Can you be Associated with too Many Affiliates?
I am curious, how many is too many? I am associated with 21! Many of them are well known and offer very good commissions - usually between 20 and 40%.
Everytime I tell myself enough, I end up signing with another company or I have one of them contacting me. My problem isn't being turned down, it's getting too many approvals.
I find it difficult to promote all of them or to have a system in place.
Does anyone else feel this way? How many is too many?
Mary Ann
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As long as they are relevant and strategic then as many as you want
For EG you can have a funnel of relevant offers
I'm associated with a couple right now, but not 21.
Is there like a Guinness World record for having the most affiliates? :-)
I'm really interested to hear other's feedback on this too - if there's a good ballpark figure to how many affiliates are appropriate for me to have.
For some affiliate programs, if you are inactive for too long, you'll be dropped. This usually happens more on platforms like CJ.com and Rakuten (LinkShare). Amazon too, has a time limit.
It also becomes unmanageable after a while to keep up with all the affiliate programs. Including affiliate programs should be part of a strategic process. I too, signed up for every affiliate program when I first started. That was a mistake and overwhelming.
I don't believe there is an exact number to shoot for. It has to make sense for your business and fit within the plan.
Best Regards,
Jim
I agree Jim that it can be overwhelming. My problem is that I have a couple of active websites, therefore different affiliate programs for each (in most cases).
Nowadays, I apply to new vendors only when I am ready to add them to my websites. At least then, they are being put to work. It still can add up to several affiliates. But, it's more manageable for me.
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Quick answer - no! You can't be associated with too many quality affiliate programs.
This gives you a variety of sources for products for your readers - you aren't restricted by what a single merchant or two has to offer.
Consumers recognize brand names. The fact that you are working with so many increases your credibility.
All of your eggs aren't in a single basket - sometimes companies get sold, programs change, management changes. You will have much more flexibility to adapt to any of those changes.
Too many more reasons to list here!
Now, I will suggest that you work through a network for most of your programs so that you can easily hit the minimum payment threshold each pay period. Working with in-house programs can make that much more difficult as each one has their own threshold. (Yeah, I work for a network, but I figured that one out long before I took this job!)
Thanks Jeannine, that helps.
Mary Ann