First Time Affiliate. 3 Questions...

[ttmw]

I'm running my first affiliate campaign from my website and need some advice.

Are image or text links the best to get people to the required aff page?

Should i send them directly to the product page for someone elses product, or should i make my own page that i can optimise but that also ads an extra step for the buyer?

lastly,i have google analitics set up already but is there anything within it i need to set up to give me better stats again?

[chazmilles]

Make your own page because that increases credibility. Review your product with your own words and compare it to other products.

Google Analytics is enough. :)

[Chuck Hamrick]

If you can design a better landing page than the merchant you could get better conversion. Focus on consumer benefits rather than features. Many merchants have worse conversion than their affiliates for that reason. Text links out perform banners 4 to 1 because they are incorporated in the page copy. Banners are great for branding as a header or on a category page. Always use a call to action on your text links.

[ttmw]

Say my page is fantastic and the customer wants to buy the product, they still have to go through the pitch page of the merchant right? Doesn't this make a smaller percentage of conversion?