To create your own affiliate program and make money as all the successful sellers, you have to start with simple steps, and then expect success. I’ve created this article to help you find the best and easiest ways to start without being confused about many ideas.
Before starting
You have to understand your business and know your customers, what type of customers you’re looking for, and what they need and expect from your product. This is the first step to creating an affiliate program, this can make things clear in your eyes, and it guarantees your success.
Focus only on people you think can be interested in your product. Limit your circle to your niche, and then, you can enlarge it when you have the resources. But now, never think of promoting your business to people in other different niches.
As an example, if your affiliate program is about email marketing, you should start with marketing and advertising sites, but never with non-relevant places. You’re a starter, and you want to maximize your success and not play with it.
There are two ways to start an affiliate program, the first is to install an affiliate software, and the second is to submit your product to ClickBank or similar affiliate directories. So, let’s take an idea about these two methods and which one is the best for you.
1. Affiliate Software
You don’t need to browse thousands of websites to find the best affiliate marketing software for your program. Most of them are open-source, free, and even support WordPress websites. But, if you really want to start with professional affiliate marketing software, I recommend Post Affiliate Pro. They have been in business since 2004, and their software is used by popular affiliate marketing programs.
This is the smartest affiliate program management software to get all the options that every marketer needs to track affiliate sales, clicks, earnings, and more.
The challenge with this type of affiliate program is that you have to promote your business and get affiliates. If you have a budget to advertise with Google, you will get qualified affiliates.
Another good way is to create a partnership with a blogger that you know, he can promote your program and send you affiliates. If you know many bloggers, that will be better. It’s the best way to work with all of them, you need affiliates who sell your product to thousands of people, and they will get a commission. So, both, you and your partners are winners.
2. Affiliate Marketplace
ShareASale, ClickBank, and Commission Junction are the largest places to promote your products. You don’t need any lessons to learn how to create an affiliate program, everything is provided, and they will help. Sure, you will get thousands of affiliates and sales. But, the challenge here is to be a brand or a well-known seller. Nobody there will promote your product if you’re unknown in online marketing (this is not a rule).
You have to think about marketers who browse the products of sellers and search for reviews about them. You should start building good relations with your first affiliates, their success will be your success too.
As you can see, in major marketplaces, competition is the first thing you should think about. My advice is to submit your product to websites with less competition; if you find that in ClickBank, for example, there are too many similar products, like the one that you will promote, then, it will be better to find other places without competitors.
Best affiliate marketplaces to submit a product
a. Digital Products: eBooks and guides
This is not really a simple question to answer, every product has its own factors to submit. ShareASale and ClickBank are the best places for digital products. So, if your product is information, such as eBooks, guides, or education, don’t forget to think about the competition first.
Browse their marketplaces, search for keywords of your own product, and make a decision if you should submit or not. They will review your product to accept it there.
b. Physical Products
There are many places to submit your real physical product, but I only recommend ShareASale for a great and friendly experience. Your product will get high-quality affiliates from all around the world, among them, popular websites that all people know.
They have been in business since the year 2000. What I like about them is that you can promote your products and recommend them to their thousands of affiliates, especially on special occasions, to get the most clicks.
So, if you have clothes, electronics, or any other real product, you can submit them to ShareASale today, and their affiliates will promote them.
Tips to succeed in your own affiliate program
a. Product design
The first and most important step to creating your own affiliate program and getting thousands of affiliates is to create a useful product that people love, and then create a beautiful and attractive squeeze page for it. People love visual effects, so, make a unique squeeze page with a professional product cover.
If you need a professional and good cover for your eBook product that will attract affiliates and buyers, you can use My eCover Maker.
For a professional landing and sales page creator, I recommend InstaBuilder for WordPress. It’s the best and smartest way that I’ve found to create professional sales pages, landing pages, and other conversion pages with a responsive design.
b. Be generous with your affiliates, and they will be too
This step can affect your starting. If you want to get more affiliates, give them the maximum commissions; if they succeed in the first weeks, then, you will succeed too. They will recommend your product, and as a result, other new affiliates will come to subscribe and start promoting.
As a rule, don’t think about the money in the first two months; you need affiliates and not money at that stage. If you get a few more sales every day, that’s better than stopping there, everything will grow step by step.
If you can offer 100% commission with other marketplaces, why not? That will attract affiliates, you can change that commission later to make money and win both. With ClickBank, there is a maximum commission, so go with a maximum of 75%, and let affiliates work for you. Think about the thousands of sales in the future and not now.
Conclusion
To create your own affiliate program and succeed, you should select the best method relevant to your budget. If you have money, you can start with software and advertise to get affiliates, if this is not the case, you have to work with bloggers who can promote your program, and send you affiliate marketers. In the meantime, make sure to create a beautiful product cover and promote it everywhere, then expect sales.
