Experienced veterinarians and inexperienced people often ask the same question, what are the best affiliate programs, and where are they?
My answer to this question requires an answer to a question with many questions.
First, you want to ask yourself what you are interested in?
Then, what do you know a little, bit?
There are many resources as well as an affiliate program to find out what fits or anything about your interests.
Let's see if we can simplify the process of selecting the best affiliate programs to promote.
Go to http://clickbank.com/
This is one of my favorite sources of popular programs. They tell you the percentage you get on each sale, and they even put it in dollars and cents. They also reveal other statistics about each program, which can help you determine if the program you choose is right for you to promote.
Your next choice is http://www.linkshare.com/
Links share pioneered online affiliate marketing and runs the largest payroll for affiliate marketing networks operating on the Internet today. With over 10 million partnerships in the network, this is the most successful payout of its kind for the Display Network.
Next Commission Junction http://www.com/
Increase your revenue opportunities by developing lasting relationships with top advertisers. Manage and pay for every sale and lead you produce. Take your program to the next level with our industry-specific solutions for qualified publishers and outstanding performers.
The web has equally reliable affiliate program sources, but for the sake of simplicity and to keep this article to a minimum, I am going to reduce these resources to the top three. If you prefer, you can go to your favorite search engine and continue your search for the "affiliate program resource".
It is beneficial for you to know what you want to sell but not necessarily. After all, this information is the superhighway and all the information we need can be found here. There are a lot of tools at disposal. You need to know where they are and what they will tell you.
Google.com is a great place to start your search. If you type "affiliate programs" in the search box, you'll literally get a list of millions of potential programs. At the time of writing (7-12-06) there are 111,000,000 potential affiliate programs to choose from. It hurts my mind.
You do not have to through multiple sites. The first few pages give you some idea of what you want to promote. Try and stick to anything you have some background to.
For example, suppose you have been working in a pet store for some time. See if you can find pets affiliate programs. Pet food, pet training, pet care, etc. Maybe you want to target specific pets like dogs or dog training. Dog training and dog breeds are a very "hot" market right now, and I suspect they will continue for a while.
Suppose you choose a dog breed as your topic of interest. It’s time to research that topic and see if it really has a market.
Go to Overture.com and type in dog breeds in the search box. In April 2006 I found that the number of searches for this topic was 184,184. This is definitely something I would like to explore further.
I go to Nichebot.com and follow that information by typing the same keywords in the search box. The information you provide to select an affiliate program proves to be an invaluable tool. Pay special attention to the column on the right. A number close to zero determines less competition. Do a search in that category, copy those keywords back to Google.com and do another search. I'm sure you can find the event to join and promote.
Try and find the program with at least 50% commission for at least $20. For you. More if possible. You can choose a program with a low commission if it is called a high ticket item. A good rule of thumb to remember is that "$20.00 takes as much effort to promote an event as it does to sales, and as much effort goes into promoting high ticket items".
So why waste your time and advertising dollars on advertising products that offer only $20.00 commission when you can get the same amount of time and money for $200.00 commission? It also tells a good understanding and mathematical story.
The time and effort involved in promoting small ticket items is similar to that of high ticket items. The advantage is that you do not have to sell as much with an expensive item as you do with a smaller one.
The best advice I can give is be patient and use as many free resources as you can to promote your programs. There are so many. Get your own domain and web host. You want to put together a site that contrasts with the general affiliate site provided by the owner. This puts you in a different category because you do not advertise in the same page as a thousand other marketers. It makes you feel confident and stabilizes you as a person who thinks seriously about their business on the web.
Patience is a virtue. Get it if you can, and by the way, Happy Marketing!
You must be logged in to post a comment.