Whether you are a small business owner or a top executive at a Fortune 500 company, being an affiliate sponsor is a great and cost-effective way to deliver your message to a highly targeted demographic. Especially, if you are an online business with the capacity to operate on a national (or even global) level, you could be profiting from sales all over the world drawn in from leads sent by online affiliates. It is not very difficult to get set up as an affiliate sponsor, or even to set up your own program. It is, however, important to note the importance of being a good affiliate sponsor. Webmasters and site owners who participate in affiliate marketing programs are notoriously picky about what sponsors they will and will not work with. They are also known for talking to each other about which sponsors pay quickly, which sponsors have complicated processes, etc. Not knowing what's involved in being a good and reputable affiliate sponsor can put you at risk of being "blacklisted" by top referring affiliate sites. Commissions Count One of the most important factors in whether your affiliate program will be attractive to quality Web sites is the amount of commission you are willing to pay. Make sure to establish a very clearly defined pay structure that is as generous as you can afford to be. Remember, with affiliate marketing you aren't paying upfront fees for advertising, you are only paying when a lead converts to a sale. What commissions you pay will depend on the traditional profit margins of your industry. Try to find out what the standard rate of online affiliate commission is for your field and try to stick close to it if not higher. Bonuses To be a good affiliate sponsor, you need good affiliates. In order to keep good affiliates, you must give them an incentive to do so. Performance incentives pay extra cash when multiple sales are made. The more sales your affiliates make, the more they make. The more money your affiliates make, the more leads they refer to you. It's a glorious cycle. Cookie Duration Cookies are what will ultimately tell you what site (or affiliate) referred any given lead. Some affiliate sponsors use only a short cookie duration to track Web visitors. Since many online shoppers don't buy the very first time they visit a site, many affiliate marketers feel that a shorter cookie duration may cheat them out of credit for a lead they referred. A good affiliate sponsor will be interested in building relationships with their affiliates. In order to avoid making affiliates feel cheated out of commissions on sales they could have very well referred, offer a lifetime cookie so they know any customer they refer will be credited to them forever. If you choose to do differently in this regard, make sure it is very clear to each and every affiliate marketer you deal with. Program Administration It's important not to overlook the impact that program administration will have on the image your affiliates have of your program. Affiliates are more likely to be attracted to affiliate programs that offer reporting features that allow them to track click-throughs, conversions, user activity and more. Luckily there are several vendors and/or software that can help take the guesswork out for you. Also, make sure you have a good supply of advertising collateral that affiliates can choose from for use on their sites. Finally, make sure you have staff available to support the affiliates with any questions, concerns, or issues you might have.
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