Looking for a good affiliate program to join....

[Tonearm]

I sell stuff on my site and I've never dealt with an affiliate program before. I'd like to set something up that allows me to link to other sites that sell items that are complimentary to mine and earn commission from this. I'm not sure where to start. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Things to watch out for?

- Grant

[siteseo]

Do a search on Google for "widgets affiliate program," replacing widgets with a keyword that relates to your site. Or search for "affiliate program directory."

There are large networks you can join, too. You can search within those networks for relevant merchants. If you want further reco's, just sticky someone within this forum and let them know what category you're trying to get into. They're very helpful about assisting you in finding a good merchant to partner with.

[Tonearm]

siteseo -

Yeah Google turns up a ton, but it seems important to hook up with a reputable one. It sounds easy for them to rip you off. Are they third-party reviewed or rated anywhere? Maybe a certain directory only lists reputable ones? Am I just being paranoid?

- Grant

[Tonearm]

I sell dorm room decor type stuff, and I'm actually hooked up with a good smoke shop site I found. I think they'll go together nicely.

This affiliate stuff seems to be really bussling, and this has me wanting to get people to help sell my stuff. Does anyone have experience getting set up as a merchant in a system like Commission Junction's?

- Grant

[ProHealth]

It's pricy and somewhat a pain in the butt to get set up in CJ as a merchant. I'd take a look at Share A Sale before some of the bigger guys like CJ or LS. We use CJ -- it works for us for the most part but I'd assume we are a bit bigger than you...

[siteseo]

Yeah, their are Directories - search for "affiliate directory." CJ is very pricey. There are less expensive options if you want to run your program in-house. I'll sticky you some independent firms you can look at.

[chrisgarrett]

A way of finding an affiliate network or merchant to team up with is find a product that you think is a good fit, see how many affiliates are promoting it (to see if it is a waste of time, overcrowded or just right) and trace them back to the source.

[ProHealth]

The other thing to remember is to keep to things you know about and like because you will need to create content that matches. If your thing is dorm room decor then find a couple companies that sells that (the Container Store has an affiliate program). At the end of the day, content is king and the better you know something, the better you will be able to pre-sell the stuff.

My two bits...

LMG

[rsecomm]

Here are some suggestions:

1. Search google for affiliate programs you want to join such as "hosting affiliate program" or "sports affiliate".

2. Join an Affiliate Network such as Befree.com, CJ.com, Performics.com, LinkShare or Shareasale which offer tons of merchants selling different categories of products.

[edited by: jcoronella at 2:53 am (utc) on Jan. 24, 2005]

[rfung]

Yeah, their are Directories - search for "affiliate directory."

Just be aware of any 'reviews' you may find in those directories. Some sites have 2nd tier affiliate programs and their positive review is just an excuse to have you sign up and profit from it. (and I stress the 'some of them').

OTOH, while I brought that point - is there such a thing as a 'bad affiliate program'? The beauty of AM is that the publisher's success is the merchant's success and vice versa, so why would any merchant want to screw up the publisher by shortchanging them?

[ProHealth]

while affiliate marketing presents itself as win-win, there are bad programs. Some merchants will screw their affiliates by claiming a product was returned when it was not, reversing your commissions. Others fail to have any sort of support if you have an issue, all you get is an auto responder. The reality is you want to find a niche, find a program within that niche and then make sure it's a reputable company that will support you in your endevors and not screw you out of your due... A quick scan of these boards will quickly find affiliates who were screwed by companies and companies screwed by affiliates...

Anyway, my two bits!

LMG

[gary]

I deal almost exclusively with Affiliate Fuel, and can say that they treat their affiliates well. It's also one of the most user-frienly sites i've come across.
I'm just a small time advertiser on Adwords, but I get great service with these guys.