How To Attract Affiliates To Your
Associate Program

1. Search for web sites which have exposure to your target clientele
   Your affiliate sales force should be comprised of web sites which offer related informational material or sell complimentary products. Avoid sites which sell many different things, they will not be worth your time. Try to figure out which sites your prospective customers go to. An easy way to accomplish this is through search engines. Just make a search based on the keywords relevant to your line of business and you will see a list of sites which your target market frequents. Industry related newsgroups, bulletin boards and discussion forums will give you a good idea about where your affiliates like to go. Subscribing to relevant newsletters and mailing lists will also help you to understand your customer preferences. Webrings and directories of sites in your industry should be investigated as well. You can even ask existing affiliates which sites they like to frequent and try to get those sites interested in your affiliate program. Once you have discovered the most likely web sites your prospective customers go to you must contact the owner of those web sites and ask them if they would like to become your affiliates. Show interest in their site and explain to them that affiliate marketing presents a win-win situation for all parties involved. It is important not to harvest the emails from all these web sites and mass mail them all a generic message. Your chances of cooperating with them will be diminished because there are plenty other affiliate programs which they can choose from.
   
    
2. Find out who your competitors affiliates are and make them a better offer
   Web sites which participate in some other affiliate program are excellent prospects because they already have experience with affiliate marketing. Furthermore if a web site has links to affiliate programs related to your own, then chances are that these programs are working for them. To find the affiliate sites which link to your competitors web site just go to Infoseek or Altavista and type link:your competitors url. Alternatively you can search for web pages which have your competitors name in them but which dont belong to your competitors' web site. Just type  -site:your competitors' url +"your competitors name". After you have sorted out the most appropriate sites, email the web site owners and ask them if they would like to be part of your affiliate program. Let them know of any benefits they will be getting from your program and how your program is more profitable than your competitors. Software such as SuperSonic Email Collector can automatically find web sites which link to your competitors and filter out emails so that you dont have to manually extract the emails from each and every prospective affiliate web site you visit. This software will automatically search all the sites linking to your competitor and save the resulting web addresses and emails into a text file.
   
    
3. Select the most suitable sites
   Generally it is a good idea to target sites which get a lot of traffic. However related niche sites are also an effective way to generate sales. These sites are often frequented by a loyal group of customers who will buy from you if the site owner recommends them to you. These customers are more qualified to buy from you than customers coming from other high traffic sites. It is always a good idea to negotiate with the site owner of these niche sites so that you can set up personalized entry pages for their visitors.
   
    
4. Establish a two-tier program and let your affiliates promote your program for you
   Establishing a two-tier commission structure for your affiliate program will in and of itself attract affiliates looking for extra ways to make money. There are still many affiliate programs out there which dont offer two tier commissions and many affiliates may choose your program just because it offers this feature. However it is up to you to help your existing affiliates promote your affiliate program in order to make it as attractive as possible. You should design banners which lead to your affiliate program sign up page and tell your affiliates where to place them on their site for maximum effect. Help your affiliates help those who sign up under them by giving them information about ways to promote your specific affiliate program. It's a good idea to contact sites which attract many webmasters and tell them about your two tier commission structure so that they can promote your program as well. Show them how to sign up or you can even go to the trouble of signing them up as affiliates yourself. 
   
    
5. Advertise your affiliate program
   You can advertise your affiliate program in the same places you searched to find affiliate partners. Mailing lists, newsletters, web sites and newsgroups are all places where prospective affiliates can be found. When advertising on web sites or in newsletters you can negotiate with the owner about the method of payment. Either you can pay the owner a flat fee or tell the owner to sign up as an affiliate so that they receive two tier commission whenever somebody signs up. Or you can establish a combination of the above two methods.
   
    
6. Speed up the sign up process
   It is important to sign the affiliates as quickly as possible so that they don't lose interest and leave your site. Try not to make the sign up process too complicated. You will also need tools to automate the sign-up, approval and activation process in order to reduce any delays.
   
    
7. Register with the major Associate Directories
   Register with as many affiliate program directories as possible. It's free and they are one of the few resources for affiliates searching for affiliate programs. It is important to submit as much information as possible to these directories because they are growing at a phenomenal rate and you will be competing with program descriptions which will be much more detailed than yours. Furthermore, the less information that you provide the more prospective affiliates will feel that you have something to hide. Remember to include this basic information whenever you register: commission structure, return visitor tracking, two tier commissions, minimum payment and frequency of payment, availability of online sales and commission reports, co-branding arrangements and participation in any third party tracking network such as Linkshare. In order to register with the Affiliate Forum use this sign-up URL or go to the homepage and follow the link which will take you to an online form. Your program will be reviewed and posted in an appropriate category as soon as it is approved.
   
    
8. Use a third party network to administer your associate program
   Third party networks such as BeFree and Commission Junction have a pool of thousands of affiliates which have already signed up for one or more programs in the network. They also have hundreds more affiliates signing up every day so you are virtually assured of having numerous affiliates just from the traffic which the network receives. Most of these networks have very sophisticated systems and they are more efficient and reliable as anything which you will be able to set up yourself. Affiliates trust these networks more than your own tracking software and this will increase your affiliate recruitment rate. With most of these networks you still have the option to sign up affiliates directly from your website as well.
   
    
9. Promote your associate program at your own web site
   Try to make your affiliate program an integral part of your web site. Put your affiliate program sign-up page and affiliate FAQ in as many places as possible. Offer free bonuses and discounts to affiliates who sign up through your web site and highlite the benefits of your program such as  commssions and real time online sales and commission reports.
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