Cost Effective Advertising for Merchants

Why Affiliate Marketing is Cost Effective for Your Business

Your affiliate marketing program is perhaps one of the most cost effective programs you will integrate into your marketing budget. It is, by design, structured to pay for itself as you build it to the point where it can make significant contributions to your bottom line. That is part of its beauty: you can start small or large and build it to be as simple or complex as you want. All the while, you invest a fair amount of time and only a minimal cost.

When you establish a team of affiliates, you are essentially training a team of salespeople to promote your product online. They sign on knowing they are working on straight commission, so there are no upfront costs to you. You only pay when they perform, so there is no money tied up.

Creating an affiliate marketing program is much like joining a business networking group. You are creating business relationships that are mutually beneficial. You agree to work together to build your business. It really is a win-win situation when you find the right match.

There are some great options available now for managing your affiliate marketing program. You can start out by buying fairly cheap management software to streamline your contacts, leads, and payment structure. Some shopping cart software now comes with affiliate software built-in. This can be a cost effective option instead of paying a high salary to a team of people in your office.

Another option is to hire an affiliate network to manage your program for you. This can be a smart, cost-effective decision. Although there may be a start-up fee and you will pay an additional percentage to them as commission, it can be far worth the investment. A well-managed affiliate program means active affiliates, not just partners who sign up and never deliver results for you. Each new affiliate takes time to initiate, so if they do not end up performing at an active level, you have wasted that effort. A good affiliate network will avoid that trouble and ensure a smooth and effective program.

Online Marketing for Merchants

9 Easy Steps to Successful Affiliate Marketing for the Merchant

1. Decide on an Affiliate Program: Hammer out the details. How big or small do you wish to make your affiliate program? What will you offer as incentive? What compensation model will you use? What action do you want your visitors to take (i.e., do you want them to click on your ad, go to your website, fill out a form, subscribe to your newsletter, or make a purchase?) What is a reasonable action to expect from your affiliates’ visitors?
2. Assign a Management System: Who in your business will oversee the program and insure its success? Do you need to hire an affiliate network, or do you need do-it-yourself software to track and generate reports for you? Make sure all the details are in place before you begin promoting your program. Without this step, you will find yourself losing affiliates who think you are disorganized. Or you may not have the tracking systems in place to determine what is working and what is not.
3. Create a System for Payment: Don’t spend all day writing checks and figuring out who gets paid what. There is software out there that can do that for you. The key is to get a system in place that will work smoothly and efficiently to get prompt payment out to your affiliates so you don’t lose them. Make it clear in your agreement as to what compensation model you will use, how soon they can expect payment, etc.
4. Find Affiliates: Who is your target audience? Who speaks to that audience that might be a potential affiliate? Join forums and online communities who share the same niche as you. Use search engines with your keywords to find other marketers (not competitors) who may also be working within that niche. Create a list of potential affiliates and contact them one by one.
5. Offer them an Incentive: What can you offer an affiliate for their efforts? Will you offer cash or some kind of rewards for their efforts? What are your competitors offering their affiliates? Make sure your program is competitive.
6. Create your Ad: Create an ad that presents a compelling proposition to visitors. Make it interesting, striking, and make them want to take action. Keep it up-to-date with relevance and creativity.
7. Create an Easy, Efficient Transaction Process: If you haven’t already, you need to streamline the transaction process that these referrals will be experiencing. If they are sent to your website and have to jump through hoops to take the action you desire, then you will lose them pretty quickly.
8. Track your Results: Going back to your management system, you need to track your results. Run reports frequently to determine which affiliates are returning the best results. Find out which banner ads are pulling, and which offers are the most effective. Just as you would with any other marketing program… track, test and refine.
9. Continue Promoting your Program: Once you establish a good base of affiliates, ask them to refer people they know who might also become affiliates of yours. Pay them an additional commission for bringing more affiliates to you. It is easy to sit back and reap the rewards of your efforts, and you should. But don’t forget to continue promoting your program, continue tracking and testing, and continue growing your affiliate marketing program with your business.

Newest CPA and Lead Generation Affiliate Network

Welcome Affiliates!

Commission Bridge

In an era where hundreds of information sources and media channels are vying for the attention of consumers, it’s no longer good enough for Merchants to use their own resources and traditional advertising media to promote their products and generate new business.  They generally have neither the human capital nor sufficient creative resources to be effective in today’s NOW economy.  Consequently, there are fresh opportunities for you, the Affiliate to play a critical role in assisting Merchants desiring to increase incremental profitability while YOU are earning money as their Publisher.

As an Affiliate, Merchants will offer you commissions as compensation for bringing them new customers and sales.  As long as you have the ability to refer traffic to the a Merchant, whether through your website, email lists, forums, or even your own blog, you’re ready to venture into online media business and Affiliate Publishing!

At Commission Bridge we will be providing you with EXCLUSIVE offers and the best performing Merchants in the industry.  We’ll provide you with all the tools necessary to promote the highest performing Merchant offers.  There is absolutely NO CHARGE to sign up as a Commission Bridge Affiliate and you can be up and running making money with your own online media company in minutes!

Check our website at www.commissionbridge.com often for news and updates on our official launch.  We look to be LIVE on Valentines Day 2010!  Come visit us and “Feel the Love!”

Commission Bridge