Build Your Sales With an Associate Program
Author:  Merle

What's the quickest way to increase your website sales and extend your reach on the Internet all at the same time? If you said with your own associate program, you would be correct. An associate (or affiliate program as they are sometimes called) allows others to to sell your products or services and receive a commission on each and every sale or click.

Just think of having a sales force that can grow as big as you'd like, and you only pay them when and if they bring you a paying customer. Make no mistake, affiliate programs are powerful tools that can rapidly improve your online sales.

Associate programs can be set up in a variety of ways -- ranging inexpensive to pricey, depending on the route you wish to take. The important thing is to pick the one that suits your needs and your budget.

First things first: What are your options for setting up your own program? Some people pay per click, crediting their associates a certain amount every time someone clicks through on their affiliate banners or links. But I prefer pay per sale, which means that you only pay out when someone clicks through and actually makes a purchase. This way you're not just paying for traffic, but for actual results, which is the sale.

You basically have two options for setting up your own program: Purchase software or use a third-party service. The nice thing about a third-party service is it manages all the accounting issues, including click-tracking and sending your associates their commission checks. This takes a large load off of you so you can spend your time doing more productive tasks. But this luxury doesn't come cheap. Let's examine some of your options:

Third-Party Associate Services:

1.                   Clicktrade.com (http://www.ClickTrade.com) Outsource your affiliate program to ClickTrade and they'll take care of everything from tracking to paying your affiliates. Your program can be set up on a pay-per-lead or pay-per-sales basis, they do charge 30 pecrent for all of their hard work and a $500.00 initial deposit.

2.                   Clickbank.com (http://www.ClickBank.com) Anyone who sells information products online can easily set up an affiliate program with Clickbank. Each of your affiliates will need to have a Clickbank account (which is free) so they can be set up with a special link for tracking their sales. They accept the payment for you by credit card and you'll be charged a percentage of each sale. Simple and easy. Clickbank accounts cost $49.95 for you to accept credit cards through them then 1.00 plus 7.5 percent of each sale made.

3.                   Affiliate Shop (http://www.AffiliateShop.com) No software to be installed; just cut and paste a few lines of HTML code on your site to get your program up and running. Some of the features include pay per click, pay per sale, accept or reject affiliates who wish to join and much more. Flat charge for set up of $395 then you'll have to pay a monthly fee of $45.

Software Options

You'll want to make sure whatever you buy offers the ability to track real-time stats. If you'll be integrating it with your existing shopping cart, make sure they are compatible.

1.                   Affiliate Tracking (http://www.AffiliateTracking.com) You can buy or lease their software, which runs on their server. Choose the basic package or add on their check paying and promotion modules. Basic set up fee of $75 plus $34.95 per month. Simple templates are available to get you up and running quickly.

2.                   Affiliate Software (http://www.AffiliateSoftware.net) Pro-Track is inexpensive and easy to set up. Presently, it only runs on UNIX servers. Pricing starts at $695 for set up on a single domain. Very powerful with many options.

3.                   My Affiliate Program (http://www.hypertracker.com/) You design the look and feel of your program and how much you want to pay out. Simple seamless integration with your Web site. Easy to pay your affiliates with simple Quickbooks integration. You pay a set price for the software plus a small application hosting fee. Pricing starts at $499 plus $50 monthly hosting fee.

4.                   Ground Break (http://www.GroundBreak.com) If you're at all good at configuring CGI scripts you may want to look at downloading this script and doing it yourself. If you need help with CGI, contact DavidBlack@thewavecave.com -- his work and rates are excellent. Ground Break can be set up to work on your server quickly. Presently only works on Unix platform and cost $200. Can easily be integrated with most Perl-based shopping carts. Your program can be set up to pay either per lead or per sales.

As you can see, the options for setting up your own associate program are numerous. It will cost you some time and money, but in the end it'll give you a powerful sales force which will extend your reach on the Net.

Whichever program you choose, make sure it's easy to setup and user friendly so you won't lose people before they even get started.

Now we'll look at what you need to do to get the word out to those who may be interested in signing up as an affiliate in your new venture.

The best place to start is to list your program with the directories that exist for just this purpose. If you do some research you'll find many "associate directories" to list with. Since these directories are usually the first stop people make when looking for an affiliate program to join, getting listed with as many of them as possible will work to your advantage and make it easier for them find you and what you have to offer.

Here are some of the best directories that you can list your program's details with absolutely free.

·                     Associate Programs (http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/) You must first drill down to the proper category to make your free submission. Make sure you fill in as much detail as possible and make it good as over half of the submissions are rejected. This site is the gospel for associate programs so you really want to get listed her.

·                     CashPile (http://www.CashPile.com/) One of the most comprehensive affiliate directories online. You'll get some great exposure by listing your program here -- absolutely free.

·                     Affiliate Channel (http://www.AffiliateChannel.com) Fill in the short form and you're good to go. All submissions are reviewed by a live human so make it good.

·                     Affiliates Directory (http://www.AffiliatesDirectory.com) Billing itself as "The Net's Largest Affiliate Program Directory". Free listing as long as your program has a Web site and is not MLM.

·                     Affiliate Find (http://www.AffiliateFind.com) Fill in the short form to have your site listed in a flash.

·                     Associate-It (http://www.Associate-It.com) Free to get listed, but they do ask you to follow the guidelines when submitting and for a link back to their site.

·                     Refer-It (http://www.Refer-It.com) This directory contains more than 4,048 programs and allows you to list your site for free. All submissions are reviewed by a human and they do require you to post their "approved by Refer-It" logo on your site if accepted.

·                     Associate Search (http://www.AssociateSearch.com) Choose your category, and fill in the form to get your free listing.

·                     Active Income (http://www.ActiveIncome.com) Get listed in this directory by filling in the short form and hitting submit.

·                     Affiliate Forum (http://www.AffiliateForum.com) Billing itself as "A Trusted Affiliate Network Directory," fill in the quick form to be considered for inclusion.

·                     Affiliate Guide (http://www.AffiliateGuide.com) A regular listing is free but if you want to come out at the top, a pay for premium listing is offered as an option.

·                     Affiliate Match (http://www.AffiliateMatch.com) Free listing is offered to all just fill in the form with your program's details and you're good to go.

·                     Affiliate Promoter (http://www.AffiliatePromoter.com) Accepting all types of affiliate programs except for adult programs. All submissions are reviewed.

·                     Associate Cash (http://www.AssociateCash.com) You'll have to register first in order to list your program, but listing is free with no strings attached.

So there you have it -- the top 15 directories to list your associate program with. Remember, an affiliate program is a great way to increase your sales but they won't do you a bit of good if no one knows about them. By submitting to as many directories as possible you can be sure you'll be easily found when an affiliate is searching for a great money maker to join.