Get a Domain Name: Ideally, each of your affiliates should have its own domain name. This always gives a site better visibility with the search engines and directories and the credibility and recognition that comes with its own URL (Web address) instead of an extension of someone else’s. For example, what looks more credible to a consumer—http://geocites.yahoo.com/custom_shirts/ or http://www.customshirts.com? Affiliates can promote the revenue-sharing affiliate programs they have joined from a free Web site but they will create a more professional image for them and you if they own their own domain name. Be proactive and tell your affiliates where and how they can obtain their own domain name. Their own domain name—if memorable—would receive more repeat traffic and make the search engines easier to find them because many of them search the URL for keywords, too.

Pick a Web Site Theme: Web sites join an affiliate program to make money. They make money from the traffic they attract to their site. So a theme for their site should be chosen that would attract a fair amount of visitors to their site. The consensus of opinion in the affiliate marketing game is that a site will need at least 500 targeted visitors a day if it wants to make a reasonable income from the affiliate programs it has joined. The word targeted is the operational definition.

Target Their Market: Trying to sell to everyone is selling to no one. If an affiliate is serious about making money with affiliate programs, he must find a market niche and target it. He must know his visitors or the market he seeks to attract. To this end, he needs to choose affiliate programs whose products or services match the audience that he attracts to his site. This is not as difficult as it seems. For example, if an affiliate’s site attracts those interested in business, any kind of product or service that businesses would use would apply. Programs that offer office supplies, computer products, marketing, and financial and accounting services, are all potential offers that an affiliate can place on his site. The affiliate’s task is to create content that attracts those interested in business issues and subject matter of business on a regular basis. Work with your affiliates and help them focus on their targeted audience with resources that point to free content. Help them create program links that promote individual products and services that fit well within the context of their sites.

Do

DO encourage your affiliates to focus on merchant affiliate programs that complement each other. Discourage your affiliates from selling products that do not complement the content of their site.

Focus, Focus, Focus: Many affiliates make the mistake of joining dozens of programs at a time with little regard for their audience or whether they compliment one another. They figure the more programs they join, the more money they can make. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. All too frequently you will see sites that just have a splash page consisting of little more than banner links from dozens of affiliate programs. Tell your affiliates that sites like these do not succeed in earning money for their owners. Not only will they not attract traffic, but the affiliates will have little chance of converting the little traffic they do generate into actual sales, click-throughs, or return traffic. Impress on them the importance of joining only a few complimentary affiliate programs and concentrate on providing attractive content that will generate traffic and sales for them and you.

Keep the Site Simple: One of the best ways to drive visitors away from a site once they come to it is to load it up with heavy graphics, animations, sound, plug-ins, and other technological bells and whistles that slow the downloading of the site. If generating revenue is the prime purpose of their site, then site content that loads fast and offers true value without gimmicks will capture the attention of the site visitor and increase the click-through traffic. Another point to remind your affiliates of is your banner and text-link placement. Putting these at the top of their pages will result in more hits and click-throughs. Always emphasize the KISS method: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Market Their Site: It goes without saying that the “build it and they will come” strategy of Web marketing does not work. You must impress upon your affiliates the need to market their site. This includes registering with search engines and directories, learning how to get better placement in those engines and directories, advertising in eZines and newsletters, and participating in newsgroups and discussion lists. Links to all these resources should be on your affiliate support pages. In addition, you should recommend that they start their own newsletter or eZine, and promote their site in the signature file of every e-mail they send out.

Keep It Fresh: Impress upon your affiliates the need to constantly revise their sites and site content. They are selling your product or service, not just posting an ad on their sites for your company. That means they have to sell your offer and place it within the context of their sites. And this context—or content—must be refreshed frequently to continue to attract repeat visitors. This is important because most products are not purchased the first time a consumer sees an offer. It may take several impressions before they make a buying decision. One of the best ways to attract repeat visits is to build an opt-in e-mail list.

Build an Opt-In E-mail List: An opt-in e-mail list is probably one of the most powerful Internet marketing tools around. Using this list to contact site visitors who have opted to receive it gives your affiliate a chance to offer your products or service again and again. This can entice visitors to return to make a purchase or perform an action that will generate revenue for you and your affiliate. Affiliates can use this opportunity to promote the benefits of your product or service. It will also help their subscribers, at the same time helping the affiliate.