Starting a New Affiliate Program

Hello everyone,

I'm in the process of setting up an affiliate program for my web site, and would like to hear from you experts on what makes a good affiliate program?

I guess my primary question is do you prefer in house tracking of the affiliate program, or using a 3rd party, such as commission junction? From my research, if I use a 3rd party tracking company, that would take away from what I can offer the affiliate, at the same time, I'm sure affiliates are comforted by a 3rd party tracking company to ensure honesty...

Any suggestions you can offer would be much appreciated...

Thank you for your time...

It takes a lot of time to make it active. So if you are having a lot time to spend then it you can do it. Otherwise better is go for service providers.

Thanks helloaneesh, the time involved with setting up and maintaining an affiliate program does concern me, so perhaps going through a 3rd party affiliate company would be best. I'm just weighing out the cost involved because it seems like their fees are quite hefty...=)

Can someone recommend a few affiliate management companies, such as Commission Junction, who are possibly less expensive? Or would I be best to just pay their fees as they seem to be the biggest?

shareasale.com isn't bad for the price.

Justin

It is very important if you are offering your affiliates tracking that it is done with decent software. This will ensure that it is correct and real time. The main problem with this type of software is it can be pricey. It can also be quite a technical job to learn the software and know how to adapt it to work best for you.

Weigh up the costs as well as the time it will take to manage both the software as well as your affiliates and try to decide whether it is worth your time. Possibly if you are an affiliate marketer, your talent lies in strategic thinking and maybe not as strongly in maintaining the relationships necessary to build the strong relationship you need with your affiliates.