Affiliate Programs Explained: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask!
By Chris Sellers
For those who are just getting started in the business of online adult entertainment and sales, the world can be a pretty confusing place. Which HTML editor should you use? What graphics program is the best? Should you build a pretty site - or an ugly one? Many of those questions can only be answered over time... It's true. YOU are the X-factor, the unknown variable in the equation. Your traffic, your time and effort, your understanding of the niche, marketing abilities, SEO knowledge and more, all contribute toward your ultimate success or failure.
Can the road to success in adult e-commerce be laid out like a map to be easily understood? Klixxx Magazine is here to help you make the affiliate program choice just a little easier. This article will feature a full description, examples of use and pros and cons - regarding the use of each of the different forms of affiliate programs available in today's market. So sit back and take notes if you need to... we're about to explain it all!
What IS an Affiliate Program?
In the most basic terms, an affiliate program, sometimes referred to as a sponsor or sponsorship program, is a company that webmasters work with to generate revenue from their traffic. There are multiple ways to do this - and it works with both surfer traffic (paying customers surfing the Web for adult content) and webmaster traffic alike.
Webmasters make money, in a sense, by selling their traffic to the affiliate program. Webmasters - or affiliates - can either get paid per surfer/customer sign-up to one of the affiliate program's sites, through a revenue sharing sales program, by a per-click method of counting/crediting your traffic, or via a commission based percentage type arrangement. Other types of ways to profit from your traffic are made available by a variety of additional moneymaking opportunities, usually built within the larger programs.
Some programs pay their affiliate webmasters weekly, others biweekly; a few pay monthly and a select few - usually limited to mainstream non-adult programs only - pay quarterly. Nearly all programs have a minimum payout requirement that means you will only receive a check once you have a threshold amount of sales or threshold amount of dollars. Payments for small commissions and sign-ups are usually made via check and now with epassporte, however the "big boys" of the industry with tons of traffic and lots of sign-ups generally get paid via wire.
The Various Types of Affiliate Programs:
- Per-Sign-up Programs - One of the, if not THE, most common type of program on the 'Net today. Easy to follow - not much to figure out. You send traffic - if one of your surfers signs up for a membership you get paid. It's as simple as that. Payouts range from $20 to $50 and sometimes even higher depending upon the company and/or specials being run. Whether the sign-up is counted as a free trial, paid trial or full membership conversion will be stated in the TOS - terms of service. It is important that all webmasters read ALL rules for a new program BEFORE signing up and/or sending traffic. Know what you are getting into and what you should expect, before you waste your time and traffic.
- Partnership AKA "RevShare" Programs - The second most commonly used affiliate programs, the partnership or RevShare (Revenue Sharing) model is argued by some to be the biggest moneymaker of all the programs. The webmaster splits the sales revenues with the affiliate program - sometimes a 50/50 split, other times a 40/60 or 60/40 - again, you should read the TOS carefully before promoting any sponsor. But how could a program that only pays you a percentage - anywhere from 40-60% of each sale - make you more money than one that pays $20-50 up front? Because of the recurring revenue. Recurring revenue is additional income that is made from sales that recur when the customer renews their monthly membership to the affiliate's paysite. Depending upon the quality of the affiliate site - and the happiness level of your referred traffic - you could easily make more than even the top $50 per sign-up payout over time.
- Per-Click Programs - Do you have a ton of traffic, but a low conversion ratio? A per-click program might be just the ticket for you. You will still have to have a minimum conversion ratio for your overall traffic; however, you will be paid per click to the site. Clicks are measured differently depending upon the way the program is set up. Sometimes the program counts the first click through to the site, sometimes the second - and sometimes even the third. Again, this is a good thing to check out in the TOS and program rules. Know what you should expect - and what is expected of you. You could waste thousands of hits, throwing them at a per-click program, if you do not meet the minimum conversion ratio set by the affiliate rules. Various per-click parameters are set up in the different programs available in today's market - with the amount per click determined by the quality (conversion ratio), and dependent upon which click is counted as "a click" by the program owner.
- Commission-Based Programs - These types of programs are generally seen with product sales. In the world of adult affiliate programs, this usually means sex toys, herbal "enhancement" products, adult DVDs, books and other sexually oriented materials. Again, commissions vary depending upon the product, the program, the company and other variables. Some product programs sell very well - in fact, often sell themselves to your traffic. Other programs do not sell well, and can very well become a "traffic hole" if you are not careful. You should speak to a product affiliate program support staff member for tips and ideas on making the most out of your link to their online store. Some programs are now offering co-branded storefronts, which allow you to make their products look as if they are on sale at your very own site - using your logo, site colors, design and text.
Affiliate Extras:
- Webmaster Referrals - If you run a traffic generation program or other webmaster-focused site, referring webmasters could make you some extra cash! Many webmasters also carry webmaster referral link codes and banners in their signature tags on message boards (note: make sure FIRST - that this is OK with your sponsor, and second - that this is OK with the message board owner - there ARE rules to be followed). Extra commissions are paid either on a finder-fee basis (per webmaster referred) or as a percentage of the referred webmaster's payouts from the program, usually something like 5-10%.
- Bonus Payouts - From time to time you will see specials highlighted in newsletters, mailers or on message boards for the various industry affiliate programs. This can be anything from an extra percentage payout for RevShare webmasters, new webmaster incentives, or special limited-time bonus payout periods. It is not uncommon to see these special payouts sometimes reach as high as $75-100 per sign-up - so it pays (pardon the pun) to keep an eye out for these special weekends and payout periods. Again, it cannot be stressed enough that you will want to read all of the details concerning these specials. It would be awful to divert tons of traffic to a program only to find out that you were a whole week early for the special, OR, that there were other unique requirements necessary to participate. Just like any other business, READ THE FINE PRINT.
- Special Offerings - Drawings, affiliate webmaster of the month, most sign-ups in a specified time frame... these are all examples of special opportunities that have been provided to webmasters over the years. These specials - or rather incentives - are designed to attract the attention of the webmaster, gain new affiliates and pump up traffic during the contest period for the affiliate program. If you are lucky, however, you could be the winning webmaster! Remember to keep in mind that there are thousands of webmasters working the industry today - so your chances aren't going to be 1:100, but many TIMES that. Submit entries as often as you are allowed, to increase those chances and make sure you pay attention when winners are announced, just in case there is a time limit on when you need to respond in order to collect your prize.
- Prize Points - One of the coolest developments in affiliate programs is the prize point system. Webmasters get "points" - or in some cases "miles," "credits" or "bucks" for each sign-up they send to the affiliate program. These points are totaled up and can be used to purchase items from the programs online affiliate store. Similar to airline miles or credit card points - you can "buy" just about anything if you have enough accumulated, including digital cameras, motorcycles, home theater systems - even sports cars! There seems to be no limit to what can be offered through these special perk prize points systems. A fine example is the TrafficCashGold Gold Vault at: www.trafficcashgold.com/gold.php.
Promoting an Affiliate Program
There are a variety of ways to promote the various affiliate programs, and webmasters again should refer to the company's rules and terms before promoting using any method other than what is offered through the affiliate admin area. Sometimes you are invited to get creative, but it's always a good idea to speak with your affiliate representative before doing anything too "out there" to push the program. In today's "tough times" of credit card chargebacks and 1% processing thresholds, webmasters need to make sure that they are operating within the rules and guidelines approved by the affiliate program owner - or risk the chance of getting cut, removed or banned from the program.
FPAs (full page ads), traditional banners, pop-up consoles, approved text ads, hosted galleries, free content and other marketing tools are generally made available in most types of programs to aid in promotion. Other original ways of advertising and marketing the affiliate program sites have also been tried over the years, but by no means have all avenues been exhausted. That is one of the most exciting attractions of an Internet business - it is still relatively new and there are still tons of opportunities out there for you to make your own unique mark upon the industry.
Building a relationship with your affiliate program - and that means finding an affiliate program that has the staff, abilities and desire to work with its webmasters to increase their revenues - can really help to boost your business. Insider tips, access to fresh banners, buttons and content - plus a support team to bounce questions off to find new ways of attracting sales are what you are looking for. It's these innovative approaches that help to separate the average webmaster from the successful webmaster and the same goes for the sponsor program.
Getting Started
It may seem odd to end an article with a topic like "Getting Started," but really, this is your next step. Now that you have a basic understanding of what to expect from an affiliate program, a detailed definition of the various types of affiliate programs and some basic tips on how to promote and generate income by using an affiliate program - it's time to SIGN UP.
Choose your affiliate program by criteria that will benefit your business the most. Do you have a lot of fetish content? Look for a program that has a lot of targeted well-designed fetish sites. Do you have mostly TGP traffic? Look for something that will pay you for quantity over quality. Do you have a lot of loyal surfers that visit your links and sponsors on a regular basis? Consider a RevShare/Partnership program to reap that recurring income rather than just "settling" for a one-time per-sign-up fee.
The choices that you make early on in choosing your affiliate program(s) will make a difference in the income that you receive on your first paycheck. Don't be afraid to experiment and try new things - but also don't forget the first rule of thumb and stick to what you know. The online business is comprised of a lot of trial and error - but mostly, it's just good, honest common sense. And hey, if it doesn't work out, there are always a thousand other affiliate programs out there on the 'Net for you to try out next!
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