From the CAM Blog Mailbag:

Wade - Why do you turn down application from prospective affiliates for the programs you work for? What can I do to make sure I get approved?

Great question - yes, I have been known to decline applications for affiliate programs that I manage. I’ve declined quite a few of them actually. Some ( a lot of folks on ABestWeb) would argue that this is a bad idea. They argue that you never know who your next big affiliate in development might be - and they may have a point in a few cases. I do have a few things that I look for in an affiliate application that I base my judgements on. Here is a short list:

• A live website or blog that I can look at and see some content
• Links live on the site from other affiliate programs
• I HATE “banner farms” and will decline any application from one. What is a banner farm? It’s a site that offers nothing but banner after banner after banner in a big long scroll monster, or even categorized.
• I look to establish actually ownership of the domain in question.
• PASSION - I love to work with affiliates who love their site topic and the products they promote
• Traffic levels - My clients want results - and sites with existing traffic (judged by a combination of tools like Quantcast and Compete.com)
• Blogs - I love active and well written and commented blogs. Well written blogs will have natural traffic from the search engines.
• Sites or blogs featuring product reviews, or better yet product reviews using video.
• If you are a Paid Search affiliate, send me to site where you explain how you drive traffic.
• Sites with a focus - if you try to be everything to everyone, chances are you won’t do well for any of them. If you love camping, blog or build a site on camping and camping products, etc.

If you have one or more of these things going for you, and the site you list in your application has something to do with the program I am managing, I will most likely approve you right away.

If you don’t, I will probably email you and ask you what you have in mind, and if you can show me any of your online properties that do match the program.

If I don’t see any obvious fit at all, or I see content that my client wouldn’t associate their brand with, I will probably decline. If I miss something, please email me and point me in the right direction or ask me to reconsider (professionally)

For best results, here is what I recommend that you do.

• Make sure to keep your network profile updated so I can see the right site or sites that you would like reviewed
• If the network (like SAS) allows you to make a note specific to the application, write me a quick note explaining what you have in mind.
• Email me when you apply - “Hey - I just applied for your program - here is what I do, here is what I have in mind, and here are some of the other programs I promote, and btw, I have 5 sites/blogs and an email list that I think would really work well for promoting XYZ.com’s products.

If you do this (with any program) you will have a great chance of getting approved.

God Bless and happy selling!

Wade