Many for us have heard that affiliate programs are one of the best ways to earn money online, or to learn and apply internet marketing especially for those us who are new to doing business online. Intrigued by the hype, some of us scramble to pay or sign up for the first affiliate program they see being advertised on the top and side of Google search result pages.
This is a big step in ensuring failure in our first online venture, if it ever gets to take off at all. With the hype, comes along the scams, and it would be folly if we do not do our homework and research on the opportunities first. Here are some of the ways to make sure the affiliate program you choose is going to be worth your time, money and effort.
Make sure you can get your money back
This is a very important point which needs little explanation. Cheaters do not return the money once they get hold of it. Once you are at the landing page of an affiliate program, ignore all the big flashy dollar signs, scroll all the way to the bottom of the sales copy and see if they offer a money back guarantee. If they do not, most likely the program is not good enough for you.
However, if you harbor hopes that the program is legitimate and effective, you can look for the contact page and email them enquiries on any money back guarantees. It’s also a good way to check out the next point on the check list.
Email them questions!
An old, but rather effective way to check if the program is good enough is to simply send them a mail containing questions which you may have.
Email them, maybe just to say hi and ask for more details on the products being sold, or is there any money-back guarantees and what kind of support would be given. If they reply with good information, it proves, more likely, that they are serious about doing business with you as an affiliate and are legitimate companies who would give you support and your commissions when you earn them.
Forums
Good, well-frequented Forums are a great way to find unbiased reports and reviews on the numerous affiliate programs out there. Good forums would make sure that ads are not allowed in the posts so that the statements are free from any biased statements.
Infamous affiliate programs will quickly be pointed out in forums and come along with a lengthy thread of people basically criticizing it or filled with counter-arguments. Please take a closer look through these kinds of threads though. Some of these threads are posted by some who are just not satisfied with a particular program due to personal reasons and simply ranting about it, with other forum members attempting to help him or her, and so not necessarily meaning that the affiliate program in question is fraud.
However, if page after page of that thread is just criticizing a particular program, you should just avoid the latter.
Google it!
Another way to check an affiliate program is simply to type the name of the program, then add “scam” or “review” after it. From here, you can probably find some info to help you decide whether the program you are fancy is legitimate or not.
Please be wary though. Quite a number of reviews are nothing more that a technique used by affiliates to market the product. Some reviews are written to impress readers that the product is worth their money, and links are provided at the end of the review for them to pay for it, earning the reviewer (or affiliate) commissions. These reviews are basically skewed towards making more money for the affiliate writing the review, and should be taken with pinches of salt.
Your best bet with reviews is to keep an eye out whether the review written is in-depth and well-balanced with pros and cons of the reviewed affiliate program. If the review is littered with just praises and you find an affiliate link at the bottom to buy that product from the reviewer, you can safely conclude that the review is not good. Another way would be to compare with all the good reviews out there and decide if the program is good enough overall, though this method can be quite laborious.
Conclusion
Affiliate programs can be excellent ways to start earning money online, and for beginners to learn about internet marketing. However, if you do not choose your choices carefully, chances are you will be wasting your time and money into scams, offering nothing but frustration and disappointment in the end.
Just be careful as you choose your first or next affiliate business. Find the right program and work your way to success!
Thien Kai Wei
http://www.articlesbase.com/ecommerce-articles/why-some-of-us-lose-in-affiliate-programs-before-even-starting-90368.html
Comments
Adult Affiliate Program Legal Or Not?
almost 6 years ago i joined one of those adult videochat sites and started promoting it. At the time i joined they said – lifetime earings on what a member spends, that joins from your affiliate link.-
In fact even now on the page of their revenue sharing program page it says
"For every $ a registered viewer spends per-minute watching live interactive video feeds, you receive up to 40% forever and without restrictions! "
Then I was expecting a payment for money, and did’nt recevie, I contacted them and I get this email from them telling me their new tos:
Dear
Thank you for contacting us.
Under the new CamSense Terms & Conditions (Effective Date: December 1, 2009) in order to continue receiving payments from CamSense, a person must either have a CamSense account that complies with the minimum traffic requirements i.e. to deliver at least 5 qualified spenders per month; or chathost account that complies with the "active chathost" requirement of conducting at least one live session in a 60-day period.
Please be aware that the new CamSense Terms & Conditions were implemented on December 1, 2009. Every affiliate received an email detailing the changes on December 1, the announcement was posted on CamSense News Section and the terms were posted on the Camsense site on the same day. You will note that the new terms clearly state that CamSense has the option to discontinue the payouts for your referred visitors who have become qualified spenders on a CC Network site upon your failure to meet the criteria for an Active Affiliate over a two (2) month period.
Please read full Terms and Conditions here:
There have been too many cases in which affiliates have not been actively working to send new traffic to our sites for months, in some cases years, and have still been collecting commissions on past spenders. Meanwhile, there are other affiliates who have been working hard to deliver new traffic to our sites each month. These partners are much more invested in the current success of our business, and it is those affiliates that we want to ensure are rewarded for their efforts.
For the last 60 days you delivered 0 spenders to CC Network sites . Unfortunately this means that currently your account doesn’t meet CamSense requirements and you forfeit the commissions from the lifetime revenue of past spenders.
Please keep in mind that your CamSense account is not being closed.
Lifetime commissions (on new spenders only) will be reinstated right after you regain Active Affiliate status i.e. deliver at least 5 qualified spenders per month to a CC Network site.
We thank you for your efforts over the years and sincerely hope that you return to active status so that we may continue our work together.
Best Regards,
Jonathan Jenkins
CamSense Account Manager "
How can they change the terms of a contract they have with me from 2004 through 2009???
Basicly what they are telling me is that if I don’t send MORE visitors to their site, (that sign up and spend money) I lose any money I would have earned pior to their tos change on December 1, 2009.
I do not agree to these terms changes. Nor would I have ever aggreed to such terms.
So, Should not anyone that joined by my link before December 1, 2009 fall under the prior tos? I did work and promote the program and more then a few of these members are still spending on the site.
If there is anone else out there that has been effected by this and is losing their money, contact me and let me know your story as this effects you.
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References :
My best guess is that this is far from legal. However, I am not a lawyer. I would recommend getting one, and maybe seeking some punitive damages.
On a side note, I don’t **** over my affiliates like that, so if you come this direction you may be less stressed.
References :
http://www.SpiderWebSports.com/affiliate/
I would say that you are lucky most adult affiliate programs can cancel affiliates at anytime for no reason and it states this in the Terms of Service (TOS)
good luck on getting paid… mail them a letter demanding payment, signup for prepaidlegal.com first and they will mail the letter for you from a lawyer / law firm.
Adult Affiliate | Adult Webmaster | Adult Affiliate Program
http://www.adultaffiliate-adultwebmaster.com
References :
http://www.adultaffiliate-adultwebmaster.com
prepaidlegal.com