Choosing affiliate programs to promote in your affiliate business is one of the key elements. It’s not rocket science, once you get the niche down and you know people buy stuff in that niche, it all comes down to choosing good products with good commission. But today I’m gonna post some of my thoughts about that perfect affiliate program that would not just add to your portfolio but create a whole new business on its own.
I must also point out that I haven’t found such an affiliate program out there that I’m about to describe, so I also have a secret agenda that perhaps someone out there knows of something that at least resembles it and is willing to share it with the rest of the world.
The perfect affiliate program to me is a program that:
- Captures the prospects you send with an opt-in form offering something of a great value to them for free. In other words, a good CPA offer, but it doesn’t end there…
- The leads I send are hardcoded with my affiliate id permanently and all products sold to them from then on are credited to me, even if they are sold 10 years from now. I would even send the leads for free (i.e. not getting paid per lead) if that was part of my contract. An example would be the so called launches that are popular right now in the IM world – JVs are not paid per lead but they are paid for the sales that those leads generate. Unfortunatelly, most of these programs are only limited to the launch and they “kidnap” your leads from then on.
- The program should employ a decent follow-up sequence which does not spam the prospects but rather creates a relationship with them, sends them valueable information for free, helps them solve their problems where applicable even before they take their credit cards out. This has to do with the quality more than anything.
- Finally, an optional bonus step, I should be provided with promotional materials enough to replicate the follow-up process in my own list up to the first paid product (i.e. I should get the right to distribute their free stuff that leads to the paid product, have example follow-up messages, etc.)
To put it all in one sentence, I should get credited for every action my prospects take in the sales funnel of the merchant I promote. The cold reality is that I’m yet to find a program that would not at some point “kidnap” my prospects and not give me the full credit for my hard work getting them to the offer. Some do that immediately on the sales page (run away from anything that you get paid per sale for and they have an opt-in form on their sales page which doesn’t tag the leads with your id – and that should be in your affiliate agreement), others strip you off after the first sale, only track your prospects via cookies, and so on.
The perfect affiliate program would credit you for every action the prospect takes on the merchant’s site with no exceptions for the life-time. If you know of any program like that, please do let us all know by posting a comment. I think this is the exact kind of program beginners should start their affiliate business in – it’s relativelly easy to convert traffic to leads and you get all its worth, not a measily $1-2 that is common between the CPA offers of this kind, and not a program that only pays per single sale and steals your leads (which often results in the beginners wasting their time and money on traffic that gets them nowhere).
I don’t really understand all this stuff to well yet, as I am very new and still learning how to “separate the wheat from the chaff” I am very grateful when I run across people like you. I wish I knew you better and could learn more from you ! I recently quit my “Day Job” and purposely put myself into a rather serious “sink or swim” situation out of shear determination to learn and master at least enough skills at generating income online, that I never have to work for someone else as an “employee” again. I am about to have to start selling some of my larger assets (wanna buy a nice Harley) in order to stay afloat – but I don’t care ! I am fully committed to mastering the skills needed, and failure is NOT an option. However – I fully understand that it is by far the exception rather than the rule, that anyone “makes it” online all by themselves. I feel that I have most or all of the “puzzle pieces” needed – but am still somewhat clueless as to the best way to put them together for my current circumstances, which are – – little money – but 24/7 time to devote. In other words, which business model, or “complete system” (i.e. CB Pirate) is THEE best choice for me – to at least get off the ground and start generating enough to be “self sustaining” – which for me is about 2K / mo. Yes 6 figs. a month SOUNDS great – and I would sure love to spend more time on the beach in Mexico etc. – – but I only NEED a consistent 2K a month to cover expenses and grow from there.
Am I being at all realistic – – or am I an unrealistic, over hyped, brainwashed by good copy – idiot ? ?
Hi Jeff,
2k/mo is very realistic. I am doing it, people are doing it. Thousands of people around the world, I would say. It’s not easy, there’s a lot of work to be done to get there, but totally realistic.
If I had to recommend one product, that would be Commission Blueprint 2.0 that’s coming in less than a week. The first Commission Blueprint is what got me started a year ago, I’ve been following the guys since and I like what they’re doing. If it helped me to take off, there’s no reason why it wouldn’t help you.
The only thing is, once you choose something, you have to stick with it. Best to unsubscribe from all lists you’re on and completely disconnect from all the hype coming your way – you will lose nothing, and gain everything. To be exact, you’ll gain focus, which is everything you need to get off the ground once you have someone showing you the ropes.