affiliate program Best answer on the web
pretend you are talking to a child for all purposes of this question,
i am new to this whole affiliate business. i would like some opinions
or a complte rundown on affiliate programs overall. then i would
like the most profitible affiliate programs available(i hear that
online gambling is the most popular). i also need to build a site for
the business...so if you could just reccomend the best places to build
a website(prices,customer servive,etc.),keep in mind that i have a
mac, i know alot of site builders will not operate on a mac(and no
knowledge of html).
It is such a pleasure to answer this exciting question. First let me describe in very simple terms, what an affiliate program really is? I also will comment on some of the most profitable affiliate programs that are available. Lastly, I will provide you information on how to set up your very own website even if you don?t have any html experience.
Contents:
1. Affiliate Programs
2. A few methods of getting paid through an affiliate program
3. Listing of useful affiliate programs
4. Frequently asked questions about affiliate programs.
5. How to attract customers?
6. How to market your website?
7. Most profitable affiliate programs
8. Best places to build a website
(1) AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Why did the companies start an affiliate program? The whole purpose of an affiliate program is to establish a partnership with others and convince them to sell your products. In this case, the parent company (who is running the affiliate program) pays commissions to its affiliates (who sell the company?s products) for selling its products. Both, the company and the affiliates benefit from this partnership; the company because it gets more customers, the affiliates because they get commission for referring potential customers.
The affiliate programs really took off in 1998 with Amazon (http://www.amazon.com) starting the very first affiliate program. These affiliate programs are nowadays run by large as well as small companies. According to Media Forrester Research, by the end of 2003 almost 21 percent of the sales will be conducted by the affiliate programs.
Examples of companies that have well established affiliate programs are Amazon.com and Cruise.com who have their very own product or inventory to sell. Many people and businesses benefit from selling these lucrative products as they themselves don?t have a product base and run a business by selling an already established product of these well known companies. If run effectively, you can earn a substantial income by this method. Allow me to explain how does this work?
Take the example of online gambling business. Actually, these gambling businesses are run by mega large companies who have presence mostly in Caribbean and Europe. Almost, all of these companies run an affiliate program. Ok! Here is a brief breakdown of how you become an affiliate and how you can earn money? ______________________________________________________________________
(2)A FEW METHODS OF GETTING PAID THROUGH AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM
We take the example of an online casino affiliate program. Most of the casino websites will provide you with a link or a banner to advertise on your website. One method of earning cash from these banners and links is that when someone clicks on the banner to go to the parent company website, you earn a certain amount for referring those clients to the parent company website. It can be as little as 5 cent per click and as much as 25 cents per click. This method is known as ?cost per click?. Another popular method is known as ?Pay per Sale?. Whenever, a gambler goes to the parent company website from your website and signs up for the membership, you don?t get anything but whatever money that player will spent on the parent company website, you will get a commission of his spending. For example, he spends $1000 in one month. You can get 15 percent (depends on the program) of $1000. There is no time limit. You will get a commission of his spending until he remains a member of the parent company. That can mean almost thousands of dollars in a lifetime of a customer. Alternatively, you may choose a different payment method called ?pay per lead?. Now suppose, if someone click on the banner and goes to the parent company website. He signs up to become a member of the online casino ($100 membership); you get half the price ($50 dollars) of the membership for referring that person to the parent company website.
Fortunately, many companies allow their affiliates to combine the earnings of different methods. This is known as multi-tier referral payment. For example, John clicks on the banner of Casino XYZ from your website. He is taken to the Casino XYZ website. You get a 10 cent for John?s click on the banner. Now suppose, John likes the Casino and becomes a member by paying a $100 membership fees, you also get $50 as a ?pay per lead? referral method. John is a big time gambler; he spends $5000 the first month on online gambling. You will get 15 percent commission on $5000. This means you have earned $750 + $50 + $.10 = $800.10 from John, the first month alone. And, you may never know how much John will spend the next month. (This is an example of three tier referral payment).
These are just a few popular commission structures. There are still more methods that parent company adopt in order to attract loyal affiliates.
Don?t be confused by Multi tier referral payments and Multi tier referral program. I have already discussed Multi tier referral payments. Multi tier referral program is where you can earn additional cash by referring another affiliate who joins the parent company online affiliate program.
Since, we have taken the example of online casino gambling, I would like you to review some of the commission structures offered by some well known online casinos. Please visit the website of ?The Gambling Associates Network? http://www.gambling-associates.com/affiliate-programs/casino-affiliate-programs.php .
Almost all of the companies will provide their affiliates with an online tracking system where they can run statistics on how much commission they get, when did they get and from whom?
You must have noticed from the above discussion that you need to have your own website in order to be recognized an affiliate. This is the case with the online casino business. It might not be the case with some of the other industries. Take for example, a travel industry where certain well known affiliate programs provide you with a ready made website that have your domain name and different variations in colors and style.
This scheme is mostly seen is hotel booking and cruise booking websites where you just have to attract customers to your website. As soon as the customer books anything from your website, you get a commission. Most customers will never know that you are working on behalf of some well known hotel booking engine. I have seen many well established websites like these and am aware of the inner workings, as I worked in the travel industry.
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(3) LISTINGS OF VARIOUS AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Affiliates Directory
http://www.affiliatesdirectory.com/directory/index.shtml
Click Quick Directory
http://www.clickquick.com
(You may also select various categories by clicking on the left hand side menu under ?Program reviews and ratings? heading) ______________________________________________________________________
(4) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
From the pages of Casino Affiliate Programs
http://www.casino-affiliate-programs.org/CAP/faq11.html
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(5) HOW TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS?
Now come to the main point. You have established a website but how do you attract customers? Most experts predict that you need about 500 unique visitors to your website if you want to be really profitable in the affiliate based programs. Let me tell you that it is quite a large number. Fortunately for the type of commission that the online casinos pay, even if you attract half the unique visitors, you can be profitable. Suppose you attract 250 unique visitors per day. It means 7500 unique visitors per month. The industry average for the ?visitor conversion rate? is around 1.5 percent i.e. out of every 100 visitors, 1.5 visitors will buy the product. At 7500 unique visitors, 112.5 visitors eventually become a member (paying $50 each). You earn 112.5 * 30 = $3375 per month. If you can attract 500 visitors you can make $6750. If your conversion rate is 3 percent instead of 1.5 percent, your earnings can be $13500 per month. Wait! This is just the ?pay per lead? example where you get half the commission for anyone becoming a member. Your income can be staggering if you are operating on ?pay per sale? and some of your referrals are big time gamblers (see my example above). And, this is only one tier referral payment example. Talk about two or three tier program. AND IT?S TAX FREE???? ______________________________________________________________________
(6) HOW TO MARKET YOUR WEBSITE?
But exactly how do you get traffic. To be honest with you, you will have to spend some money on marketing to attract good traffic. One of the best ways to do it is by paying ?search engine optimization specialist companies? that can put your website on top of the search engines. Although, they charge you anywhere from $2000 to $10000 depending upon the length of their contract but the rewards can be great. You can also market your website by various other methods through an expert company. Just type in keywords in Google search engines like ?search engine optimization? , ?search engine advertising? , ?website marketing? and ?website advertising? and you will get a lot of companies to choose from.
I am asking you to use the services of these companies because attracting customers to your website is the difference between profit and loss. You just have to spend some money in order to get profits.
For the sake of this discussion, let us assume that you market your website and get lots of visitors but will the visitors click on your banner, links or buy from your website? For this, your website has to look professional. Fortunately, it is not that difficult since you will not be selling a product but just promoting it. In case of affiliate programs like hotel bookings etc, you don?t have to make a website. In case of online casino affiliate program, you have to have a professional looking website. As I said earlier, it is not difficult. What you can do is write a couple of good short articles on the online gambling and put your own reviews of some online casinos and how they operate. Confused? Take a look at http://www.gambling-associates.com . You will notice that they have a simple website that anyone can make. You can write your own reviews and provide your own ratings. You also can write FAQ list and a couple of other things. DID you notice that they don?t have any contact information? That means that they too can be running a referral business. But take a look at their website; it not only looks professional but also doesn?t give any indication that they are a referral service. The impression is that this is a website that provides information on the authentic casinos and their inner workings. Ah! our fifteen year old can do that. Review other websites, too. What do you notice? ______________________________________________________________________
(7) MOST PROFITABLE AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Nowadays, every industry claims to have the most profitable affiliate program. Although, we know that certain affiliate programs such as online casinos, dating and adult are the leader in the industry but you can guess which is most profitable by simply matching different affiliate programs. An easy way to do that is to check out such directories as http://www.affiliatesdirectory.com AND http://www.clickquick.com and compare programs from different industries. Calculate your profit by assuming that you get 250 unique visitors per day with 1.5 conversion rate. You will get your answer. Just remember that profits on selling an online gambling service, selling books and attracting potential dates vary.
Please read, ?The big profits of being a casino affiliate?
http://www.dotaffiliate.com/articles/casino.html
TRRRRRRRRRRRRN!
(Did you notice that http://www.affiliatesdirectory.com and http://www.clickquick.com may also be referral services? If you sign up for a certain casino membership from their website, they can get a commission. (Get an idea on how you can make your website look professional). ______________________________________________________________________
(8)BEST PLACES TO BUILD A WEBSITE
First things first. It doesn?t really matters whether you have a Mac or a PC. Nowadays, your website will be hosted on an online server of web hosting company. You just need to be sure that the web hosting package that you select is compatible with your operating system i.e. Windows, Unix etc. Fortunately, almost all of the reputable web hosting packages can support both systems and more.
You will be able to build and maintain a website online, using one of my recommended websites. These websites can not only host your domain but also they allow you to build a website in minutes. I am recommending you these websites on the basis of their easiness, customer service and price.
These are:
Website Pro?s
http://www.websitepros.com
Handzon (I have tested it myself)
http://www.handzon.com
I Page
http://www.ipage.com
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Useful Search Strategy
?Web site builder?
?Affiliate programs?
?Online casino gambling?
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you are not satisfied with my answer. I will be obliged to serve your needs.
Sincerely,
Leader-ga.
Just a little clarification. Do you want to run your own affilliate program are are you interested in becoming an affiliate. In order to run your own affiliate program you got to have a product to sell. Online casio business is operated by mega large companies based in Caribbean and Europe. They offer affilliate programs where you can earn money. What exactly are you looking for?
A litle clarification will be great.
Thanks.
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