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Which Software Program Is Best For Your Affiliate Program?
Posted December 19, 2007 , By webmann
affiliate programs allow sales while your affiliates do the legwork. It’s a win-win situation, because both parties make money. With the right software, most affiliate management activities can be completely automated.
There are lots of affiliate management software programs available today and new ones become available regularly. There are expensive ones and inexpensive ones, simple ones and complex ones. Finding the program that is right for your affiliate program will take some research, but getting a good fit is worth the effort.
Affiliate Networks
Affiliate networks are a type of third-party affiliate management solution. Join one and have them do most of the work. They will handle lead and sale tracking also affiliate payment and statistics. They even do some of the promotion.
Getting an affiliate network to handle a program isn’t cheap. Fees vary but they are usually calculated as a percentage of each sale. Setup fees are also common.
Hosted Affiliate Solutions
There are many affiliate software programs that are hosted by a third party but controlled by the affiliate program manager. These are great if you want control of the program but don’t want to fill up your bandwidth and hosting space with affiliate software. There’s also minimal setup making this a good solution for anyone who is not technically savvy.
Some of these types of programs integrate with shopping carts and payment systems making running your affiliate program even easier. Some also offer the option to upgrade to a dedicated tracking server if there are a lot of affiliates. They offer lots of flexibility and lower prices than affiliate networks. Generally there is a one-time setup fee and a monthly fee thereafter.
Do-It-Yourself Affiliate Software
There are also plenty of options for those who want to run their affiliate programs on their own hosting. This is usually the least expensive option, only requiring a one-time fee for the purchase of the software. Setup is required and it may or may not be easy. Some providers will do it for an additional fee.
Some providers offer shopping carts with affiliate tracking features included in them. This allows both features with one setup and provides for great ease of use. It is important to make sure that such solutions have all of the features needed before buying.
Things to Consider When Purchasing Affiliate Program Software
When deciding which affiliate software is right there are several things to consider. These include:
- Price- Affiliate software must be affordable. Otherwise it will eat up the profits and that would defeat the purpose of having an affiliate program.
- Tracking- Cookies are the best way to ensure that affiliates get credit for their sales or leads, even if they don’t occur on the first visit. Using a software program that utilizes them will make things easier and keep affiliates happy.
- Flexibility- Some programs offer multiple commission levels, the ability to pay for sales and leads and other features that allow customization of a program. This is essential when offering these capabilities but if you want to keep things simple save some money by getting a program that does not allow for such customization.
- Payment integration- Ability to make payments quickly and easy can be a real time-saver. Different programs offer integration with different payment systems. It’s important to make sure that the program you plan to use will work with the payment system you choose.
Affiliate program software will help you keep your program running smoothly. Finding the right program means less work for you and allows you to concentrate on other aspects of your business.
affiliate marketing affiliate programsRelated posts:
- How To Set Up an Affiliate Marketing Program
- Affiliate Marketing - How To Recruit Affiliates
- Affiliate Marketing: Tips For Affiliates’ Success
- Affiliate Contest Ideas
- Create an Affiliate Center for Your Affiliates
Topics: affiliate programs, affiliate marketing |
December 20th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Affiliates can be very profitable…and very time consuming so if you can find a reputable software to use to minimize the time it’s definitely worth it.
February 4th, 2008 at 5:26 am
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