If you as a merchant have an innovative service or product that you want to promote online, then Affiliate Marketing is just the perfect tool. An effective program will help your business generate greater customer leads and increased sales over time. In theory, it can fetch 20% of total online sales. However, it takes proper planning and execution to build a successful strategy with the help of affiliates.

Lead generation is among the most significant offshoots of Affiliate Marketing. As its dynamic landscape changes and grows, merchants are seeking more exciting options that can produce a complete affiliate program so designed as to maximize reach and broaden the customer base.

With most online businesses now seeking an Affiliate Marketing program, competition is bound to be intense. In the previous blog, we have already checked some of the vital aspects to be looked into before opting for an affiliate program: apart from discussing a few tricky areas for both merchants and affiliates. Affiliate Marketing will work best for those merchants having  an integrated and comprehensive program in place, incorporating contextual advertising, search engine marketing as well as targeted/vertical) media. The key is to be realistic when you start out.

You might be wondering what it takes to succeed. It’s the perfect combination of

• Effective affiliate networks,
• Payout scale,
• Proper promotion

that would bring success much sooner than you believe. As a merchant, the significant aspect of any such program is the fact that the hard work is largely performed by contract and off-site. Each affiliate program tends to have its strengths and weaknesses that should be taken into account. Type of traffic sought, essentially targeted or non-targeted, and legitimate leads versus generic numbers will also define the approach. Broadly speaking, success of affiliate networks lies in the following virtues:

• Flexibility
• Ability to survive competition
• Cost management

Some of the major Networks recommended for the purpose are Commission Junction, ClixGalore, Google Affiliate Network, and ShareASale. Let us briefly look at them:

Commission Junction is among the globally leading online advertising channels of managed search and affiliate marketing. It promises to develop sustainable relationships for publishers and advertisers through performance-based solutions, offering sophisticated reporting tools. Another option to consider is Google Affiliate Network. You select advertisers that you wish to work with and also the links that appear on your site. You will be given access to full list of creative assets of the advertisers that approve your application.

With ClixGalore, affiliates may promote Merchants by using both graphic as well as text advertisements, comprising a host of professional marketing tools. The ‘Instant web site Builder’ tool helps generate promotional pages that contain different types of products. Commission can be earned on the sales generated. ShareASale is another resource that helps you connect with established and promising affiliates. Merchants plugged into the network with different products offer commission for sales through customer brought to them.

In conclusion, if implemented successfully, Affiliate Marketing can have a greatly positive impact in terms of traffic, leads, and sales.