Joining an affiliate program to sell your wares..

[Bubzeebub]

Why is it that I hear people say that, even though you join an affiliate program that you still have to go out and get affiliates on your own. Isn't that the whole point of joining the program?

[Bubzeebub]

Also, if anyone can give me suggestions as to which low-budget affiliate programs are best I would appreciate it.

[TrustNo1]

shareasale.com $50

[Bubzeebub]

yes..I was looking at shareasale's site. Why though, do they say that you still have to hunt down affiliates?

[MovingOnUp]

Many affiliates will find you on the networks, but you're just one of 1000+ merchants there. Why would someone choose you rather than Ebay, Dell, Overstock, or the other big names? A good affiliate manager will seek out sites that would be a good match for the program. None of the networks will do this for you.

ShareASale.com is a good network, but it won't get you anywhere near as much exposure as CJ or Linkshare. Both of them come with a hefty price tag, which you may or may not be able to justify.

Even beyond recruitment, an affiliate manager needs to motivate and communicate to grow the program. Inactivate affiliates need to be encouraged to become active. Active affiliates need to be given the tools and motivation they need to increase their sales.

If you aren't willing or able to recruit affiliates yourself, you might want to talk to an outsource affiliate program manager. Do a search on Google and you should be able to find at least half a dozen decent companies that provide these services. I should also point out that the big networks have in-house OPM options, but they're expensive and not as good as third party OPMs.