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Home How to start an affiliate program

How to start an affiliate program

If you want to have hundreds or thousands of affiliates promoting your products for you, you have many options.

You can hire affiliate networks such as Commission Junction (now owned by ValueClick), LinkShare or Performics. They handle the tracking and money – and charge you a healthy percentage. Those companies charge a few thousand dollars to get your affiliate program established.

There is also a wide range of smaller affiliate networks to choose from. They charge smaller fees.

You can hire someone to put their affiliate tracking software on your server. You can buy a CGI tracking script – or you can start an affiliate program by writing your own script.

You can also use web-based tracking systems which charge a monthly fee.

One thing to ask affiliate networks is who owns and controls the email addresses of affiliates. If they're YOUR affiliates, you want to be in control of those valuable names.

If you're thinking of using any of the networks as a merchant, I strongly recommend you sign up as an affiliate first – free – and test the service your affiliates will be receiving.

Want to do more research on how to start an affiliate program? Here are the main options:

 

Quick, easy and budget priced: AffiliateShop

AffiliateShop offers an easy, quick and effective way to set up an affiliate program.

It offers you the ability to pay-per-lead, pay-per-click, pay-per-sale, or pay using several of these methods (e.g. pay 5% on sales and $0.05 per lead). It also can pay out step wise (e.g. pay 5% for less than 100 sales and 10% for above 100 sales).

AffiliateShop has anti-fraud protection, so that affiliates cannot generate fraudulent click throughs. The software has full tracking and real time statistics for you and your affiliates, and can easily track two-tier programs.

AffiliateShop is partnered with TroySystems to allow you to cheaply send bulk checks to your affiliates. The US Treasury has printed checks on TroySystems equipment since 1984.

AffiliateShop can quickly integrate with most third party shopping cart systems, Microsoft ASP scripts, UNIX and NT Servers and can easily export data to other databases such as MS Access and MS SQL.

All software is hosted on an AffiliateShop server meaning the set up time is minimal. You can have an unlimited number of affiliates, even multiple affiliate programs.

Affiliate Shop is good value for money, with a setup fee of $395 and a monthly fee of $45. AffiliateShop offers a 30 day free trial, and can typically be set up in less than a single day.

AffiliateShop is very quick to set up and easy to use and I highly recommend it.

A popular budget-priced option: Interneka

Tomas Brikman of Interneka has a popular, budget-priced third party tracking solution.

Tomas says it isn't as advanced as MyAffiliateProgram but it has all the features that AffiliateShop has.

“Our customers are small to medium web sites that can't pay $500 for affiliate software. That's why we are offering a really good deal for merchants who are in need of affiliate software,” he says.

Check it out here

Popular with affiliates: ShareaSale

Your affiliates will approve if you choose to go with ShareaSale. It's a large network offering hundreds of programs – pay-per-sale, pay-per-lead, and pay-per-click programs. More than 700 merchants. It has a strong pro-affiliate attitude and despises parasites. Has lots of datafeeds. Highly recommended.

Large network: Commission Junction

Commission Junction, launched in 1998, has a large network of merchants. You can quickly establish a pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale program, and benefit from publicity generated by this prominent affiliate network. Here's the description from the site:

“With a pay-per-lead program, you pay a commission when an authorized affiliate refers a customer to your site and that customer fills out a form or performs another action that allows you to follow up on the sales process.

“With a pay-per-sale program, you pay a commission when an authorized affiliate refers a customer to your site and that customer buys a product or service. The purchase may occur when the visitor is at your site or it may occur at a later time.

“Whether you want to start a new program or upgrade your existing program, we can get you started in a matter of days at a price that any organization can afford. We professionally manage all the details of your revenue sharing operations including affiliate sign-ups, approvals, tracking, reporting, and commission payments.”

The system works well. A huge advantage of using a large network is that it promotes your program for you. Also, Commission Junction consolidates payouts (payouts from other CJ programs get lumped together into one large check), making it a favorite of affiliates.

However, you will still have to promote your affiliate program yourself. A large percentage of the affiliates who sign up through a major affiliate network will be newcomers who don't know how to sell on the Net.

If you want to pay someone a commission for taking care of most of the details, this is a good option.

Check out Commission Junction here

Performics

Performics is a highly professional, large affiliate network with some well known brands. Performics' clients include: America Online, Blair Corp., Bose, CompUSA, Eddie Bauer, HP Shopping, Kohl's, L.L.Bean, PC Connection, RedEnvelope, Verizon Wireless, and more than 200 others. Performics is owned by DoubleClick.

LinkShare

LinkShare is a large network which handles revenue sharing arrangements.

LinkShare Corporation has created a software solution to track leads that result in immediate or long-term sales. As well, it has established a network to help publishers of sites and online retailers. The software enables merchants and sites to share feedback information and customer analysis. It costs several thousand dollars to set up. LinkShare organizes things, does the tracking and handles payments. LinkShare offers consolidated affiliate payments, direct deposit for U.S. affiliates, and user defined minimum payment thresholds. LinkShare has attracted many big names, including Dell. You benefit from the publicity it generates.

More networks

ClickBank allows sellers of information products to set up a simple affiliate program very quickly, easily and very cheaply. Because it is so easy, you will be sharing space with a fairly mixed crowd. ClickBank accepts payments by credit card for you, and charges a percentage of each sale. It has about 100,000 affiliates. This is a very popular solution.

PayDotCom is a budget-priced ClickBank competitor, offering some features not offered by ClickBank.

ClickXchange will enable you to build your own affiliate program paying per-click, per-lead, per-sale, or per-impression. ClickXchange has over 150,000 affiliates in its network, and all advertiser accounts include a customized affiliate sign-up process that merges into your site.

DoubleClick advertising network, now owned by Google, works with direct marketers on per-lead and per-sale advertising solutions. It's also a useful resource for online advertising information.

I want to do it myself: QuickPayPro

QuickPayPro is an advanced shopping cart system with affiliate tracking built in. It is a hosted solution with a MySQL back end. It is completely automated, freeing up your valuable time and resources that can be better spent marketing your products, rather than wasted doing paper work.

The program automatically accepts new affiliate sign ups, and provides detailed and useful stats, including click throughs, conversion rates, expenses, profit and more, for both you, and your affiliates. Referrals are tracked reliably, using both cookies and IP address association.

The system also allows you add unlimited products to your catalog, and both you and your affiliates can link to specific products and track the effectiveness of those links.

The system can integrate with Authorize.net, InstaBill, PayPal, and ClickBank, enabling you to automatically process sales, and send out electronic checks to your affiliates with the click of a button.

The system costs $37 per month, with a trial for the first month costing only $1.

So far, I'm very impressed with this system. This is one you should seriously consider.

Click here to find out more about QuickPayPro.

 

Web-based system: My Affiliate Program software

My Affiliate Program software is made by KowaBunga! Technologies, a sister company of Invisio.

Features include: Fully-automated setup; admin and members' page; banner location tracking and verification; email your affiliate members; monthly account statements; export your affiliate information; tracking click-throughs, sales and commissions; automatic reminders; SMART sales report; online sales history; variable commission structure; two-tier commissions and lifetime commissions support. Perl/cgi, runs on Unix/NT.

Major improvements were made to this software in 2001, adding even more useful features and options, too many to list here. The company is well known for its superb support. Take a close look at this option.

Thousands of merchants are using this My Affiliate Program.

Another good do-it-yourself option: Paul Galloway

Paul Galloway offers is Synergyx, full-featured two-tier affiliate program software with an e-commerce platform. It's perfect for anyone selling digital products because it offers a “time-expired-authentication” digital product download system. For those who need it, a shopping cart is included as well. Everything resides on your server, so you maintain complete control. Highly recommended.

AffiliateTracking

Craig Belcher's AffiliateTracking charges a flat rate – $104.95 the first month and $29.95 a month thereafter. “It's a good choice for small webmasters,” Craig says. “If you're planning to have over 50,000 affiliates we can set you up with a dedicated tracking server as well. Pricing starts off at $700 a month for a dedicated tracking server and tops out at around $3000 a month . . . we don't charge 20% of the affiliates' commissions either. A flat monthly fee for both pay per sale and pay per click programs.”

AffiliateGuerrilla

AffiliateGuerrilla software is installed on your own site – not a 3rd party solution. It is designed for Windows hosted web sites. It allows up to 5 levels of commissions, fixed or percent. It allows both standard products and subscriptions. It is integrated with PayPal so website owners can start their own affiliate program without a merchant account or shopping cart.
You can add affiliates or sales manually. It is only $89.

DirectTrack Systems

DirectTrack is the software that was originally developed by advertising network DirectLeads to track their own affiliate program, and is now being marketed as a hosted tracking solution.

The set-up cost is $750 and they charge a “nominal fee for bandwidth and traffic”.

 

AffiliateWindow

UK based AffiliateWindow is a complete affiliate tracking and management software suite. “The program can be easily installed into existing e-commerce solutions in a matter of minutes,” says managing director Kevin Brown.

AffiliateWindow.com Ltd manages the affiliate relationships, “taking away much of the financial cost and administration of running an affiliate program allowing the affiliate merchant to focus revenues and staff in other areas”.

AffiliateWindow was launched in 2000. Pricing: ?999 followed by support at ?300 a month.

PDG Shopping Cart software

PDG Shopping Cart software is a fully featured shopping cart software with affiliate link tracking piggy-backed on to it. An SSL-enhanced version costs $US750.

 

Do-it-yourself sites, articles, and books

For a superb article on how to operate an affiliate program, get a copy of Ken Evoy's Make Your Site Sell. It's incredibly good value for money, and comes with a 224-page FREE manual for affiliates.

Dec 10, 2004Allan Gardyne
Going the extra mileSite Build It success story
Comments: 70
  1. Jake
    15 years ago

    Hey Allan,
    Do you have any information on how to do a JV affiliate program? I know of an ebook that is distributed directly but could be easily marketed through an affiliate program... I would like to approach the author and ask to do a joint venture. I would want to be the 'instigator' to set it up and receive a % of all sales that come through the affiliate program - my take for bringing it to the author - he potentially explodes his sales as well... If you have info about how to do this or where to go I would be thankful... With all the options you have outlined in this article I'm sure there would be a solution but I am not sure what the best approach would be...
    cheers,
    Jake

    [You have lots of options. The simplest way would be to use ClickBank. It's cheap to set up, it handles affiliate payments, and nearly all affiliates are familiar with it. You could do the work and share the proceeds with the author. Another way would be to persuade the author to set up a two-tier program and you would persuade affiliates to sign up under you and receive a percentage of their sales. This would be a good question to ask on our affiliate forum. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  2. David
    15 years ago

    I agree with most of the other commenters - a truly, all encompassing article. I came here with infinite questions about starting an affiliate program and I am leaving here with almost zero. Well done!
    David
    www.ConcealedCabinet.com
    A recessed medicine cabinet hidden behind a picture frame

    ReplyCancel
  3. divya
    15 years ago

    Hi Allan,
    In comprehensive article on : How to start an affiliate program , you had recommended
    Affiliate Network Pro software to Set up ones own affiliate network "just like CJ and LinkShare", says John Ross of AlstraSoft.

    I have been reading consumer feedback on Alstrasoft's customer service and huge list of bugs that can't be set right unless one is a programmer.

    Could you please recommend a few other softwares that I can buy to set up my own Affiliate Network as large as CJ, Linkshare or performics ? Your recommendation would be highly respected.
    Thanking you
    Divya

    [Hi Divya, I haven't done it, so I can't give you a first-hand recommendation. Hundreds of ad networks and affiliate networks use DirectTrack. You could check it out. However, I'd be absolutely amazed if you could successfully set up something as complex as a large affiliate network without hiring a programmer. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  4. divya
    15 years ago

    i don't see my comment up..?

    [Because of spam, comments are moderated. They don't appear immediately. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  5. YogaBestBuy.com
    15 years ago

    Great list. It is very helpful.
    Thanks.
    http://www.yogabestbuy.com

    ReplyCancel
  6. Peter Hamilton
    14 years ago

    I would like to add another affiliate network software to the mix. HasOffers.com is another application for managing an affiliate network that competes with DT. From what I understand, it is free...

    ReplyCancel
  7. BMF Sports
    14 years ago

    I'm so glad that I found this article and, therein, our new affiliate marketing provider!

    ReplyCancel
  8. lynne
    13 years ago

    hi
    we have a club which has members we want those members to invite there friends and there friends
    to do the same,,we want to reward clients with points
    so that their next years club membership fees are free or
    discounted by percentage of new members who they introduce join and pay

    do you know of any thing like that
    regards
    Lynne

    [You could try asking on our affiliate forum. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  9. James Ballard
    13 years ago

    Great list. Was looking to do some research on affiliates for a client of mine in a couple of weeks. Definitely saved me some time finding good info on Google. Thanks for putting this together.

    ReplyCancel
  10. Affiliate Tracking
    13 years ago

    http://www.AffiliateHarvest.com

    is another very good solution for starting your own affiliate program.
    Real time reporting, Geo IP data, impression count

    ReplyCancel
  11. Musa
    13 years ago

    Cool list, I just like the idea of owning an affiliate programme. I guess it works if you have grown popular online and are savvy with CSS and HTML.

    ReplyCancel
  12. India news
    13 years ago

    yeah i liked the details on the affiliate programs but i have not understood completely.
    thanks

    ReplyCancel
  13. MCharan
    13 years ago

    Hello Allan and Dave

    Allan ~ Well done. I found the information very helpful.

    Dave ~ Thank you for adding additional information. Our company is trying to start its own affiliate program. Could I get your email address to ask you some questions regarding such programs?

    Regards

    ReplyCancel
  14. the scrivener
    13 years ago

    I'll check some of these out; I've been wondering exactly how to set up an affiliate program for my business - since I provide a service rather than a product, I'll probably have to explore a little to find one that's suitable.

    ReplyCancel
  15. Rebecca Totilo
    13 years ago

    Wow! I actually feel like I can do this now. Thanks for the wonderful information on how to set up an affiliate program for my business. I am looking forward to great results for http://HealWithOil.com.

    ReplyCancel
  16. Logo Design
    13 years ago

    Thanks for the post. I am starting an affiliate program but its going to be pretty small. I am going to try Paul Galloway and some of the other individual programs you listed.

    ReplyCancel
  17. didu
    13 years ago

    great so many advantages from this post.
    thank u

    ReplyCancel
  18. Technology Details
    12 years ago

    I appreciate the concern which is been rose. The things need to be sorted out because it is about the individual but it can be with everyone.

    Technology Details

    ReplyCancel
  19. 3D design portfolio
    12 years ago

    Remember that having more affiliates isn't always better. The affiliate marketing experts say that 85% of referred sales will come from a few 'super affiliates'. So don't be too concerned if you have few affiliates. You don't need a lot if you have good ones.

    ReplyCancel
  20. Jeremy Lewis
    12 years ago

    One Software that is good is Omnistar Affiliate because you can setup an affiliate program in a couple hours.

    ReplyCancel
  21. AnneMarie Callan
    16 years ago

    That is an amazing comprehensive article. I can't imagine anything could have been left out. As it is information that I was searching for, I'll give it 100% for excellent free information. Thank you
    AnneMarie
    http://www.howtofashionbusiness.com

    ReplyCancel
  22. Brady Lewis
    16 years ago

    Great list. It is very helpful.
    Brady Lewis
    www.Spanish4Emergencies.com

    ReplyCancel
  23. Jason Latour
    16 years ago

    Wow! I know this article is old but what great information. Just what I was looking for to start up an affiliate program.
    Thanks,
    Jay Latour
    ImageHostDirect.com

    [Thanks. The original article was written years ago, but the info has been often updated since then. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  24. Ionut stoianovici
    16 years ago

    You are helping a lot of people! That's very nice! Thank you!

    ReplyCancel
  25. Nic Sinclair Henleyhosting
    15 years ago

    Great artical very useful but does any one no if theres a way of seting it up with out paying any money up front? iam going to keep looking any how and i dont find a company that will do it for no up front charge then i may just have to start one anyone want to help me ?
    cheers nic
    www.henleyhosting.co.uk

    [You can start an affiliate program at ClickBank with an upfront fee of only about $50. I wouldn't want to base a business on attracting merchants who couldn't afford to pay $50. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  26. Jenny
    15 years ago

    Thankyou! I always wondered how people seemed to have affiliates on their own site.
    http://www.ozwebhub.com

    ReplyCancel
  27. Peter Koning
    15 years ago

    In addition merchants should consider the investment beyond just the technical solution. You need to address the recruiting, hiring, managing/motivating, and firing of affiliates. Look at your resources, strengths and weaknesses. Some merchants do this themselves and others rely on OAM or Outsourced Affiliate Managers.
    Networks can do some of these functions as well, but then it's usually on their terms and has a cost.
    Cheers,
    Peter
    http://www.affiliate-software-review.com

    ReplyCancel
  28. Damon Marshall
    15 years ago

    An excellent article! As a small online business we have been looking at the options of affiliate marketing at great detail of recent months. Can anyone suggest any good providers for small businesses like www.ipopwear.com
    Regards, Damon
    www.ipopwear.com

    [A similar question was asked on our affiliate forum recently. That would be a good place to look for an answer. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  29. nic sinclair
    15 years ago

    hey allan
    what uv put at the bottom [of my last post] is a fair point. i hadnt known clickbank was that low, however it's less about the amount of money than my thinking that why should i pay up front when they take a cut of every sale. doesnt that allow them the ability to go ''pay as you go''. Of course all self respectable merchants can afford $50, most of us probs make that in the time we spend on your site, thats not a boast, i've been on here bloody ages. but if u risked $50 on 50 programs it adds up.

    ReplyCancel
  30. faria
    15 years ago

    Hi allan i was looking to start a new affiliate program for my website:www.getnowdomains.com and www.startyouebiznow.com and now that i read your article i learned a lot i start looking for an easy program because i am not big progammer
    thank you

    ReplyCancel
  31. Psychic Medium
    15 years ago

    Talk about informative article! This will be the perfect guide for my goal of starting an affiliate program with my new social network...
    Many Thanks!!
    http://www.mediumsmeet.com

    ReplyCancel
  32. Lynn
    15 years ago

    Hi Allan, I am so glad I stumbled onto your site. This is VERY informative. Question: It seems that all affiliate programs are for digital products. I have a retail jewelry product and I wanted to have affiliates sell my product. There is a very high potential commission pay out - AND I want to get my product sold around the world! Just wanted your feedback on a retail jewelry product vs. digital products. THANKS again!
    www.tcharmjewelry.com

    [There are tens of thousands of affiliate programs and millions of products sold via affiliate products. The vast majority of products sold are physical products, not digital downloads. If you have good products, an affiliate program is a good option. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  33. Alfonso
    15 years ago

    Hi Allan,
    I'm almost starting with my own affiliate program for my websites http://alfonsoruiz.ws, http://successunica.com and looking for more information, so checking your articles i receiving ideas to start as sooner is possible, thanks for your help!
    Regards

    ReplyCancel
  34. Deidre Gunnels
    15 years ago

    I use Google Checkout on my site, which affiliate program is setup to work with google checkout?

    [Here's a list of merchants who are using Google Checkout:
    http://www.google.com/checkout/m.html
    You could see what affiliate tracking system they're using. The few I checked either had an inhouse system or were using LinkShare. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  35. Abi Noah
    14 years ago

    Thank you for this thoroughly researched and comprehensive list. As an affiliate marketer, I am always on the lookout for reputable affiliate networks. Although your information seems to be targeted mainly at merchants, I find it is really useful for me as an affiliate marketer
    Webmaster
    http://www.affiliatemarketingintro.com

    [If you use our site's search box, you can find: affiliate networks list (Don't use quotes.). Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  36. rachael
    14 years ago

    Thanks this is a very detailed post. Incredible. Thank you!

    ReplyCancel
  37. Dave Jackson
    14 years ago

    Allan,
    Nice job. I've got two gems to add to the list
    idevaffiliate ($99) and Post Affiliate Pro ($99) both have great features, reports, and stats. They also have a system tray tool to get live updates. This is a great article and I will be adding it to my resource section at
    http://www.weeklywebtools.com/links/links/Affiliat...

    [Thanks for the tips. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  38. kyle rahimi
    14 years ago

    Very helpful information, saved me lots of time

    thanks
    cellulartraders.com

    ReplyCancel
  39. Ben
    14 years ago

    Yes excellent information, currently looking into implementing an affiliate program on my own site. The only problem is I didn't realise how many options there were until I read this and now I'm even more confused as to which one to use!

    ReplyCancel
  40. Craig
    14 years ago

    Very informative thank you
    http://www.digitalcomputerservice.com
    DigitalComputerService.com

    ReplyCancel
  41. Make Money Not Excuses
    14 years ago

    Very informative article. I was going to write an article about clickbank and commission junction for my site by I think I will just refer my visitors to you.

    [Thank you! Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  42. Allie
    14 years ago

    Hi Allan,
    I just built a website (niche auction site) I want to propose a jv relationship with a few online communities in the same niche. Any advice on how to set it up?

    [I'm not sure if you're asking about software or about other details. This would be a good question to ask on our affiliate forum. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  43. Ceri Heathcote
    14 years ago

    Interesting post. From an affiliate marketers point of view, it is definitely worth signing up as an affiliate. Some networks make your job easy, give help and advice and positively encourage you to promote their merchants. Others don't really help at all and despite repeated emails asking for technical assistance I get none so give up and don't bother promting their merchants. From a fashion affiliate marketers point of view, I have found affiliate window and paid on results really good.

    ReplyCancel
  44. Internet Affiliate Program
    14 years ago

    Since the concept began with Amazon in the mid-1990's, the idea of earning money through an internet marketing affiliate program has taken the internet community by storm. Basically, an internet marketing affiliate program allows site owners to make money simply by hosting advertising pop-ups or banners on their websites or blogs

    ReplyCancel
  45. Christina
    13 years ago

    Can anything here be used for a service instead of a physical product?

    Christina

    [Yes. The affiliate program is just a way of tracking payments and tracking referrals, so it doesn't really matter if you're selling a physical product or a serivce. I see you've also asked the question on our affiliate forum. I've answered your question in more detail there. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  46. L. Vital
    13 years ago

    I enjoyed this article very much. I'd like to start a AP for my Local Internet Marketing business. My biggest question has to do with contacting the righ people to be affiliates.

    [Here's an article I wrote that will give you lots of ideas...
    How to find and recruit affiliates
    http://www.associateprograms.com/articles/135/1/Af...
    Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  47. ecommerce software
    13 years ago

    It really depends what resources you have available to you I believe. If you have some in-house staff that can take care of finding a good software and they can manage the affiliates, I think thats a great way to go, if not, affiliate networks will do the job, but they won't care as much as you do if you do it in-house.

    ReplyCancel
  48. Peacock On The Run
    13 years ago

    http://www.cyberaffiliates.com.au/ is out of business now.

    [Thanks for the tip. Much appreciated. I've deleted that one. Allan.]

    ReplyCancel
  49. svalani
    13 years ago

    I always wanted to learn about affiliate marketing...good article and great advice....www.bolly2u.com

    ReplyCancel
  50. Work at Home
    13 years ago

    I have used Commission Junction as well as Linkshare as a publisher, but haven't looked at becoming the one who is selling a product. It looks like the fees may be considerable for an individual, but they look very affordable for a small company. It seems the average is about $40-50 a month, which isn't bad at all. It's the commissions the company charges per sale that you really need to look out for.

    ReplyCancel
  51. Steve
    13 years ago

    I'm researching setting up an affiliate program for my "domain names for sale" website, www.TopWebNames.com. Thanks for this helpful list of affiliate programs.

    Steve

    www.TopWebNames.com
    High quality, premium, intuitive type-in keyword domain names.

    ReplyCancel
  52. Felicity Waters
    13 years ago

    oh gosh....now which one

    www.gardenbeet.com

    ReplyCancel
  53. Scott
    13 years ago

    I appreciate the help. This page has been very helpful. We are looking to start an affiliate program for our furniture company but don't have a shopping cart system. We sell custom furniture with lots of choices so the customer needs to call us to complete the order. We want to offer a "cost per lead" structure and hope to find a good one out of the ones listed above.

    ReplyCancel
  54. Nick
    13 years ago

    Hi guys,
    Could you advice me of affiliate networks that are good at promoting services to affiliates rather being a good billing solution? After all, it's the exposure what matters...

    [That would be a good question to ask on our affiliate forum. Allan.]

    Regards, Nick

    ReplyCancel
  55. Bobby
    13 years ago

    It just seems like this is not something that a small business with small start up costs can do. But the article is great and so very comprehensive.

    ReplyCancel
  56. Niall
    13 years ago

    In my opinion, an affiliate network that provides you with all the tools and support you need, but also allows you to spend as much or as little as you like on setting up is the best option. If you use a pre made website on either a free blog system or by buying a domain on your own hosting its up to you. But it will be plenty cheaper than getting someone to do all the work for you and yet you don't lose out too much on the support side.

    ReplyCancel
  57. CKay
    12 years ago

    Really informative valuable information. Many thanks.

    ReplyCancel
  58. ally
    12 years ago

    Interesting comment. Everybody has to start somewhere. Surely, money didn't just fall into your lap. It is highly possible for a new business to not have $50 to spend- if you've never had a real business you may not understand how EVERYTHING costs.
    Wishing you the best HENLYHOSTING. Do not feel bad that you do not have $50 to spend upfront... one day you will.

    ReplyCancel
  59. John
    11 years ago

    Allan, this is an article well researched even though it was published in 2004, it still stand out as the best. My question is, how do you make money with affiliate programs, yes they are all over, signing up is always very easy, one is always very optimistic while signing up. 3-4 months down the line you ask the same guy how much he/she has made, he lacks answers. So how quickly do I make money as an affiliate? Is a website a must? how do i market?

    Warm regards,
    John
    www.freewebsitelab.com

    ReplyCancel
  60. Allan Gardyne
    11 years ago

    John, Click on the Affiliate Beginners link at the top left of the page and look for my 18-step Affiliate Program Tutorial. It answers those questions.

    ReplyCancel
  61. Holly
    11 years ago

    Interesting. I never knew that less affiliates can be better. when i see affiliate programs with 1 millon members i just assume that all of them are millionaires.

    Allan -wow thanks for putting this information up. I'm thinking of starting my own affiliate program like clixsence [last week is my first time hearing about sites like this...] but i was so worried about the technical stuff. i want to choose a company on here that doesn't require me to pay them a percentage of the sales and a yearly fee [i want to buy my own domain so i don't want other fees]. it seems that affiliate scripts has all the work done for us with no fees. Now I'm worried about answering huge emails [i only want contact us tab on the site and i'm hoping for my computer to answer most of the mails not me], not having a well english written site lol [i already know some sites that can have people complete these kind of tasks for others like odesk for example], i want the computer to do the work of approving the huge amount of ads that can open up on my web for click and pay, and i'm also worried about being present all the time on the site for people to work. It is amazing that i see click and pay sites that just started a day ago with over 1000 members [these sites advertize in places like clixsence which is why they have a lot of members]

    ReplyCancel
  62. Holly
    11 years ago

    Hi,actually I plan to go with affiliate network pro and buy a PTC script somewhere else :)

    ReplyCancel
  63. Stefan Sojka
    11 years ago

    Thank you for providing this information. I was referred to you by a client asking about affiliate programs and not only was it a great conversation starter, but your advice and links have helped us to no end consider all the options and their suitability.

    The next step is to look at the pros and cons of the different models, the risks and benefits and how to determine if affiliate marketing is a suitable model for your particular business.

    These are questions that become more relevant as one gets closer to actually signing up with an affiliate program or setting one up.  

    Thank you for your contribution to the process.

    Kind regards,

    Stefan
    www.cyrius.com.au 

    ReplyCancel
  64. Link Building Club
    11 years ago

    Someone who needs to outsource their sales department should look into Affiliate sales-this much is obvious. But I would also like to know how to find large numbers of Affiliate sellers or "workers" who want to promote products and sites.We are preparing a site and service that I think will be effective with affiliate sales. Does anyone have a resource where people go to look for Affiliate opportunities...maybe even rank them? Thanks

    <a href=http://www.link-building-club.com>Link-Building-Club</a>

    ReplyCancel
  65. Elyor
    11 years ago

    Great article with detailed information. Allan, I am working on new idea which will have something similar to affiliate network and need some info about it. Do I need only payment gateway, shopping cart and affiliate tracking software to get new site started as affiliate network or there is something else needed? Could you give any suggestions for payment, shopping cart and affiliate software that work best together?

    Thanks in advance

    ReplyCancel
  66. Allan Gardyne
    11 years ago

    Hi Elyor, These days, I'm purely an affiliate promoting other people's products. We haven't had our own affiliate program for several years. I recommend you talk to some successful affiliate merchants before you make any decisions.

    ReplyCancel
  67. Tariehk
    10 years ago

    Thanks for this great list.  It is very compregensive.  A great place to start an affiliate program is by buying affiliate software.  Our company provides an excellent solution that is easy to setup.  It is called OSI Affiliate Software.  You can get more info at:

    http://www.osiaffiliate.com

    ReplyCancel
  68. John MN
    9 years ago

    Thank you for providing this information. I was referred to you by a client asking about affiliate programs and not only was it a great conversation starter, but your advice and links have helped us to no end consider all the options and their suitability.

    ReplyCancel
  69. ricky
    8 years ago

    I'm wanting to start a blog for my photography business. What free blog would be best?.

    ReplyCancel

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Allan Gardyne

Affiliate marketing veteran, entrepreneur. Founder of AssociatePrograms.

18 years ago 70 Comments Merchant Resources, Your Own ProgramMerchant Resources, Your Own Program170
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