Posts Tagged ‘affiliate manager’

How to apply for affiliate programs

Jul 24, 2008 Tips for Affiliates

Okay - so the topic seems a little basic… all there is to it is to find a program you want to join, fill out their network or affiliate software application and off you go right?

Well… maybe.

If you are an experienced affiliate with a live site or blog that directly deals with the audience that the product or service appeals to and you have some traffic and other affiliate links posted, you are probably fine.

But what if your site or blog is new?

What if you plan to promote by a method that is not visible online like paid search or email marketing?

Here’s what I suggest to get your applications approved:

New Site or Blog:

  1. Please DON’T apply with a “site under construction” or a domain that doesn’t resolve - you will get your application  refused 99.44% of the time if a live body is reviewing your app.
  2. Please DON’T apply with your template based site and the placeholder content still in place.
  3. Please DON’T apply with an email address that doesn’t resolve.
  4. Please DO -  put some time into writing some content on your site for a few weeks or a month before you apply for any programs.   If you have no content - you will get no traffic, and visitors won’t stay long enough to click an affiliate link anyway.
  5. Please DO- put up a page that you use in your affiliate program applications that lays out your VISION for your site and what you plan to do with it in terms of content and how you will get traffic.
  6. If you don’t know how you will get traffic, I would suggest that you do some research on sites like ABestWeb.com and BlogClassroom as well as read up on Social media marketing to see how you can round up some traffic.  With no means of acquiring traffic - all the affiliate links in the world will not help you out.
  7. Please DO- write on something you are knowledgeable in, or are throwing yourself into learning about and share your knowledge and insight - then surround your awesome and compelling content from offers that would appeal to your audience
  8. Definitely DON’T - throw up a “banner farm,” what is a banner farm?  It’s a site where an “affiliate” throws up a bunch of banners with no content whatsoever.   THEY DON’T WORK

Paid Search or Email Marketing:

Please put up a page on your site or your blog that addresses how you market.  If you are a paid search marketer, talk a bit about the kind of sites you work with well, what engines you work on, and what your approximate average monthly spend is.   At the very least, identify that you are a paid search marketer.

If you are email marketing, please do the same thing and please provide links to some of your past email newsletters that show unsubscribe links and CAN-SPAM compliance.  PLEASE ONLY DO AFFILIATE MARKETING WITH LISTS THAT YOU OWN…. and that you have verifiable permission (preferably double opt in) to market to.

Please also provide some breakdowns on the demographics of the lists that you own so that I (or one of my affiliate manager buddies) can tell if your lists are a match for our merchant.

I think these suggestions will help you achieve a higher approval rate as well as a higher rate of success in affiliate marketing.

God Bless,

Wade

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