It is up to you to choose the type of affiliate system you want, the products you sell and the commission structure you are ready to offer. An affiliate system can be run in two ways:
1. Own and run your own affiliate system by having your own employees and your own web hosting. For this you need a lot of initial investment before running this system.
2. Outsource your entire affiliate system. This will enable you to speed up your sign ups and track payments.
Affiliate Marketing Rules
Once you have made up your mind to pursue affiliate marketing and have completed your web page, you are ready to market your website. Now, before going into the trade you should be aware the rules for affiliate marketing are different for different companies.Companies can make their own rules and referral options. But surely there are some common rules for many companies. So keep the following points in mind before starting an affiliate marketing system:
- Many companies that affiliate your website will never allow your web page to be above them in the Search category. This is to prove their superiority and you can do nothing about it. For example, if you are affiliated to some branded Watch Company; their research team will always see that your company is not higher in ranking than theirs. This is done to not allow commissioned sales of their products.
- Some companies not allow your URL to be shown on their page. It will be their sole discretion whether to advertise your page on their website or not.
- If you have many affiliates, it is easy to lose track of affiliate rules for each company. This may lead to bad relationships and/or losing an affiliate. It is a good idea to always maintain a spreadsheet of all your different affiliates.
- You may also use software designed for affiliate marketing.
Types of affiliates in the Affiliate Marketing System
- Pay Per Sale - You pay your affiliate only if you have a sale from the affiliate's link. Thus it is the safest option for business.
- Pay Per Lead - You have pay the affiliates for any traffic that visits your website through their links. It is a little costly because you have to pay even for customers who do not buy your products.
- Pay Per Click - You pay the affiliate for each click that visitors make on your advertisements.