The amount of money you can make as an affiliate will depend primarily upon the popularity of your site as well as the “fit” between the focus of your site and the products and services offered by the merchant or advertiser.

Advertisers pay differing commission percentages for sales or other actions such as the completion of a survey. For sales, the most common sales commissions are between 15% and 25%, except for downloaded information products which pay considerably more, but require careful review because of the variability in quality of the products.

Individual merchants will negotiate relationships with you, the percentages of which will vary. The best way to negotiate a good commission percentage is to be an authority in your field. If you are women’s adventure travel, be certain your content is second to none. And that means trying every search you can with variations on your keywords or the key phrases used by women who are contemplating rugged travel, outdoor adventure, scenic outdoor travel etc. Study your competition, but don’t copy them, do better than them. Have more articles, more reference material, calculators, fitness exercises, product reviews and comparisons, packing lists, how to books, maps, guides.

Then negotiate links with the greatest companies in the women’s adventure travel space. Don’t worry if they don’t advertise an affiliate program. This is a plus – You’ll have an exclusive or be one of a few, rather than offering something your site visitors can get anywhere. Keep focusing on what your site visitors want – and make the little changes that over time let them know you know who they are, and are not just focusing on but catering to their changing needs.

Karen Kari's articles and more information on the affiliate business can be found at:

http://www.affiliatebandit.com
http://www.advertisingcellar.com
http://www.billionfreeads.com

• Affiliate Business 101


• Making Your Affiliate Site Attractive to Merchants


• Are Larger Affiliate Commissions Always Best?


• Where Are Those Affiliate Commissions I Earned?


• Affiliate Product Reviews: How To Use Them To Increase Your Affiliate Sales


• Affiliate Site Focus


• Affililate Newsletters Can Increase Profits


• Affiliate Site Research


• Affiliate Program Managers Expectations


• Affiliates Can Negotiate A Higher Commission