Setting Up Your Own Affiliate Program

by: SBC Staff

If you've been struggling with one affiliate program after another, making some money but never quite getting to where you thought you should be, maybe it's time to switch your roles.  There are lots of reasons people make money with affiliate programs, and just as many reasons why people do not.  Some people are born to market and do it so well they could sell freezers to Eskimos.  Others couldn't sell a fire extinguisher to a man on fire!  Some programs may be saturated when you join them, and regardless of what people tell you, programs do get saturated.  Some are simply based on an improper revenue assumption or business plan.  But whatever the reasons for your disappointment in the affiliate programs you have been involved with, there is one way to make sure you get your share: start your own affiliate program!

There are lots of people promoting ways for you to create your own affiliate program, and most of them deal with providing information products.  The theory goes that everyone has specialized knowledge of some area of interest, or that everyone can acquire the specialized information required to write an ebook that will sell.  This is probably true to a certain extent.  The Internet is full of information that you can obtain and, if you are a reasonably good writer or can find someone who is, you can probably put together a book that provides value to those who purchase it.  If you go this route, you need to pick a subject that is close to your heart.  You must have a subject you're passionate about or you'll never have the discipline or understanding to research deeply enough to give your product real value.

If you already sell your own products, you have no reason not to set up your own affiliate program.  Why not enlist the services of thousands of others on the Internet to do your selling for you?  If you've thought about this before but thought it would be too difficult, think again.  Follow these easy steps and you can have your program up and running in days:

1. Decide what your product is going to be.  If you choose multiple products, make sure they're complementary so it is easier to sell them all with the same sales copy.  Bundle them if it makes sense so you can to add more value.

2. Determine your commission structure.  If you want to create a lot of interest in your program, make sure you devote a substantial portion of the sales price to commissions.

3. You need to find a way to administer your program.  You can buy the software to do this yourself or you can sign up with a company like ClickBank (http://www.clickbank.net) and let them do it for you.  Particularly if this is your first foray into launching an affiliate program, choose ClickBank.  They'll take care of tracking your affiliate sales, reporting to affiliates and payment of commissions.  Additionally, ClickBank serves more than 60,000 affiliates that can potentially sell your product and ClickBank gives you the ability to accept credit cards.  They charge a $49.95 activation fee and a fee of $1.00 plus 7.5% of the sale for each sales transaction.

4. Create sales literature and other tools that you can give to your new affiliates.  Make the commitment to train these individuals on your product and how to sell it.

5. Once you're set up with ClickBank, start selling your affiliate program.  If you're relatively successful at recruiting, it won't take long for your affiliate earnings to exceed your direct sales.

If you need help setting up your program or would simply like to consult with us as you proceed, send an email to cary@peakconsultinginc.com or submit your request using the form on our Other Consultation page.