Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Survival Tips For Affiliate Marketers

OK, so you've signed up for an online affiliate marketing program that you think you can do well with. You've developed a strategy to sell the products and planned out your marketing materials.




Now what? Well even with your best marketing efforts, sometimes things just don't start happening the way you think they should. Below you will find some of the common problems that affiliate marketers run in to when running their campaigns that can greatly affect their sales and commissions.




Cookie Confusion
Many affiliate merchants use cookies to track your
referrals. Most affiliates know this, but most customers don't. When the customer comes to a site through your referral link a cookie is recorded on their computer that keeps your referral information. This information is used to keep track of your sales.
What most affiliates don't know is those cookies don't always last for the life of the customer. The length that the cookies last varies between different merchants. Some only last for the first time they click from your link others may last for life, but not always. This is something that is almost never advertised by the merchant and it is up to you to find it out. Contact them and ask how long the cookie last. It may change your marketing plan or even make you decide to not use that affiliate program.




Check Out The Program
Before you start to promote any products or services as an affiliate, it is always good practice to research the merchant carefully. If you have any questions or doubt, you should contact the merchant and search for any information on the merchant that may bring any past problems into light.




Watching Your Merchants
Even the best merchants will run into problems with their affiliate software or other issues. Therefore it is a good idea to regularly check up with any news or changes from your affiliate programs. This is especially important for merchants that earn you the most income.



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