Affiliate Marketing

Part 2 - The Affiliate Advantage
by Richard Igoe

The internet is changing the way people do business and part 1 was about how today's online marketers must use "guerrilla tactics" to be successful.

Read Part 1 - click here.

In Part 2 we are going to show you 5 features that makes another affiliate program so successful. It is an excellent model to base any other affiliate program on.

1. A *growing* line of *high-value* and related products.

This is the foundation on which the affiliate program is based.

Your products must have HIGH value or the affiliate program will not get off the ground. Also it is a proven fact in marketing that the customer who has already bought your product will buy more of the same or similar products again. If you don't follow up and offer your customers your new or improved products you are losing out on the power of *leverage*.

2. A *high* first purchase comission.

This is what encourages affiliates to attract and refer new customers. NEW REFERRALS are what you need to *build* your online business. A 5 to 10% commission just won't make it worthwhile for most affiliates!

3. Your customers become *lifetime* customers.

This affiliate program puts a cookie on a visitor's computer the first time they visit the site. If this visitor is your referral and buys any of their products, they get a permanent cookie - your cookie - so whenever they buy again, you get credited for the sale. You get a commission from *repeat* sales.

4. A *multi-level* commission structure.

The affiliate commissions are based on a multi-level system. Your commissions are not only based on your direct sales but also those of your affiliates - your sales force. You get a percentage of all sales made by the affiliates under you - and this percentage increases with the volume of sales - so it is in your interest to help your affiliates sell by giving them your knowledge.

Affiliate programs that offer a one-off commission on your direct sales will never help you *add value* to your business.

5. A *limited* number of affiliates.

Once the number of affiliates reaches a certain level, the program will be closed. A little competition is a good thing but too much will mean a huge number of affiliates fighting for the same customers.

Because of the internet, "affiliate marketing" gives the small business an unfair advantage. Rather it gives them the same advantage as larger established businesses.

Because it is so dynamic, the internet allows you to optimize your marketing tactics by continual tweaking until you get the results you want. The only thing that will limit you is your energy, your ambition, and your knowledge of how to market.

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Article by Richard Igoe, creator of the free 5-day "Website Success Course By Email" and owner of TheWebsEYE.com - a source of website design, promotion and internet marketing knowledge.

This article may be reproduced as long as it remains unchanged and the resource box is included.