Pibs - 4:30 pm on Aug 16, 2004 (gmt 0)

As a newby affiliate here's my 2c:

Keep the product page to the point and sell the darn product. If you need a looooong selling page then get your own traffic. If I'm selling it for you then I want people to go buy it, not go read for half an hour or click that ever-present home or favourite search engine button.

Don't wave it under the customer's nose that they too could be an affiliate - alternatively just add the words "The guy who sent you here just wants your cash and didn't mean a thing he said about us" then watch me dump your program.

I hate, detest and genrally loath garbage copy along the lines of "This should be $99 but for a very limited time only, you can have access to ALL this for just $29.95!"

You want me to hype your product at $99? So you didn't want traffic after all? Why bother then?

Like I say, I'm a newby but if I were selling a product I'd want the affiliate to tell the visitor how great it is, what benefits it brings and what good value it is - so when they arrive they look around, think "OK, seems a professional looking site, what the guy said, so where do I order..? Ah, buy now.."

Not a sprawling over-hyped sales pitch that goes on for ever, gives obviously fake "discounts" and extolls the virtues of your affiliate program.

Please, can the excessive "testimonials", unless you provide photographs, email addresses and their phone number..

Serious affiliates will know to look right at the bottom for some tiny print in between the copyright notice, privacy and other boring gumpth links for the little word "affiliates" in tiny type. Better still, hide it on your contact page.

If you have an attractive product or service, people will LOOK for the affiliate link, don't wave it at our visitors - that is the number one thing that has made me decide against various programs.

We want conversions, not to breed your affiliate program.

Min' payouts? Pay me for every 10 sales, whatever that works out at. More than that and I get nervous you might not be there come payday.

Pibs.