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Is it best to get a site up and running first before joining affiliate programs?

by Nate Cat
17 replies
I have seen specific messages when signing up for affiliate programs that indicate that they need the url of the site you are to be using. I therefore ask if it is advisable to get a site up and running first and then sign up to any respective affiliate programs afterwards?

Will companies ever terminate affiliate membership if you do not get a site up and running immediately? The reason I ask is because I was about to sign up for something on CJ and it mentioned something in the small print about the company having the right to cancel your membership if your site is under construction.

Part of Special Terms and Conditions:
"...
(Company) may, in its sole discretion, reject your application immediately or terminate this agreement with a seven (7) days written notice, if the web site is not live, is under construction, or is a personal homepage, personal site or is otherwise unsuitable."

I may be signing up to several different companies. Maybe experienced affiliate marketers may be able to give me advice on what this is all about and whether this is commonplace...
#affiliate #joining #programs #running #site
  • Profile picture of the author egoldzone
    I think yes... If you have old website with good traffic will help you to get approved more easy
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  • Profile picture of the author extrememan
    It all depends.. Some affiliate networks require you to have some sort of website to promote there products. Others don't. I would recommend promoting affiliate products that are easy to promote and start there.
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  • Profile picture of the author a2hosting
    As a general rule of thumb, I do not approve affiliate applications if there is no website included by the affiliate when they sign up for our program. You're going to have much more luck getting approved with an active domain.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nate Cat
      Originally Posted by a2hosting View Post

      As a general rule of thumb, I do not approve affiliate applications if there is no website included by the affiliate when they sign up for our program. You're going to have much more luck getting approved with an active domain.
      OK, seeing as you may be able to help with something specific. (I could maybe ask you directly within a private message but I will ask here for the moment).

      Would your company have any problems with your hosting plans being placed within a comparison site? Would you approve a site that does that kind of thing? Also, would you be able to give email notifications if you lower or raise any of the prices within your plans?

      I can take this to private messages if you want.
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  • Profile picture of the author Haristo
    Try write something like this(working for me) WWW.i-market-via-ppc.com or something similar
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    • Profile picture of the author Nate Cat
      Originally Posted by Haristo View Post

      Try write something like this(working for me) WWW.i-market-via-ppc.com or something similar
      I do not understand what you mean... What is that URL supposed to be? It is non existent. Have you actually tried clicking on that link? It is not my intention to be deceptive in any way (not that I am necessarily saying that YOU are - I just do not understand why you put that link).

      I just do not have my (comparison) site fully built yet. I wanted to get the affiliate links into the site first so as to avoid promoting or providing links to websites for free! I need to get paid for my referrals or else there is no point. I also need to be sure that I have a good number of companies to put into the database or else I could potentially be wasting my time. It takes a long time and a lot of effort to develop a professional database driven application. I need to be certain that my efforts do not go to waste.
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  • Profile picture of the author NatesMarketing
    Having a website and a clear method of promotion will definitely help with approval rate.

    But, do you need a website to apply? Not always.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrmugabe
    in my experience yes, i have been rejected by a few affiliates because i didnt have something relevant to show them.

    try to build something geared towards a particular affiliate market first.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anne Laidlaw
    Most affiliate programs want you to have a website that's up and running. Some won't take you unless you have so many visitors a month. Read the Terms first before applying to save time filling it all in for nothing.
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  • Profile picture of the author AmericanMuscleTA
    Websites are sooo cheap to make these days. Get on the wagon and setup the site!

    Getting it done, trumps getting it perfect.
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    • Profile picture of the author wordwizard
      Originally Posted by Anne Laidlaw View Post

      Most affiliate programs want you to have a website that's up and running. Some won't take you unless you have so many visitors a month. Read the Terms first before applying to save time filling it all in for nothing.
      That's excellent advice. It's also becoming more and more important just in order to vet the applicant as a serious marketers. Product owners don't want to risk having their products promoted in ways that are less than legitimate.

      Originally Posted by AmericanMuscleTA View Post

      Websites are sooo cheap to make these days. Get on the wagon and setup the site!

      Getting it done, trumps getting it perfect.
      Couldn't have said it better. You're so right!


      And Nate, you may want to focus on a FEW affiliate programs that are part of a niche you're passionate about (or at least interested in) so you'll be able to educate yourself enough to create relevant info for your website...

      Good luck.
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      • Profile picture of the author Nate Cat
        Originally Posted by wordwizard View Post

        ...
        And Nate, you may want to focus on a FEW affiliate programs that are part of a niche you're passionate about (or at least interested in) so you'll be able to educate yourself enough to create relevant info for your website...
        Thank you Word Wizard. The affiliate links would actually be a part of a comparison list so I would need a fair few to make it valid. I can deal with maybe a few to start with and then build up from there. The idea would be to promote using my domain home page because I am offering a free service/ application for comparison. The affiliate links would be within that application from people clicking on the link for the product (company) in question.

        It is more or less working now but I have to sort out the appearance a bit. I think that may take the largest amount of time. I will also need to produce plenty of content for the specific market as well. That will be needed to give advice whilst at the same time increasing customer confidence. That will come afterwards though. I have a lot of work ahead.
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        • Profile picture of the author NikoDiko
          Can I ask a question ? How can I know how to build my website before I know what I'm gonna promote ? I will find a offer on the affiliate network but to see offers I must sign up
          and to sign up I need to have a website...
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    • Profile picture of the author Nate Cat
      Originally Posted by AmericanMuscleTA View Post

      Websites are sooo cheap to make these days. Get on the wagon and setup the site!

      Getting it done, trumps getting it perfect.
      I see your point but the problem is that I am busy making a web application. I suppose I could throw a Wordpress or Joomla site on the domain that I have now. It is quite an old 5 letter domain and it is sitting on a free hosting account at the moment with godaddy (I know they did away with free hosting years ago but it is that old ). I will more than likely host it fairly soon but I wanted to get the affiliate links in the database before the main deployment.

      I will be hosting that on a paid account but I am being very cautious about my spending at the moment. I wanted to have at least a few affiliate links before doing that. I cannot see how I could create an entire site now around that specific market unless I took a lot of time out. It would cost me nothing in cash directly but time is money.
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  • Profile picture of the author manishak
    Well that is not necessary. You can sell products on your website right from its creation. I have created numerous such sites for customers. Sometimes if you target low comp products, they may get indexed by Google sooner than you think and generate sales even before your site is one month old. However, most sales are generated after you've added good amount of content and have good traffic flow on your site.

    What I mean is why waste time in creating a website and then focus on generating traffic on it and then joining affiliate programs? Just start it head on!

    Read the terms and conditions of the affiliate programs, though.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nate Cat
      Originally Posted by manishak View Post

      Well that is not necessary. You can sell products on your website right from its creation. I have created numerous such sites for customers. Sometimes if you target low comp products, they may get indexed by Google sooner than you think and generate sales even before your site is one month old. However, most sales are generated after you've added good amount of content and have good traffic flow on your site.

      What I mean is why waste time in creating a website and then focus on generating traffic on it and then joining affiliate programs? Just start it head on!

      Read the terms and conditions of the affiliate programs, though.
      It is a comparison application so it is fairly large scale. Maybe a part of my problem was imagining putting all this together and not getting accepted by companies! It seems that they are not as picky as what I imagined. I have received a couple of replies from companies and they seem quite willing to accept my site (although I have only described it to them so far).
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  • Profile picture of the author Greedy
    Yes, I would make one. It shouldn't take that long, just a simple 3-5 page site with a professional domain name is all you need. This is good bio to have for possible clients as well.

    Explain your history and expertise on the site.
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