Getting approved for an affiliate program

[johnny4820]

I'm brand new to affiliate marketing and i have been trying to get approved for a program. I've applied twice and have gotten declined both times. Can anyone tell me what they look at when approving a publisher. I don't currently have a site up but plan on creating one specifically for this program. Any help would be appreciated.

thanks in advance

[edited by: eljefe3 at 11:05 am (utc) on Oct. 17, 2007]

[golles]

we always get the site up first or at least half built and chat with the affiliate manager about our intent, promotion methods, budget etc.

when all else fails - pick up the phone and have a chat with someone about your plans.

[markwelch]

As 'golles' says, many affiliate managers won't approve an affiliate until they see the web site where you'll promote their products. This is partly to protect their "brand identity" by not having their affiliate links on "bad" sites, but also to prevent unscrupulous folks from joining and then engaging in prohibited practices (such as spamming or parasitic/malware activity).

A polite email may be enough to persuade the affiliate manager to change her mind; if your emails go unanswered then perhaps this isn't the company to be working with.

[sastro]

Don't be confuse, there's a lot of affiliate programs out there

[Perfiliate]

Hey Johnny

Definitely pick the phone up and give them a call. 9 times out of 10 you will be approved in minutes.

Snapfish is a popular program and affiliates will or should be being approved at least daily if not a few times a day. Someone applies with no website and the program manager maybe has other roles and responsibilities in the company and maybe the network isn’t pro active then it’s easy to end up in the queue and perhaps never contacted.

If your pro-active in the meantime to finishing your site not only will you get the approvals you want but you will also stand out from the crowd and take the first steps to building a relationship with your main program managers which can be very important to you in the long term.

Also make sure you take a lot of time out to read the various forums on affiliate marketing I really cant stress this enough - there are so many experienced people out there willing to share their experiences - there are no dumb questions just ask away and you will get answers to all the basics you need.

I'm going to be spending a lot more time at Webmaster World especially in this section so I’ll help wherever I can.

Best

Mal