Starting an affiliate program.

Any pointers?

[elgumbo]

Hi

I've been trialling an affiliate scheme (with 1 affiliate) for the last month and it seems to be going ok.

We have a click to sales percentage of just under 2% which I am trying hard to increase (clearer design on the page etc.)

I am now looking to expand the program and have a couple of questions.

1: I'm UK based. Do any UK affiliate programs have members outside the UK? A good few of my target sites are US based.

2: If I accept US affiliates, how do I pay them? Paypal or cheque in US currency?

3: How often should I keep in touch with the affiliates? Once a month? Or when ever there is a special offer?

As you can probably tell, I'm pretty new to this and any help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Peter

[mack]

I don't think you should really need to get in touch with your affiliates, offer then a method on checking their sales on-line.

Once one of your affilites has logged in give them access to loads of info on ways to increase click throughs, promotional ideas ect. Also make it easy for them to contact you, reply fast

Accept affiliate suggestions, I imagine a lot of site owners have ideas and suggestions that might help you to help them.

Maybee allow your high traffic affilates a co-branded section of your website (or even branded). I have always thought that just moving from one site to another might put some buyers off... If you can keep them on a page that looks the same, sales may increase.

[elgumbo]

Thanks for the advice. mack.

The system I'm using will allow online tracking of sales and clicks so that one that I've got right ;)

Do you have any thoughts on how often affiliate payments should be made? My boss thinks quarterly but I would think most people would prefer monthly.

Also, what sort of level is acceptable as a minimum payout? I was thinking about £20 payout or it rolls over to next month.

Peter

[buckworks]

Monthly payments with a not-too-high minimum would be attractive to potential affiliates, but in the end what matters most is reliability of tracking and payment.

Don't get too hung up on where affiliates live. They can be based anywhere and send you quality traffic if their site is a good match for your products.

Co-branding might have advantages, I suppose, but I have never found it to be an obstacle to sales that my pages are unmistakeably different from the merchant's site. What matters most is that shoppers understand what's going on when the affiliate sends them through to your site, regardless of what the page looks like. They are more likely to take out their credit cards if they feel confident and in control of their shopping experience.