What are my responsibilities as an affiliate

1. Represent a product or service.

Represent the merchant’s product or service on

your site through the use of links. These links

may take the form of a banner, a text link, a

search box, or even a JAVA applet.

2. Drive traffic (get visitors) to your site.

Establish a steady flow of targeted traffic to your

site in order to increase your potential to earn

commissions. Once a customer uses your links

to connect to the merchant, the merchant

should pay you. Different merchants specify

what constitutes an action worthy of

compensation, and these can range from a

customer just seeing the ad to actually

purchasing the product. How much you get paid

will also differ from merchant to merchant.

3. Read the contract.

Information should be stated clearly in a

contract. It is your responsibility to read the

contract, even if it is long, convoluted, or boring.

If you are unclear about the merchant’s policies,

either contact the merchant for clarification, or

look elsewhere for a more satisfactory

agreement. Numerous affiliate programs existyou are interested in promoting a particular type

of product or service, a little research should

help you find a reliable program that meets your

needs. Here are two directories of affiliate

programs to get you started (we’ll be telling you

about many more later):

AssociatePrograms.com

www.associateprograms.com

● 

2-Tier Affiliate Program Directory

www.2-tier.com

● 

4. Monitor your site and links.

You must check your site and links regularly to

make sure everything works properly.

Merchants will contact you if changes should be

made. For example, if a merchant changes its

linking code, you should get an email specifying

how this is done.

5. Monitor your statistics.

The merchant should provide you with statistics.

You need to monitor your statistics to make sure

you are being credited properly. Your statistics

reflect the success of your merchandising plan

and allow you to tweak your selling process to

increase your profit.

Who are affiliates?

Affiliates fall into three types. For clarity, we

have excluded powerhouse shopping properties

and large corporate sites. We will call the three

types power, mid-range, and non-productive

affiliates.

1. Power affiliates

Power affiliates, who make a living wage, are aminority of those using affiliate marketing

programs. They usually have a network of sites,

and spend several hours daily maintaining traffic

to these sites. Power affiliates create a large

revenue stream for the merchants. Therefore,

they enjoy several perks; for instance, power

affiliates often have the influence to bargain with

merchants for more advantageous deals. Power

affiliates often work from home. Many power

affiliates are also merchants to vendors who

want to expand their revenue base. Power

affiliates account for roughly 10 percent of all

affiliates. Of course, power is a relative term.

For example, a highly influential site with a small

amount of traffic can command high rates

because of its market impact.

2. Mid-Range Affiliates

The second type of affiliates makes some

supplemental income. These people often

maintain full-time "dirt world" occupations.

These affiliates may have one popular site or a

network of small sites, but they either control

significantly less traffic, or less targeted traffic

than the power affiliates, or have difficulty

converting page views to clicks, actions, or

sales. These affiliates comprise about 10

percent of all affiliates. Merchants like to

cultivate these relationships because many

mid-range affiliates can go on to be power

affiliates.

3. Non-Productive Affiliates

So what about the other 80 percent of affiliates?

Unfortunately, they make little or no money.

Many of these sign up for a program, intending

to use it, but never even put up paying links.

Others put up the links, but don’t control enough

traffic to support sales. Few just don’t have the

knack. The majority of non-profitable affiliation

results from ignorance or apathy. Affiliate

marketing is a competitive business

environment, and, as in any industry, many who

attempt the business will fail to perform.

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