Generating Traffic And Using An Affiliate

The first thing i would ask myself would be:

What are my visitor's interests?

If they are techno geeks ( like me :0) ) then they might enjoy offers for software, computer peripherals, trial offers for educational books, etc. What need does your site fulfill for a potential visitor? Think about what kind of people you designed the site for, and how that relates to the information you gather on your actual visitors. You can get even more specific information on visitors through free services that allow you to offer opinion polls on your site. The more you know about your visitors the better you can fit their needs with programs they will click on.

Affiliate Program Choices

When choosing an affiliate program, there are more questions to be answered than just how well it fits with your visitors needs. You also need to take into account how well it fits with your needs. Do they have restrictions that apply because of geographical locations or site requirements? Do they limit your ability to promote them by not allowing promotion through newsletters or mass e-mail? What kind of reputation does the company have? Do they restrict you to certain sized banner advertisements or text links? How well do they know which of their own banners or text links produce the best results?

Company reputation?

Truth is, you can offer anything through your site that you want, but if you are not careful what you offer, then the affiliate could also hurt your reputation and cost you in the long run. Put yourself in the visitor's shoes. If you went to a site and clicked on a link that promised you something but didn't deliver, would you be so quick to click on the site again when you didn't trust the links? How many times have you visited a site that promised something through a link and didn't deliver? Did you go back to the site? If you did, then did you click on other links, or just look over the information on the site? How does the company stack up in customer support areas or quality of products/services?

These questions apply to the company's ability to provide to customers, but what about their ability to deliver to the webmasters and website designers that promote them? Have they been accused of "shaving hits"? Do they pay commissions on time? How often do they pay? Do you know of any other webmasters or designers that are successful with their products/services? What does the Better Business Bureau say about the company? Does the company have a long history of treating their promoters fairly and paying them on time? Is their payscale in line with industry standards for that type of program?

How well does the company know its own marketing materials?

Do they know which of their marketing tools provide the best return? Do they even track that kind of information? I love companies that know this information, especially those that have incorporated rotational programs in their code to rotate their best producing banners on your page. The larger the site, the more of a pain it is to go in and manually change affiliate program links. Working with a company that tracks this information greatly reduces the amount of time and energy needed to promote them.

A company that has no clue of this kind of information is a liability. If they do not know this kind of information, then how can they give their affiliates the tools needed to generate sales, make them successful, and provide them with the income stream they seek? Even worse, how long do you think that this kind of a company can remain afloat without knowing what works? Any good company worth its weight has a marketing team that knows what works. It is the ability to reproduce what works in more advertisement areas to generate more sales. Stay away from companies that do not know this information. They will only take addspace away from you that could have been used on other companies that produce.

What visitor needs does the company fulfill?

Does the company realistically offer something that your visitors are going to want? Remember, if a visitor isn't going to click on it, then putting it on your site was a waste of your time and energy in researching it. Viewing trends and research sites online will help you to determine what is hot and what is not. Another resource is your local newspaper. Most of them seem to be adding a spot to their papers on trends. Mine just happens to publish that section in the sunday paper. I try to make sure that I read it each week. I also tend to watch online headlines over at MSN, and some of the other big name newspapers online.

Trends take a common sense approach. When you read something about a trend, you have to take into consideration what drives it. Is it a need for convenience or necessity? Does it relate to entertainment or relaxation, or is it linked to education or productivity? You are also going to want NATIONAL trend type information. If you adhere to local trends you will limit your possibilities to a certain geographical location. The internet is not limited, it is GLOBAL.

Does the company place limitations or restrictions on your promotional efforts?

Does the company prohibit placing promotional information in a newsletter? Do they restrict e-mail promotion? Does their offering only apply to a certain geographical location? Are they gender specific offers? Does their offer have any limitations that would prevent certain people, either through income requirements or something else, from being able to take advantage of their offers?

Most companies frown on spam ( unsolicited e-mail ), and have taken great lengths to ensure that their promoters do not take part in such activities. Many companies also seem to not approve of newsletter adds without a promoter notifying them in advance. Some are gender specific and apply to one or the other. Examples would be for free make-up or perfume, or maybe an affiliation with a company ( Work at home moms ). There are also companies that offer promotionals based on income requirements, or the ownership of a credit card or home. If you are going to offer a better interest rate on credit cards or home mortgages, then obviously your visitor should have those.

A Site to get you started in your affiliate program is here (ClICK PICTURE BELOW- THE PICTURE WIH MONEY)

Last, a great site is CLICKBANK.COM, this site has many merchants waiting for you to be there.

Thanks for reading and please rate