Managing And Recruiting Affiliates

Once affiliates begin to sign up, even if you are

automatically approving them, its in your best

interest to audit your network on a regular basis.

Now, the FTC is making marketers responsible for

the actions of their affiliates. If your affiliates

get out of control, it could cost you a lot of money.

You'll have hundreds of affiliates sign up for your

program. Hobbyists, spammers, webmasters and even

marketers. It's very important that you review

each one on a regular basis to ensure the way they

are promoting you is acceptable to your company and

above all - its legal.

Below, you'll find some tips when screening:

1. All affiliates must have an active web

site. If not, they may be spammers.

2. The affiliate site content must relate

to your products or services.

3. The site should have appropriate levels

of content.

4. Misuse of content. Be very clear with

your affiliates and what content they can use from

your website.

Affiliate fraud

Fraud with affiliates has been increasing over the

last several years, which is another great reason

to screen your affiliates on a regular basis. With

fraud, there are two main types:

Malware - Some affiliates out there have developed

software that is installed on a machine, normally as

part of a free download. When someone clicks on the

affiliate link, the true affiliate ID is replaced

with the fraud.

Fake purchase - If you have a product of high value

that returns large commissions for affiliates, you

may notice some bad parties signing up, then using

stolen or fake credit card information to purchase

products via their links.

Communicating with affiliates

Good affiliates are normally busy, as they can

easily forget about your services and products.

As time goes by, your offers can wind up less in

less visited areas or accidentally deleted.

It's extremely important to stay in contact with

your affiliates, even more so with the high performers.

Do not wait for them to contact you, as if you

do, it normally means they are reporting a problem.

By taking the time to contact them, you are showing

that you are interested in the partnership.

You don't need a new product as an excuse to

contact your power affiliates. Even if it's just

a quick note to ask if they need anything. You

can also use the opportunity for feedback on your

program as well.

Managing a successful affiliate program is not an

easy task you can fully automate, as you'll have

to get involved. Happy affiliates are more

productive, and the more money they make - the

more money your company makes as well.