So. You've got yourself a web site. You've got yourself a decent
level of traffic. And hey, and you're not doing to shabby with
sales either!
But why stop there? There are more ways you may be able to create
an extra bit of income through your site.
AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
How is this possible you say? The answer is Affiliate Programs (also commonly referred to as Associate Programs)...
WHAT ARE THEY?
An Affiliate Program is an advertising system set up by a company wishing to bring targeted visitors to their site... they are willing to give up a moderate percentage of their profit if a sale happens to be made while the visitor (who came from your site) is at their site. A few Affiliate Programs are even willing to pay you a few cents for every visitor you send their way, no matter if a sale is made or not. If you work at it, this can really add up!
HOW DO THEY KNOW?
Usually upon signing up for an Affiliate Program, you will be assigned (or allowed to choose) a unique user name or ID. This ID is added to a special address, which leads to the company's web site. This ID remains attached to the address throughout the visit. If a purchase is made, the company is able to see which Affiliate sent the customer to them.
WHERE TO GO?
You should have no trouble at all finding an Affiliate Programs that will work well with your site... there are countless programs set up through many companies of just about any nature you can conceive. One of the top spots I've found with an excellent roundup of the programs available is AssociatePrograms.com
The site features a fully categorized/alphabetized database of
available Affiliate Programs, along with ratings on some of the most profitable
out there.
If you happen to be the owner of an Affiliate Program, you may also add your
program to the list for free!
WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND?
A few Affiliate Programs have proven to be extremely profitable for many people. To view to programs I use on Absolute Cross, please visit the Absolute Cross Affiliate Program page.
WHAT'S THE CATCH?
For some sites, Affiliate Programs may not be the best option (especially those
requiring banner ads on your site).
Reason being, some sites might have successful banner advertising
systems already set up on their sites (typically on every page)
and adding Affiliate Program banners might reduce the effectiveness of these
ads... consequently the site may lose these advertisers.
If an Affiliate Program allows you to simply add a text-based link to their site on your pages, then by all means do it (in addition to banners/images if applicable). Visitors have been found to click on text links even more often than banners - thus increasing your profits.
REMEMBER...
Whenever linking to the Affiliate Program's site, whether on your site, in a newsletter, or in an email, ALWAYS include your unique ID, so you will get credit where credit is due!
