Introduction to Affiliate Networks
Posted by admin | 
June 21st, 2007
Affiliate Networks
When you first get started with affiliate marketing, you may not initially know about affiliate networks. Or maybe you see references to them, but you can’t figure out what they are.
In short, an affiliate network is a third party system the has many different affiliate merchants, products and services all rolled into one. An affiliate network is supposed to make things easier for both merchants and marketers, because everything is standardized.
An affiliate marketer for instance, can sign up to an affiliate network just once, but choose from hundreds or thousands of merchants to promote. Without using a network, the affiliate would have to sign up at many different sites - one for each merchant or program they want to promote.
Using an affiliate network usually makes it easier to create links on your websites too. Instead of having to log into many different places and get advertising links, pictures or copy… you simply log into the network and the links all use the same format.
Often using an affiliate network means you can get paid more often too. If you’re promoting ten different merchants individually, and each of those merchants has a minimum earnings requirement before you’ll get paid, it can take much longer to generate enough sales for each one. Using an affiliate network though, all the sales you made for all your merchants are totaled together, so your commission payments are aggregated and you’re able to get paid sooner regardless of how many merchants you promote.
Now this is one of the best reasons to use an affiliate network. Earning $5 each with 10 or even 100 different merchants individually is great… but not when it comes to being paid. If each of those merchants requires you to earn at least $25 or worse, $100 before you can get your money, you end up having $500 you can’t touch - or use.
If you’ve made those sales through an affiliate network though - even with 100 different merchants - the network combines your earnings. So you’ll get your $500 when the network sends your check.
Not all affiliate networks work this way though, so you need to research each one before joining. Having just one site to log into is nice, and having one reporting system that tells you how all of your campaigns are doing at once is also nice. But if that network does not combine all of your earnings together into one payment, it may still take you a very long time to get cash in hand… or in your bank account.
Thankfully there are several very good, long standing, reputable affiliate networks that pay on time all the time, and they combine all your earnings into one check. Here’s a brief overview of some of the major players.
1. Commission Junction - This one has been around the longest, and they have the most merchants to choose from. You only have to earn a combined total of $25 to be paid, and you can choose to have your payment direct deposited to your bank account.
2. Share A Sale - This affiliate network has been around for several years, and it’s getting better all the time. They don’t have as many merchants as Commission Junction does, but they do offer quality merchants and products. They also pay on time, and minimum payout is also $25. Share a Sale will also direct deposit your payments if you’d like.
3. Linkshare is another network of choice by many affiliate marketers. They have lots of major merchants andproducts to choose from.
4. Click Bank - This one has been around for many years too and they have hundreds of products you can promote.
Unlike the other three affiliate networks though, Click Bank products include eBooks and some software. Share a Sale and Commission Junction pay once a month on the 20th, but Click Bank pays every two weeks: The 1st and the 15th. Unfortunately they pay by regular paper check unless you’re making a ton of money with them. I don’t know the exact amounts, but I believe you must be earning about $10,000 or more each pay period before Click Bank is willing to do a direct deposit for you.
For those just starting out in affiliate sales, the best recommendation is to pick a company that allows you to promote products that are relevant to your website or niche market. Often, less is more. Pick one or two good products and once you start earning income with these, then add a new one to your current line.
The temptation for newcomers to affiliate marketing is to go ‘hog-wild’ with promotions, as there are truly and unlimited number of excellent products and services to promote.
My best converting product, and one I highly recommend is Jay Abraham’s Millionaire’s Secrets; a course which basically teaches people how to leverage extraordinary financial results from every single asset they own. Once you have mastered the basics, you are truly informed and well prepared to explore new venues, online or off!
