Designed my Own Affiliate Program Now What?

I built my own affiliate program, it's easy. Now how do I get it going?

[stroudtx]

I didn't want to pay a 3rd party to do my affiliate program, so I built it myself. It's quite simple.

As we are now a $100k company, I want to take it to the next level by offering an affiliate program to increase sales and reach.

Is there an place where I can post our program invitation details that will be seen, but doesn't require me to set up anything?

Thanks -

Mike

[malachite]

Is there a forum which discusses your particular "widget" where you could post details, inviting interested parties to apply for your program?

[stroudtx]

Hi - No, I haven't posted it anywhere. Anywhere you would suggest?

Mike

[edited by: eljefe3 at 5:24 am (utc) on Dec. 18, 2005]

[gabby]

You could start by e mailing webmasters who have sites that fit your market.

Just be prepared for the fact that anyone who has a site that can send you volume traffic that converts will demand significantly more than your standard affiliate commission.

Be prepared to negotiate, and be prepared to pay a premium for a super affiliate that can send you paying customers in volume.

[malachite]

Mike,

Sorry, I don't know of any specific forums which deal with your widget, babies are not my specialty ;)

What you could do is Google for "affiliate programs", as there are quite a few sites which offer directories of available programs, across a broad range of topics, to which you could submit your details.

Gabby's suggestion is also a good one, and has the bonus that you will already have an idea of what the target site looks like, can check its Alexa ranking etc, before you contact the webmaster.

You've got a nice looking site, I'm sure your program will be successful. Good luck!

[howiejs]

You CAN NOT post your URLs here . .

There are MANY affiliate directories that you can list in

[gabby]

Tke it easy Howie, no one is posting URLs.

[malachite]

howiejs - I didn't suggest the OP post the URL here - if you read my post carefully, you'll see I suggested, just as you did, that he post in the affiliate program directories :)

[ganderla]

$$$ every couple of months

If you are a big time affiliate program, your top affiliates would be making this every hour.

[edited by: eljefe3 at 5:26 am (utc) on Dec. 18, 2005]

[suzyvirtual]

having an "affiliate" or webmaster link on your site would be a good start....

[stroudtx]

I'm afriad though that I might get some customers upset when seeing that 10% of thier purchase goes to a 3rd party. However, I'd say your probably right. It's going up tonight.

Mike

[sbskater10]

Some big affiliate forums let you have a sponsored post that will be seen by high quality affiliates for a low cost.

For some reason this forum disallows writing the name of the one I have in mind that I would say is the most credable in the industry, but go to Google and search for "Affiliate Forum" (second link abest...).

[fclark]

yep, I'm thinking of the same one that cannot be mentioned here. Should you stumble upon one of these forums, you will also find that there are contract affiliate managers who charge a fixed fee plus commission to pump your program. They can be choosey though, but come with a nice rolodex. In fact, I've seen a few of their screen names on webmasterworld too. also, if you put a simple "partners" link somewhere on your site, the affs will know to follow it for more info while your regular customers will pretty much ignore it.

[stroudtx]

excellent idea. Thanks!

Mike

[Shawn Collins]

You could start by e mailing webmasters who have sites that fit your market.

Be sure those e-mails are CAN-SPAM compliant.

You'll likely see poor returns on a cold call e-mail campaign.

Consider soliciting targeted sites via snail mail - a two-sided postcard that highlights the value propositions of your affiliate program and where to join.