affiliate Network Review page and drop me a note via the Contact form, including your full name, email address used in the application, plus some information about yourself and your experience.
Credibility is a very important element if you want to go along this route, so it’s important to promote quality programs on the reference site you might be using. Including things like ponzi schemes or poor quality/scammy offers on your site will be a surefire way to get your application denied.
You can also follow up with a phone call to the affiliate network via their phone number which helps a great deal.
One great way to get started as an affiliate, especially if you’re based in Singapore is to participate in the WhoIsAndrewWee.com affiliate challenge (sponsored by Market Leverage), which is specifically focused on Singapore-based affiliates.
–
In the next Affiliate Marketing Tips: Researching niches and evaluating affiliate offers
hi there, finally i found great post about affiliate marketing. i love to read this article. easy to understand. this should be read by anyone who want to start in affiliate marketing whether you are new or expert affiliate marketing. thanks for sharing Andrew. looking forward to your next post… 🙂
– Johnjimat
Pingback: Affiliate Marketing Tips 2: Researching Winning Niches and Offers | Andrew Wee | Blogging | Affiliate Marketing | Social Traffic Generation | Internet Marketing
Good information, Andrew. I’m a beginner Aff Marketer and several of your posts look helpful to someone trying to get a base knowledge. I’m not sure I understad your tip, “Sign up via an existing affiliate’s link then drop them an email”. Are you saying that some/many Aff Networks will turn down beginners without a track record or some existing sites to show as examples?
Hi Tony,
Most (actually almost all) affiliate and CPA networks will accept affiliate applications if they’re a known affiliate (ie: already doing pretty well in another network – because word gets around pretty quickly).
If you’re a new affiliate, particularly if you’re outside of the US, it’ll be hard to get accepted, only because there’s a pretty high level of fraud (bad leads) rampant in the industry now.
Attending trade shows is one way of getting yourself known, especially if the networks have booths there.
Another way is to get referred by an existing affiliate, which they’ll generally do, if you’d known to them.
The other way is to set up a blog and a facebook account as you’ve done. I’d probably put more content on both accounts, so you’ll look like a genuine person and have a higher chance of getting approved.
–
I did a recently podcast with Jim Lillig from the Offeratti network and he’s got a number of suggestions for getting approved.
Might be worth a listen.
Cheers!
Pingback: Affiliate Marketing Tips #3: Direct Linking vs Landing Pages | Andrew Wee | Blogging | Affiliate Marketing | Social Traffic Generation | Internet Marketing
Woah this weblog is wonderful i like studying your articles. Keep up the good paintings! You realize, lots of persons are searching around for this info, you could aid them greatly.
Yesterday, while I was at work, my cousin stole my
apple ipad and tested to see if it can survive
a 40 foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation.
My apple ipad is now destroyed and she has 83 views.
I know this is completely off topic but I had to share it with someone!
There is certainly a lot to know about this issue. I really like
all the points you have made.
Have you ever considered writing an e-book or guest authoring on other websites?
I have a blog based on the same ideas you discuss and would love to have you
share some stories/information. I know my
viewers would enjoy your work. If you are even remotely
interested, feel free to send me an e mail.
I have read so many articles regarding the blogger lovers except this piece of writing is in fact
a pleasant piece of writing, keep it up.
My programmer is trying to convince me to move to .net
from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses.
But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on various websites for about a year and
am nervous about switching to another platform.
I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a
way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it?
Any help would be really appreciated!
Now I am ready to do my breakfast, when having my breakfast coming again to read further news.
Nice read and some very valued points to savour. I think affiliates need to just keep putting it out there and they will come. It is a natural law. Built it and they will come.
If some one desires expert view about blogging then i suggest him/her to visit this website,
Keep up the nice job.
excellent points altogether, you just received a new reader.
What could you suggest in regards to your post that you just made
a few days in the past? Any sure?
Hi there, its nice article on the topic of media print, we all be aware
of media is a fantastic source of information.
For newest news you have to visit world-wide-web and on internet
I found this site as a finest website for latest updates.
You know they can charge a fortune, if you’ve ever needed to buy skin care items from any pharmacy.
Just want to say your article is as amazing.
The clarity for your post is simply excellent and i could suppose you are a
professional in this subject. Well with your permission let
me to snatch your feed to keep updated with approaching post.
Thank you 1,000,000 and please keep up the rewarding work.
Hmm it appears like your website ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess
I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything.
Do you have any tips and hints for newbie blog writers?
I’d really appreciate it.
What’s up to every , for the reason that I am in fact
keen of reading this website’s post to be updated on a regular basis.
It includes pleasant data.
What’s up everyone, it’s my first pay a quick visit
at this site, and piece of writing is in fact fruitful in support
of me, keep up posting these articles or reviews.