Logo as a Fox affiliate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
By Jon Allo
Affiliate marketing is a commission-based sales scheme for the internet. You promote products or services online and get paid when any of those products or services are sold via your recommendation.
There are many affiliate programs online and you need to be careful what you choose to promote to avoid any affiliate marketing scams that might badly affect your customers and your online reputation. Affiliate programs are a great way to make money online and the majority of affiliate programs that pay online marketers are legitimate and genuine businesses.
You’ll be successful with affiliate programs by choosing the best program, right from the start
Here are 5 tips to help you spot an affiliate scam:
1. Poor Track Record
Although, the success of an affiliate program is really down to you, it is very important to check certain facts. For example, its average sales and earnings. Check the program’s history, the previous and present sales data, the marketing systems and other affiliate’s experiences with them. The sales records show how good the affiliates are and they provide details about the products’ reliability, market availability and the reputation of the program.
2. Very Little Marketing Support
Affiliate marketing is a partnership, so your chosen program should offer marketing support. Affiliate programs should offer a wide variety of promotional tools that you can use. As an affiliate marketer, you will have to promote the affiliate program’s products to generate sales so you’ll need email swipes, articles, banners and graphics to help you sell the product.
3. Vague Payment Information
Some programs pay monthly, others quarterly; which is best for you? Find out how much you will get paid per sale and often. Generally, there are affiliate programs that pay a one-time commission or a recurring income commission. If you sell a one-time payment product you’ll probably get paid a higher commission at the point of sale but you’ll never get paid again. If you promote a recurring income product, one that is billed every month, you’ll get paid every month, as long as the buyer uses the product or service.
4. The Product Is Too Complicated
If you do not understand the product, it will be very difficult for you to find buyers for the program. It is much easier to find an affiliate program operating in an industry that you’re familiar with, and use that program to earn extra cash.
5. No Affiliate Support
Remember that you are selling the products for the merchant and they will get paid too when it is sold. So be cautious of affiliate programs that don’t offer any support and don’t answer your questions promptly. Top affiliate programs will provide you with all the support you need to help you sell their products. If they do not provide any help or support find another program.
When building an online business it can be a challenge finding the right products to sell to the right customers. To learn how to quickly and easily move your online business forward and increase your profitability click here.
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