"Choosing Your Affiliate Program"

Here are a few tips to help you select a great affiliate program that can help you earn the
oceans of income that you are after!

• Shout Out to the Pay-Out - What You'll Earn

The money you receive as an affiliate, called affiliate payout, is the one of the first
things you should look at when deciding whether or not to join the affiliate program.
A pretty standard rate of commission is something close to 50%. (You will encounter
both higher and lower commission percentages, but 50% is a pretty average starting
point.) This means that if the product retails for $40, you'll receive $20 for each one you
sell.

Ian's Insight:
Personally, I wouldn't even sell a product for less then
50% commission unless the product is very expensive to
purchase in the first place.
A high-priced item will increase the amount you receive per sale, so the lower percentage
doesn't mean that you do a lot of work for a small payoff. For example, if a product costs
$500 and the affiliate program for that product pays you only 30% per sale (instead of
50%), you'll make $150 from each sale.
Now even though 30% is a low commission percentage, a $150 affiliate commission is
not!
Ian's Insight:
Keep in mind that the more a product costs, the harder it
will be to sell. I suggest that you start out by selling
products under $100.
Once you've master the techniques of selling with a moderately priced item, you can
"step up" and start selling the big-ticket items that make a huge income possible.

• Tiers of the Gods - Commission Levels

You'll frequently find the word TIER in affiliate marketing literature. No biggie. A tier is
simply a level of commission.
Ian's Insight:
In my experience, one and two-tiered programs are simply
the best way to go. With one-tier you rely only on
yourself to make commissions. With two-tiered, you get a
few extra bucks when anyone you have referred also
makes a sale and that's a nice incentive.
A one-tier commission program will pay out a certain percentage on each sale you
make.
A two-tier commission program will pay out a certain percentage on each sale you
make plus another percentage of any sales made through your referral "sales team." In a
two-tier affiliate program, for example, if you make a sale to Rosa and Rosa makes a sale
to Jimmy, you will be paid a percentage of both sales.
In most affiliate marketing arrangements, the second tier commission (and beyond) will
be less then the first tier…but not always. Keep your eyes peeled for programs that offer
second-tier commissions that are the same as first-tier to "ramp up" your profits.
Ian's Insight:
I've made a lot of extra money from the second tier
income. But don't count on it being a prime source of
income. If you rely solely on second-tier affiliate income,
you'll be counting on someone else to make your
paycheck for you. Don't do it! It's just too risky.
A multiple tier commission simply goes deeper then two-tiers. You would normally
see a multiple tiered program in Multi Level Marketing or MLM type programs.
These programs can pay out commissions over 10 levels deep.
Multiple-tiered MLM type programs always report that if you fill your 10 level deep
organization, you will make upwards of $30,000 per month. Don't be fooled. It's nearly
impossible to achieve that level of success.
Ian's Insight:
I have joined many multiple level organizations and have
only ever lost money in them.
The reason I find they don't work is because first you have to make your sales, then you
have to train your first level how to make sales, and then you have to train them also
to train the people below them and hope that the whole system of training and selling
is effective down 10 levels deep.
It's a lot to ask…and much too much to simply "hope for." Stick to one and two-tiered
and you'll be a much happier and richer person!

• Once Is Not Enough - Single and Recurring Commissions

A single commission affiliate program pays you once for every sale you make. If
you are selling an item such as a report or a book, you'll get a commission when a
consumer purchases it. To earn another commission, you need to sell another book.
But with recurring commissions, you need only to make a sale once but you get paid
for every purchase a consumer makes! In other words…more money for less work.
Excellent!
Recurring commissions are usually paid in programs that sell services or products
with a recurring fee (i.e., monthly subscriptions or products with monthly fees such as
website hosting).
The downside of recurring commissions is that the commission is usually pretty low. But
even though the commission may be just $10 -$20 (the average), you get paid that
commission on an ongoing basis.
Pennies make dollars, and the modest incomes from recurring affiliate programs are
worth promoting because they "add up," too!

• The "Eyes" Have It - Website Quality and Support

Now I know your momma told you not to judge a book by its cover. And that's good
advice when you're shopping at Amazon.com or Borders.
But in online affiliate marketing, looks count…and so does site functionality.
The website should look professional. If the owner takes pride in his website and
affiliate program, then chances are that you'll be able to sell the products a lot easier. And
the process of joining an affiliate program should be a smooth, without a lot of stops and
starts, glitches, or tricks thrown in.
Ian's Insight:
Look to see that the website has it's support
information easily accessible -- telephone numbers,
emails, and help forms should be easy to find and easy to
use. You don't want to be stuck trying to ask a question
and don't even know where to go to ask!

• Wrapping Up

I've really given you just the basics to affiliate marketing in general. There is a lot more
you can learn, of course! But my goal is to give get you enough of a foundation so that
you're pointed in the right direction and prepared to avoid some pretty common pitfalls.
Ian's Reading Room:
Rosalind Gardner wrote a 267-page report titled The
Super Affiliate Handbook. In it she explains on how
she makes over $450,000 per year as an Affiliate
Marketer..
(No, that's not a typo…I really mean that she earns almost
half a million dollars per year!)
If you want to learn the advanced strategies to really
catapult your sales, then go pick up a copy of Super
Affiliate Handbook! It's simply awesome!
If you are at all interested in reading about more advanced practices in affiliate
marketing, then Rosalind is only person I would send you to:
Super Affiliate Handbook
In your next lesson, you'll get some high-octane tips for making sales fast

That's all for now,
Thanks for reading!