Question about adding an Affiliate Program to my site.... Please help

Need help with Affiliate Programs

[stagex]

Hello,

I plan to start a web site on body building (weight training) and I want to join a few affiliate programs that offer nutritional supplements. When I visited the company's affiliate program's page, it only states that I will receive 10% commission and the banners will be provided. Can I add a shopping cart to my site and have my visitors shop from my site? Instead of just posting links on my web pages that refer my visitors to the company's site.

Thanks

[dmorison]

Hi stagex,

A shopping cart on the affiliates site is not generally how affiliate programs work.

Except in very rare cases where a serious relationship has developed between affiliate and merchant (such that the affiliate takes on the appearance of a distributor rather than an affiliate) will you see an affiliate program allow shopping cart functionality as part of their program.

Sorry!

[Robber]

Don't know about that market but there a few programs out there that let you both deeplink and add product to a basket on the merchants site. The trouble is once they add the first product to the merchants basket they will be off your site - so you can let people add product to a basket, just not your own, hence the shopping cart won't work.

If you get your site generating some results with some programs you will have a much better chance of being able to go direct to the merchant and discuss customising the program.