"My company is going to sign up for an affiliate program, but doesn't know
which one to pick. I am also concerned about affiliates spamming our products
to make commissions. Do we risk getting blacklisted by SpamCop
if some affiliates do spamming?" -- Johan M Hedin, Monterey
Bay Clothing
Companies with higher revenues often choose one of the larger affiliate management
systems, such as LinkShare, BeFree,
or Commission Junction. Their
fees are typically a percentage of the commission paid to affiliates, but for
this fee they write the checks due affiliates and have a network of potential
affiliates they can send your way. If you don't want to pay a percentage, consider
MyAffiliateProgram
(www.wilsonweb.com/afd/myaffiliateprogram.htm), an excellent hosted ASP with
a set-up charge and flat fee. Their consultants can also provide help in recruiting
affiliates and running your program.
An increasing number of shopping carts come with at least a rudimentary affiliate
program. Ultimate Affiliate
Package (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/groundbreak.htm) and Little
Salesman (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/little_salesman.htm) are low-cost CGI programs
you can install on your webserver without monthly fees. With these programs,
however, you'll still need to recruit your own affiliates. You can do this by
listing your program in various affiliate program directories -- made easy with
Affiliate Announce
(www.wilsonweb.com/afd/affil_announce.htm). Of course, be sure to mention your
affiliate program on your own site.
Don't be overly concerned that spammers will cause your company to get blacklisted.
As an apparel company with a tangible product, your commissions are likely to
be in the 5% to 8% range. Unless you pay very high affiliate commissions, spammers
probably won't bother with you. However, you should have a clearly stated policy
against spamming and quickly remove affiliates that spam.
