Designing A Successful Affiliate Program

A means for companies to set up a group of ‘affiliates’ or partners to promote their website or company while providing value to the affiliate partner.

Affiliate programs come in many shapes and sizes. Some programs are simple ‘pay per click’ type programs where and affiliate partner is paid to send traffic to a website. Other programs may involve full integration of the companies content into the partner’s website. Each type of program has advantages and disadvantages to the affiliate and the sponsor of the program.

In designing your own affiliate program, it is important to realize that each of your affiliate partners will have unique needs. You should therefore design the program to work with a variety of affiliates, with options ranging from pay per click to full integration. Offer various advantages to your programs based upon which type of program they choose.

If you offer a simple pay per click program, you should know that text links, as opposed to banner links tend to produce the best results for your company. You should however, offer both options, as different affiliates have different needs. Offer a variety of sizes of banners and buttons, along with several text link options.

Another option is a slightly more integrated solution involving placing a search box or your products on the affiliate’s website.

The most advanced solution involves full integration of the sponsor’s data into the affiliate partner’s site. This solution is not to be taken lightly as it involves a great deal of technological expertise to design. It can, however, provide great benefits to both partners and help both to succeed.

Finally, in designing your program, make sure that you offer several options to your affiliate partners to help them succeed. Make sure that you can offer one-on-one assistance as needed. I’m a member of several affiliate programs (over 5000) and the companies that help me succeed, I promote heavily. Those who just treat me like another number tend to receive less promotion. Success in affiliate programs depends greatly upon the way you pursue it.