Setting up affiliate program, be a cowboy & do it myself?

Hi,
I have a startup business that will be like an OnStar service only for your mobile phone. This way one can call an easy-to-remember toll-free number to get various services from turn-by-turn directions to live nurse help, etc. I think it could be very successful in and of itself. But I want to set up an affiliate program to really accelerate it. I need ideas though.



I want affiliates to get paid for initial signups, and they will also get a slice of the reoccurring payments (our customers will pay a monthly subscription fee to maintain the service). I’m not planning to set it up to be pyramid-like as in an MLM. Instead I want to foster a sense of real partnership, and I want to keep the price as reasonable as possible for customers to be competitive with others. A slice of profits will also be given to charity. And I want to allow affiliates to choose to give more to charity in any given month (such as during a child abuse prevention month). Since it has these unique aspects I’m not sure if “fits” with JVZoo or others. I am thinking to just give affiliates coupon codes (for x amount off initial service setup). People will naturally use the coupon code to get the discount when they sign up on our website or call to our call center. Then I will immediately know what affiliate generated the sale. I will be able to congratulate them on the sale, and pay them (setting aside a percent to charity). If it grows large, I may just have to hire an affiliate program manager to deal with all the affiliates.

My first questions revolve around the terms of service. What kind of pitfalls are common for people new to affiliate programs, and how can I avoid them? What legal aspects are pertinent for someone new to affiliate program setup? Are there any examples anyone would be kind enough to share?


At first I as the owner will just manage the affiliates personally. I will likely provide them payouts via Paypal. Does Paypal like a slice? Anyone have a better idea to send money direct to them? I hear there are some services to send money direct to their bank account to reduce fees…

I’d like to get the perspective of people who have lists and engage in partnerships too. Is it more appealing to you when partnering to just get a link for like a CJ or JVZoo thing that you can just e-mail all your people (so you can control the tracking, get commission payments right away, etc)? Or would it be about the same difference to you to e-mail people a link to my website or list our toll-free number and say here just give this unique discount code so I get credit for the referral (and the clients do because they get x dollars off the normal setup fee)? I could even give out multiple discount coupon codes to aid with campaign tracking. Would that work? Or am I thinking in a "startup" mode unaware of the true complexity of trying to run an affiliate program myself? Bless!