Affiliate programs are taking the Internet by storm and have become one of the best ways to make money online but there are certain key things to look out for when choosing an affiliate program.

Want to know them and start right? Let’s go!

Affiliate marketing has been on the rise in recent years, with many marketers jumping on board to earn commissions on products they promote via their own websites and social media accounts.

It is one of the best ways to generate passive income from the comfort of your home and it also happens to be one of the fastest-growing internet businesses in Nigeria at the moment.

It helps marketers sell products from their website and get paid based on their performance, this means you don’t have to stock any inventory, create or manage customer service or deal with any sales tax issues…the affiliate network does all this for you!

If you have done your research about affiliate marketing online then you know there are hundreds of different affiliate programs out there, so how do you choose which ones to join?

This is what we will discuss extensively in this post and by the end, you would have known the important things to look out for in an affiliate program before joining any, especially as a beginner

But before that, let’s know what Affiliate Programs are

What Is An Affiliate Program?

The word affiliate program refers to a marketing strategy in which an online business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts. 

This can be done by placing ads on the affiliate’s website, YouTube videos description, or including ads in an email message or pop-up window that the consumer must click to proceed to the seller’s website. 

Most often the seller will pay the affiliate a percentage of sales generated by each customer brought in by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts; this percentage may be fixed, computed by clicks, sales, or other metrics unique to each affiliate program.

The affiliate program is one of the best and easiest ways to make money online. With the affiliate program, you can earn commissions by helping someone to sell products or services they are marketing online without even buying them! 

If you’re trying to decide which affiliate program to join, then you’ve come to the right place! I’ll share with top 10 things to look out for when choosing an affiliate program

10 Things To Look Out For When Choosing An Affiliate Program

The affiliate program you choose should, of course, be one that you feel confident will drive sales and conversions. After all, if your links and efforts don’t convert—you won’t make any money! 

But beyond that simple fact lies a range of other important things to consider when choosing an affiliate program. 

To help you out, rarefortunes assembled a list of some of our top key things to look out for when choosing an affiliate program that’s right for you. In no particular order…

1) Choose a Program With High-quality Products: 

This may seem obvious, but it bears repeating: If you’re going to recommend someone else’s product or service to others, make it a good one.

Nothing irritates you more than people complaining about how your advice misled them.

Of course, just because a company sells high-quality products does not mean it has an active affiliate program (which brings us to point #2). So, how do you know what’s good and what’s not?

Reading real-world customer reviews is one method.

You can also check out websites like Trustpilot and Sitejabber, which offer crowdsourced reviews from real customers.

2) Choose a Program With Fair Commission Rates:

When it comes to affiliate programs, there are three main types of compensation plans: 

• CPA (cost per action), 
• CPL (cost per lead), and 
• CPS/CPSA (cost per sale/action). 

Each has its own pros and cons, but generally speaking, CPA is best for bloggers who value their time while CPL is best for those who value making money more than anything else. 

3) Choose a Program That Pays Quickly: 

It’s frustrating enough waiting weeks or months to get paid by clients; waiting months on end for affiliate commissions is even worse

Look for affiliates that pay within 30 days so you can get paid as soon as possible. 

4) Choose a Program With Flexible Payout Options: 

Ideally, you’ll want to choose an affiliate program that allows you to cash out via PayPal or direct deposit so you don’t have to wait around for checks in the mail. 

5) Choose a Program With Low Entry Requirements: 

Some affiliate programs require new publishers to invest hundreds or thousands of dollars before they’re allowed to join and start earning money through their link placements.

These sorts of requirements can often be difficult (or impossible) for newbies and small businesses looking to dip their toes into affiliate marketing waters without risking too much capital upfront. 

6) Choose a Program With High Conversion Rates: 

Just because you’ve chosen a good affiliate program doesn’t mean you’ll automatically see a flood of clicks and sales coming in.

What’s equally important is that you optimize your landing pages and website to ensure that you’re getting (and converting) as many potential customers as possible. 

7) Choose a Program With Strong Brand Recognition: 

Even if everything else is equal, it’s always better to promote a well-known brand than an unknown one. People trust brands they recognize, and affiliate marketing is no different. 

8) Choose a Program With a High Lifetime Customer Value: 

Sure, you might be able to earn $10 per month promoting a $50 ebook. But if that ebook is full of outdated information and your visitors aren’t likely to purchase anything else from that company, is it really worth your time? 

9) Choose a Program With High Average Order Values: 

Obviously, it’s important to choose an affiliate program that sends targeted traffic to your site. However, if your visitors aren’t likely to spend money after clicking on one of your affiliate links, then you might as well not bother! 

10) Choose a Program With High Customer Retention Rates: 

If you can choose an affiliate program where customers are likely to buy again and again—that’s even better! That’s because affiliate commissions are paid out based on a percentage of sales, so if you can find an affiliate program where customers are likely to buy multiple times, you’ll be earning money for years to come.

Conclusion

Every entrepreneur wants to make money online with affiliate programs but only few know where to start or which affiliate program to join, that’s why I made this article on key things to look out for when choosing an affiliate program in 200 so you start off on the right path.

Hope you found value here?