I've been researching the best home business to start online and I'm starting to lean towards Affiliate Marketing. I just have a few reservations before I dive in. I'm concerned about the whole cookie tracking and merchant honesty issues. The downside to the business is that the cookies are only tracked for 30 days and can be easily deleted before then. Also I've tried my hand in a little AM before and feel I was burned by the merchant for not crediting me with a few sales which would have meant a profit or a loss for me. I have a feeling alot of merchants are skimming the profits from Affiliate Marketers. Why wouldn't they? It'd be so easy! On the good side I think there is alot of potential to make money with AM programs. Can anyone say anything to me that would make me feel more confident about starting up in this biz? Thanks,
Hi Mr Big, Sorry to hear that you have been burned but... Honest merchants NEVER skim. They realize that the more money you make, the more they will make and only if they are honest and supportive will the relationship continue to make money for the good of all. Cookies - Most pro-active programs have cookies MUCH onger than 30 days. Many of our programs have 90 day, 1 year, even 10 year cookies. However cookies do get deleted, blocked or eaten - that's true. But only by a certain percentage of surfers - so longer cookies still will help increase commission overall. Where do you find HONEST merchants with high commissions & long cookies? 5 Star Affiliate Programs I work directly with all the companies listed in my affiliate directory and they are all GUARANTEED to pay, all have high integrity, most offer free datafeed tools and they are ALL pro-actively managed by people I know and trust that are the VERY best in the industry. I stake my good reputation on these programs. Some of the top names you will recognize in the 5 Star Directory are National Geographic, SnapFish, Mondera Diamonds, DentalPlans, 21st Century Insurance and ClubMom. But there are also lots of smaller niche programs that are less competitive offering products from almost every market segment. 5 Star Affiliate Programs - TOP 50 Directory http://www.5staraffiliateprograms.com/affiliate-directory.html (Sorry for the pitch, but I am really passionate about what I do and hate to see people struggle trying to find honest programs. Just trying to help. PS I don't get any 2nd tier commissions - these are not affiliate links.)
Mr. Big... If you spend some time reading through the DP boards here you'll find that you can start picking out which programs are reliable. For example...the eBay affiliate program available through Commission Junction is highly recommended. If you're going to build a website most people recommend picking a niche topic (possibly one you're very interested in). There are really many ways to monetize a site in addition to affiliate commissions; such as selling advertising/text links, running Google Adsense or some other contextual ad program, or even by reselling goods or services (drop shipping, wholesale, licensing, etc). Again...spend a weekend reading some of the archived threads and you'll get a good feel for what's working/not working for others.
I haven't been involved in internet marketing for myself for too long, but I have actually been surprised at how well the companies pay. One product I was promoting that was launched towards the end of last month I had a few conversions. I was amazed when the affiliate manager announced payments were being made on the first day of the next month, straight to my Paypal account. There are affiliate programs that actually payout daily for every sale. Yes it is rare, most are around the middle of the month for the preceeding month. Obviously there are risks involved for the affiliate program managers, but for digital products that they are selling in large volume, and expect few returns (because the product is good and they provide exceptional support), the risks for them are minor compared to the benefit of loyal affiliates. That being said, like every aspect of online business, don't put all your eggs in one basket, and avoid cheating. The risks far outway any gains . Think of your business being longterm, build relationships etc
Like in another post running at the min. Its said that 90% of affiliates never advertise. If thats the case these companies are going to want to hold on to any affiliates that are making sales. I know there are a lot of con artists out there but i think the majority will treat you well and hope for a long prosperous business relationship with you for years to come.