When you sign up for an affiliate program, you have the highest of expectations, and begin doing the math: x number of an item at $50 each, times your commission rate, and you’ve earned yourself a bundle! If you have a site that’s an authority on a certain subject or a gathering place for people who are, you may do very well.

But you still may not be seeing the big checks in your mailbox. Why not? There are a number of possibilities: Your merchants or affiliate network may pay only on a monthly basis. You may be working with a merchant who pays only after you reach a certain threshold of sales. Commissions may be paid monthly, with rollovers from a prior month if your click-thru’s didn’t hit the threshold the prior month. Your commission account may have been debited for returns or order cancellations Or, worst, your merchant may not be able to pay the commissions.

Returns are a tricky one, but one way to reduce them is to be certain you link only to sites with high quality products. Check out the advertiser’s site and see how it strikes you. If you think they’ll be important to you, order something, or go through the ordering process, up to the point of confirming the order. What are the return policies?

Also, make certain that you aren’t unsuspectingly creating a buyer’s remorse situation. If your gardening site caters to people with average-sized yards and homes, should you really provide links to merchants offering three thousand dollar grills? Your visitors may order on a whim, and feel sorry in the morning. Staying with what’s appropriate or a small reach is likely to work out better for you.

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

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