13 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
13 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

How do I set up an affiliate program

by bieke81
11 replies
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
#affiliate #affiliate program #clickbank #program #service #set
  • Profile picture of the author mprager
    Check out some affiliate software solutions. They usually have everything you need to start. idevdirect.com is good.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797120].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Suzanne Morrison
    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
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797143].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author bieke81
      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
      Signature
      Taking it one day at a time!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797258].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author dbarnum
        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.
        Signature




        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797296].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author webguycanada
    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.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797312].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author bieke81
    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
    Signature
    Taking it one day at a time!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797466].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Jillian Slack
      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
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797505].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MichaelHiles
    1shoppingcart is great stuff
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797559].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Jillian Slack
      Originally Posted by MichaelHiles View Post

      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
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797641].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author virginiad
    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.
    Signature

    Virginia Drew


    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797602].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MichaelHiles
    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.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[797762].message }}

Trending Topics