How do I set up an affiliate program

Leslie B · 05-19-2009, 04:03 AM

Well, I'm don't often write here and when I do it's often a question, and this time it's no different

One of the things I do to make money online is offering a blog set up service for wordpress blogs. Now I have been asked if I had an affiliate program for my service too. I have been thinking about this and the more I think about it, the more I believe it should work. But well, now I have to put my thoughts in reality and I don't know how to do it. Can I use clickbank for this, or is there another program I should use?

I really can use someone that could explain this all to me. Being an affiliate is something I know, but offering it myself is all new to me.

Take care,
Leslie

mprager · 05-19-2009, 04:55 AM

Check out some affiliate software solutions. They usually have everything you need to start. idevdirect.com is good.

Suzanne Morrison · 05-19-2009, 05:06 AM

Hi Leslie,

You could do it with Clickbank, but they do expect to see an instantly available digital download or a login for a membership site on your thankyou page. So if you decided to apply with them, you probably wouldn't be able to set up a thankyou page that was simply a form asking for details (e.g. login info) in order for you to do your service. I know this as I tried it myself a couple of years ago and they rejected my application for security reasons and didn't tell me why. When I applied again later with a download link and instructions on my thankyou page this was accepted.

The main disadvantage of doing it via Clickbank is:
- high fees. I can't remember the exact percentage but it is around 8% or so per transaction
- refunds - Clickbank offer a no questions asked refund within 8 weeks for anyone who asks. I have been unfortunate enough to have a few refunds where the person has emailed Clickbank and said "I forgot what I bought, please refund me". This is not so bad for an ebook, but it is bad when you have spent time & effort working on someone's website.

The obvious advantages of Clickbank are the big marketplace and ease of getting affiliates to promote you + they take care of all the affiliate payments.

I think something that you were i control of yourself e.g. the iDevAffiliate solution as mention above would be more appropriate for selling a service.

Cheers,
Suzanne

Leslie B · 05-19-2009, 06:10 AM

Thank you both for responding to my question.

I think I will start out with clickbank to see if there are people willing to promote it and how much customers I'll get through this way of advertising. When I feel confident that affiliates are the way to go I might go for the other solution as I do like to have more control myself.

Take care,
Leslie Bogaerts

dbarnum · 05-19-2009, 06:34 AM

PayDotCom (paydotcom.com) -- This is good for affiliate programs, too. You can sell physical or digital products and have a little more control over the program.

Might want to try both - -Clickbank and Paydotcom.

CraigJones · 05-19-2009, 06:45 AM

Hi Leslie,

The best resource to find out everything you need to know about selecting
the best Affiliate Program Software and or Affiliate Program Services available
can be found at: affiliate-software-review.com - by Peter Koning.

However, you should also review RapidActionProfits.com (for selling digital downloads) and RapidActionProfits.com/mbrplus (for membership sites)

Craig.

Leslie B · 05-19-2009, 08:06 AM

Thanks everyone,

I'm getting quiet a list together of places I can try.

I've chosen to see if clickbank would work well. there is a possibility they won't accept it as it's not a product but a service. If so I'll try one of the other ones.

Take care,

Leslie

Jillian Slack · 05-19-2009, 08:18 AM

Hi Leslie,

Congrats on taking these big steps toward your success!

Two great resources that I know of let you set up affiliate programs. They are (not affiliate links):

1shoppingcart

e-junkie

Hope that helps!

Jill

MichaelHiles · 05-19-2009, 08:34 AM

1shoppingcart is great stuff

virginiad · 05-19-2009, 08:45 AM

I looked into Idevdirect, too, and it seems good. It is not that expensive, and it contains an affiliate training section...especially good if this is your first attempt at recruiting affiliates. It seems to me that it is vital that your affiliates have as much help as possible in selling your services. With so many affiliate programs available, you need to have a good "hook" to get and keep top producers.

Jillian Slack · 05-19-2009, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

1shoppingcart is great stuff

I agree!

It's much more than a shopping cart.

Your list can live there, too.

Some say it's more of a challenge to send html ezines from 1shoppingcart because they don't offer templates like ConstantContact does.

But I'm thinking it would be an advantage to pay for one service and have everything live there, rather than paying for the shopping cart and turning around and paying a monthly fee for something in addition (like ConstantContact) that can do what your service could already do, only a little easier.

I found two virtual assistants the other day who specialize in using 1shoppingcart, and both offer their services to set up your html ezine for1shoppingcart. One was $100 and the other was $125.

Not a bad price to pay when you think about how many people you're going to reach with that ezine.

Definitely worth it to outsource if you don't know how to do it and don't want to spend your time learning. And why take the time to learn? You'll spend all of your time trying to be a do-it-yourselfer and who is doing the creative work that you need to be doing to keep your business growing?

Jill

MichaelHiles · 05-19-2009, 09:36 AM

I actually don't use their autoresponders or list management. After I learned that an opt-in counts as a customer towards their monthly fee tier, I decided that it wasn't the best solution because I was avoiding the monthly fees for a list.

A list by itself is nothing. A lead that never buys anything from you is simply raw overhead.

I have a home-grown opt-in management system that works with all my CMS systems that doesn't cost me any monthly fees.

05-19-2009, 04:03 AM	#1
Leslie B Lady WordPress War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 1,051 Thanks: 928 Thanked 321 Times in 212 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	How do I set up an affiliate program Well, I'm don't often write here and when I do it's often a question, and this time it's no different One of the things I do to make money online is offering a blog set up service for wordpress blogs. Now I have been asked if I had an affiliate program for my service too. I have been thinking about this and the more I think about it, the more I believe it should work. But well, now I have to put my thoughts in reality and I don't know how to do it. Can I use clickbank for this, or is there another program I should use? I really can use someone that could explain this all to me. Being an affiliate is something I know, but offering it myself is all new to me. Take care, Leslie
	Niche Blog Explosion - 4 Blogs Each Month For Under $10 Each Blogging To Make Money - All Your WordPress Needs In One Place

05-19-2009, 04:55 AM	#2
mprager Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 12 Thanks: 3 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: How do I set up an affiliate program Check out some affiliate software solutions. They usually have everything you need to start. idevdirect.com is good.

05-19-2009, 05:06 AM	#3
Suzanne Morrison Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 2,185 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 29 Thanked 132 Times in 93 Posts Social Networking	Re: How do I set up an affiliate program Hi Leslie, You could do it with Clickbank, but they do expect to see an instantly available digital download or a login for a membership site on your thankyou page. So if you decided to apply with them, you probably wouldn't be able to set up a thankyou page that was simply a form asking for details (e.g. login info) in order for you to do your service. I know this as I tried it myself a couple of years ago and they rejected my application for security reasons and didn't tell me why. When I applied again later with a download link and instructions on my thankyou page this was accepted. The main disadvantage of doing it via Clickbank is: - high fees. I can't remember the exact percentage but it is around 8% or so per transaction - refunds - Clickbank offer a no questions asked refund within 8 weeks for anyone who asks. I have been unfortunate enough to have a few refunds where the person has emailed Clickbank and said "I forgot what I bought, please refund me". This is not so bad for an ebook, but it is bad when you have spent time & effort working on someone's website. The obvious advantages of Clickbank are the big marketplace and ease of getting affiliates to promote you + they take care of all the affiliate payments. I think something that you were i control of yourself e.g. the iDevAffiliate solution as mention above would be more appropriate for selling a service. Cheers, Suzanne
	* Earn up to $148.50 PER SALE (recurring) with the Affiliate Power Group's Affiliate Program * FREE Search Engine Optimization Tutorial \| Home Business Ideas

05-19-2009, 06:10 AM	#4
Leslie B Lady WordPress War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 1,051 Thanks: 928 Thanked 321 Times in 212 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: How do I set up an affiliate program Thank you both for responding to my question. I think I will start out with clickbank to see if there are people willing to promote it and how much customers I'll get through this way of advertising. When I feel confident that affiliates are the way to go I might go for the other solution as I do like to have more control myself. Take care, Leslie Bogaerts
	Niche Blog Explosion - 4 Blogs Each Month For Under $10 Each Blogging To Make Money - All Your WordPress Needs In One Place

05-19-2009, 06:34 AM	#5
dbarnum Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Ohio, USA. Posts: 5,696 Blog Entries: 46 Thanks: 185 Thanked 144 Times in 110 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: How do I set up an affiliate program PayDotCom (paydotcom.com) -- This is good for affiliate programs, too. You can sell physical or digital products and have a little more control over the program. Might want to try both - -Clickbank and Paydotcom.
	Need help? 100+ Ways / Support / Fiverr / Rootbeer Break / Warrior4Hire Specials! Get customized help: Give us a try, check out & bookmark: MAP / Top Tasks at: 2011 / our blog

05-19-2009, 06:45 AM	#6
CraigJones Active Warrior Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Canada. Posts: 41 Thanks: 2 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: How do I set up an affiliate program Hi Leslie, The best resource to find out everything you need to know about selecting the best Affiliate Program Software and or Affiliate Program Services available can be found at: affiliate-software-review.com - by Peter Koning. However, you should also review RapidActionProfits.com (for selling digital downloads) and RapidActionProfits.com/mbrplus (for membership sites) Craig.

05-19-2009, 08:06 AM	#7
Leslie B Lady WordPress War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 1,051 Thanks: 928 Thanked 321 Times in 212 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: How do I set up an affiliate program Thanks everyone, I'm getting quiet a list together of places I can try. I've chosen to see if clickbank would work well. there is a possibility they won't accept it as it's not a product but a service. If so I'll try one of the other ones. Take care, Leslie
	Niche Blog Explosion - 4 Blogs Each Month For Under $10 Each Blogging To Make Money - All Your WordPress Needs In One Place

05-19-2009, 08:18 AM	#8
Jillian Slack Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Missouri, USA Posts: 714 Thanks: 24 Thanked 94 Times in 62 Posts	Re: How do I set up an affiliate program Hi Leslie, Congrats on taking these big steps toward your success! Two great resources that I know of let you set up affiliate programs. They are (not affiliate links): 1shoppingcart e-junkie Hope that helps! Jill

05-19-2009, 08:34 AM	#9
MichaelHiles Battle Scarred Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 2,563 Thanks: 665 Thanked 1,780 Times in 744 Posts Social Networking	Re: How do I set up an affiliate program 1shoppingcart is great stuff

05-19-2009, 08:45 AM	#10
virginiad HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Marlboro, NY Posts: 214 Thanks: 38 Thanked 23 Times in 21 Posts	Re: How do I set up an affiliate program I looked into Idevdirect, too, and it seems good. It is not that expensive, and it contains an affiliate training section...especially good if this is your first attempt at recruiting affiliates. It seems to me that it is vital that your affiliates have as much help as possible in selling your services. With so many affiliate programs available, you need to have a good "hook" to get and keep top producers.

05-19-2009, 09:36 AM	#12
MichaelHiles Battle Scarred Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 2,563 Thanks: 665 Thanked 1,780 Times in 744 Posts Social Networking	Re: How do I set up an affiliate program I actually don't use their autoresponders or list management. After I learned that an opt-in counts as a customer towards their monthly fee tier, I decided that it wasn't the best solution because I was avoiding the monthly fees for a list. A list by itself is nothing. A lead that never buys anything from you is simply raw overhead. I have a home-grown opt-in management system that works with all my CMS systems that doesn't cost me any monthly fees.