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Starting An Affiliate Program As Another Sales Channel

February 26, 2008

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I am helping a friend set up an affiliate program on his website.  During the initial stages of our discussions, we discovered there are two different definitions for affiliate programs.  One is a linking program where you invite similar companies to exchange links with you to help your standing with Google, Yahoo, etc.  The other drives traffic to your site by enlisting sites to promote your products / services on their website, and giving them a comission if something is sold.  Pretty simple.

Legitimate affiliate programs benefit everyone. In the end, the customer receives a good product at a fair price. As the small business owner, you provide the commission to the individual who drove the lead. It's a win-win for everyone and that's why affiliate programs have grown in popularity over the last few years. Now, new tools have made the implementation of affiliate programs even easier.

Amazon.com has the most successful, and arguably the most popular, affiliate program and wears the crown of creating this sales channel (they call it their Associate program).  Clickbank and Linkshare are two programs that manage the logistics for merchants; making your job easier in the process.

Here's an example of how one works.

To set up an Affiliate program, here are some companies to check out:
Linkshare
Commission Junction
Clickbank
Affiliate Programs

If done properly, there is nothing to lose and much to gain. 

Posted by Suze Bragg on February 26, 2008 | Comments (1)