Affiliate Programs

Have you heard of Affiliate (a.k.a. “Associate”) Programs as a way to market your web site?

Well, you probably know of them, even if you don’t identify them by name. Amazon, always the online leader, popularized them with their Associates Program. With Amazon’s program, you can “build a store on your web site” and earn “generous referral fees,” but in truth, what they are doing is using you and me to help them sell their books. Brilliant!

So, the question is, how can you harness the potential of such an idea to help you sell your products or services online? Or, for you cash hounds, how can you make the most of affiliate program dollars being offered out there online? Let’s address the first question first.

If you’re interested in starting your own affiliate program, it does not have to be all that difficult. In fact, there are several sites out there with pre-packaged affiliate programs and to create yours, all you have to do is sign up. One popular service is Click Trade from the folks at LinkExchange. This all-inclusive management program lets you determine how you want to pay your affiliates (by click-thru (visitor), lead or sale), accept or deny any applicant, and edit your program at any time. There are no start-up fees charged; Click Trade simply takes a commission on every transaction.

Other useful affiliate program management sites include BeFree and LinkShare.

Now, for you cash hounds. If you’ve already visited Click Trade and BeFree, you’ve seen that they also have sections of their sites where you can go sign up for other affiliate programs. Wait! But there’s more! There are whole sites out there now strictly dedicated to promoting affiliate programs so that YOU can make money. For example, check out AssociatePrograms.com, Refer-It and SiteCash. C’mon, what are you waiting for?!

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