Thursday, February 17, 2011

How to Pick the Best Affiliate Network

While signing up with an affiliate network can be done in a matter of second with a few mouse clicks, picking the best affiliate network for your sites isn't always quite as easy. Let's look at some of the different factors you should consider when weighing the options as far as the affiliate networks you choose to work with for your affiliate sites.

3 Tips on Finding the Best Network

It's tempting to just leap in and sign up with the first networks you find, but a little research can save you a ton of money in the long run, so it's definitely worth it to carefully consider all of the options before you.

1) Not All Affiliate Networks Are Created Equal

Like pretty much anything in life, there are usually pros and cons to each affiliate network you might consider. The best way to get the inside scoop about various affiliate networks is to spend some time on any of the affiliate webmaster forums that are out there on the Web. Nothing beats advice from experienced affiliates who have worked with various networks, and with a little legwork you'll get the inside scoop on all the major affiliate networks.

As far as factors to research, some key areas include how many affiliate programs are offered at each affiliate network, how well those programs convert for affiliates, how reliable are payments to affiliates, what type of stats reporting do they offer, and what type of tools and promotional content do they provide affiliates with. All of these areas are very important and can vary widely from network to network, with some excelling in some areas while lagging in others. Keep in mind your own strengths and weaknesses as well; if you're a graphic design whiz and will be creating your own customer banners and graphics, you won't need much help with promotional or marketing content.

If you can't find a specific thread devoted to what you want to know, don't be shy and start a new thread, explaining your situation, your planned sites, and ask what affiliate network other webmasters think will work well for you. You'll likely be surprised at how helpful many affiliate webmasters can be, as most remember exactly what it was like to be in your shoes and just starting out.

2) Your Search Should Start with You

This sounds a bit backwards but actually makes a lot of sense. Start with your own goals and the types of affiliate sites you operate or plan to operate. If you're going to target certain regions or countries of the world, you'll need to limit your search to affiliate programs with a strong roster of affiliate programs that operate or are well-known in that area. If you plan on building affiliate websites for online poker and casino sites, don't sign up with an affiliate network that only has one online gaming affiliate program available.

One of the best ways to find the right affiliate network for you is to go to the websites of products you plan to feature on your affiliate sites, and find the link for their affiliate program. While some may be run in-house, most will be run by a large affiliate network, so note which one each site is part of. If you're finding that a majority of the sites you plan to feature on your affiliate websites are part of one affiliate network or another, well, you have an obvious choice as far as an affiliate network that likely will work well for you.

Many successful affiliates let their websites dictate what affiliate networks they join, as they'll want to promote a certain product or service on their site and find that they need to be a member of a certain affiliate network to do so.

3) Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

All major affiliate networks are free for affiliates to sign up, so don't feel like you have to pick one (and only one) affiliate network to promote on your sites. At the same time, don't go overboard and sign up with every affiliate network you can find. One issue to keep in mind is that you'll work more efficiently as a affiliate webmaster if the programs you promote are primarily on one or two affiliate networks, as you'll be able to check stats and get links and banners more easily if you're just working with a few networks. That may seem like a small issue but it's something affiliates do constantly, and lost time digging up the login info for this affiliate network or that one can really add up over time.

It's also a good idea to work with at least two affiliate networks so that your entire affiliate business doesn't ride with just one company. Like it or not, sometimes companies do go out of business or run into issues with delayed payments to affiliates or network outages. If you're only promoting programs from one affiliate network, you'll suffer right along with them if any of the aforementioned troubles arise; if you promote multiple networks you won't have all of your eggs in one basket in case misfortune strikes. You'll still take a hit, but you'll have income from other affiliate networks to help soften the blow.

Plastic Surgery Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing has proven over and over again that it is a solid way to make money online. However, the key to being successful at affiliate marketing is to find the right product or service to market. Although the possibilities are endless in terms of the products and services that are available to market, there is a new field emerging that has the potential to be extremely lucrative and rewarding - plastic surgery. This may seem way off base for many considering it is such a high-priced, specialty field; however, this is exactly why it is so lucrative.

Types of Plastic Surgery Affiliate Marketing

There are three main avenues for earning income in this field. The first is to promote products associated with aesthetic surgery such as anti-aging creams and corrective cosmetics. The second is to promote products associated with pre and post cosmetic surgery such as remedies for bruising, recovery pillows, and compression garments. The third is to promote and/or refer potential patients to actual plastic surgeons. Even though each of these avenues can be very financially rewarding, it is important to do your homework, especially if you opt to engage in the third type.

Only referrals to board certified, reputable plastic surgeons should be made. The reason behind this is simple: board certified surgeons are required to complete a very strict certification process that includes the surgeon has been in practice for s specific amount of years, has undergone a certain amount of training, and passes a thorough inspection of their facilities. This certification will essentially protect the affiliate marketer from liability or wrong doing on the part of the surgeon. However, it is still a good idea to include some form of disclaimer on your website.

It is imperative to know the legality of engaging in the business of plastic surgery referrals. It is illegal for any plastic surgeon to buy referral traffic; therefore, many of the accepted methods used in affiliate marketing such as cost per lead (CPL), cost per action (CPA), and cost per order (CPO) are not applicable. It is however, acceptable for a plastic surgeon to pay a fixed fee to have their name listed on a a seachable site. As a matter of fact, many reputable sites such as the American Board of Plastic Surgery implement this method.

There is a very important distinguishing factor here. In CPL, CPA, or CPO methods a plastic surgeon would in theory pay an affiliate marketer per referral that they make. In the other method, a plastic surgeon would pay a fixed monthly or yearly fee to have their name and contact information listed on a website that is searchable by the general public. The first method is illegal, the latter is not.

Earning Potential :

Affiliate marketing in the area of plastic surgery is still fairly new; however, there are a few companies that have proven the success of this field. Yourplasticsurgeryguide.com and makemeheal.com are just a few that have reaped the benefits of this type of partnership. As a matter of fact, Nicki from Liposuctioncost.com says that the attitude towards aesthetic surgery is changing in a positive way and that affiliate marketing in the plastic surgery field can be rewarding if you do your homework right. Affiliate programs offer anywhere between 20 to 40% of any sales made via your personal referral. Let's look at some actual figures...
Affiliates for Plasticsurgeryincome.com are responsible for referring people to Global Medical Services for cosmetic surgery procedures. The cost of a combination tummy tuck and breast augmentation is $6.495.00. As an affiliate marketer of this service, you would earn 40% of this cost, if the patient completes the procedure. Your profit on one referral would be a whopping $2,598.00!
The numbers don't lie. The sky is the limit for the earning potential in the plastic surgery affiliate marketing field.

A Competitive Advantage :

Because this is such a new field, there isn't much competition. Therefore, if the right affiliate marketing program is chosen and it is implemented correctly, it could change the way you live life.

More Affiliate Sites :

Currently, the single most lucrative and respectable affiliate site on the web is yourplasticsurgeryguide.com. This site has done an amazing job of marketing invaluable information and links to plastic surgeons. Another extremely reputable and lucrative site is liposuctioncost.com. Any person who is looking to get into this field should study these two sites and strive to mimic them.

Overall, this is a groundbreaking new area of affiliate marketing that has unlimited earning potential. However, it will only be as successful as your understanding of it. Doing your homework before you begin any type of affiliate marketing program is imperative.

Source : http://www.affiliatetips.com/plastic-surgery-affiliate-marketing-online.html