Finding good vendors is a key to success for affiliate marketers. Here are 3 ways to find vendors. Each has its own pros and cons.
Affiliate Networks
Affiliate networks act as middlemen bringing affiliate vendors and publishers together. Two of the largest and best known affiliate networks are Commission Junction and Clickbank. Publishers can usually sign up for free, so this is a good, no-cost way to get started with affiliate marketing.
Pros
- Finding vendors, and getting comparative information about them, is easy.
- Networks often give you reporting tools to help manage your business.
- Most networks provide some training and success tips.
- Networks often work with their vendors to create strong landing pages and easy-to-access banners and/or links for publishers to use in their own marketing.
- Some networks require vendors to supply funds, effectively ensuring you will get paid in a reasonable time frame.
Cons
- Networks charge for their services, usually when a transaction occurs. This can eat into your profits.
- You competitors have access to the same information about vendors as you do.
Individual Affiliates
Many companies have their own affiliate programs, which you can join without going through a network. This is a great way to pick up affiliates for products and services you already use and trust.
Pros
- Depending on the company, you may have a closer relationship with the vendor.
- There are no middleman fees to be paid.
- You may have greater freedom to be creative when working with individual affiliates.
- Often you will already like and respect the company and its products and services. This makes you more effective as it will show through in your recommendations.
Cons
- Individual affiliates will probably not be as sophisticated or consistent in providing reporting tools for your business.
- Tools, such as landing pages, banners, and links, can vary widely depending on the affiliate.
- You have less of a “guarantee” that the vendor will pay promptly.
Create an Affiliate Program
Once you gain experience as an affiliate marketer, you may come across companies that do not yet have an affiliate program for products or services you would like to sell. You may want to approach the company and see whether they are willing to work with you to create an affiliate program.
Pros
- You can become the exclusive affiliate publisher for a company.
- You may be able to negotiate an affiliate contract with very favorable terms.
- You will be able to sell products/services that were not available to you before.
Cons
- The responsibility for negotiating a favorable and complete affiliate contract will fall on your shoulders.
- You will likely be responsible for developing the landing page(s) and banner(s) or links(s) used to promote the product/service.
- Working with people unfamiliar with affiliate programs may lead to unexpected challenges.
Specifics you want in any contract with an Affiliate Vendor
Regardless of how you find your affiliate vendor, always pay careful attention to the terms and conditions of your agreement. In particular, make sure you understand:
- What triggers your payment
- How much you will get paid for each transaction
- How you will get paid
- When you will get paid
- What happens if a customer returns a product or fails to pay
- What happens if the vendor cannot perform for some reason, i.e. how will they handle customer service
- What your rights and responsibilities are if, for any reason, you decide to terminate the agreement with your vendor
