How To Spot A Bad Or Abusive Affiliate Program

It all seems so simple at first. You find an established company with valuable products or services like Amazon or Ebay, that you can sell as an affiliate online and you apply with eager enthusiasm until you read the fine print and the legal yadda yadda yadda. Some affiliates are more corporate then the 9 to 5 corporations you were trying to get away from. I came across one that would only accept you if you redesigned your website and used they’re format or you had to meet a per click quota (500 to 5000 clicks per month).

Affiliate marketing is a proven method of bringing in cash online. However there are some pretty bad actors in the industry. There are thousands of affiliate marketing networks on the web, but how do you spot a bad one? Affiliate marketing networks that don’t have their marketer’s best interests at heart can withhold payments or charge a sign up fee, Some troll your website and cancel your affiliation with little notice if anything doesn’t soot they’re restrictions or puts them in front of your reason or rhyme with how you think your business should go forward.

Things like this. Thank you for your interest in the XXX Affiliate Program. When reviewing applications for the program, we look at the following criteria:

1) Unique content - Does your site provide the user new and interesting information that is not available on other sites such as product reviews, strategy guides and other information created by you or your users?

2) Unique layout - Does your site have a unique look and feel that distinguishes it from other sites so that users will remember it?

3) Overall value to the consumer - Does your site provide the user an experience that will make them want to come back to your site? That's A nice HELLO!

We also consider other factors such as your overall site traffic and whether or not the search engines will rank you based on your site design and content.

Before you ever submit your personal information to an online affiliate program you should always read they’re reviews and any forums that may be available on their current or past affiliations. The reviews are going to help you determine whether or not the program pays their affiliates, how the current affiliates feel about the company and if there is any chance of a long term relationship. If you read negative reviews of the network you should never give them the benefit of the doubt. A bad affiliate marketing network is going to have access to your social security number!!! If they aren’t paying you on time there’s no way of knowing what other practices they could be a part of. Read through customer reviews also before you choose your affiliate to put a little safety into your information.

One red flag is an affiliate company that wants a fee to start an affiliation (BAD JUJU). This is counterproductive and usually a sign that the affiliation is using a bait and switch tactic to get your money. I work hard on my website and I got the bags under my eyes to prove it. Never join an affiliate program that is going to charge you a fee to join. There are a lot of affiliate programs on the market so research the network and join the one for free (FREE IS GOOD!) that is willing to give you a running start and not a fee or a bill to begin with. Another key issue is to choose an affiliate that offers banners, text links and even Flash based videos as options to advertise their products and services. Affiliate sales are a freelance industry where everyone (including the little guy) should win. If it feels like a bad Afilliation it probably is........

BULLY