For most business scenarios, dealing with a third party should be kept to a limit as you want to have as much control over your operation as possible, except when it comes to the business of affiliate marketing and the concept of getting rich with these programs.
Affiliate marketing is an online business that lets you promote products and services for a company. Once you join an affiliate program you receive a unique ID; this ID is added to marketing creatives provided by the merchant ie. banners, and text links. These marketing tools can then be placed onto your website; when someone visits your website, follows the link, and makes a purchase you receive a commission. Commissions vary from retailer to retailer; you can see a few cents or even a few hundred dollars.
If you are an affiliate, or are serious about becoming one, then consider joining third party affiliate programs or networks such as Commission Junction, Amazon and Clickbank. Such websites supply affiliates with products to sell, website content, stats, complete tracking services and, most importantly, they send out your commission checks.
Why work with a third party, why not search and work with company directly? Third party affiliates networks are affiliate malls–thousands of companies are gathered under one control panel. Once you are accepted into a network like Commission Junction you can begin promoting high profile companies such as Apple or even Dell. There are companies for virtually every known online niche.
For you to locate, research, apply and begin promoting for many of the third party affiliate programs have to offer would take ample time out of your year. Finding good quality affiliate programs can be taxing. There are many scams out there and even those that do offer a legitimate service are unknown by many–meaning majority of people will walk away for fear of being scammed. But third party sites like Amazon already have good standing in the eyes of online shoppers.
True, you may be offered higher commissions if you were to cut the middle man out but many affiliates complain of making fewer sales. When you work with third party affiliate programs you increase the chances of making sales, because promoting a company like Dell, which airs lots of commercials and is a household name for many users, associates you with a product people already trust. When a person comes to your site and sees a product like Dell (or another familiar name) they feel more comfortable making the purchase.
There are also many websites like Clickbank, a site focusing on e-products, which show you which company offers what commission rate. As well as the percentage referred and it’s popularity. This makes it easier to find the products that offer the best commissions with favorable competition.
Many affiliates have created success stories using third party affiliate programs because nearly all of them provide you with tips to increase sales. They have up to date marketing methods that you can try and their customer service reps get back to you in a timely manner. They have the resources to make the selling process a little easier for you, which make them a perfect resource for anyone who is trying to get rich and cut out a little wealth for themselves online.
