If you have your own products or services that you sell online and you're looking for ways to increase traffic and sales it might be time to start your own affiliate program.
Having your own affiliate program is about getting others to promote your products for you. It's an ideal marketing method simply because it doesn't cost you money until you make money. In other words, your affiliates don't get paid unless they make a sale, but they will be motivated to make as many sales as possible because you will be paying them a percentage of each sale they make. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours 
Even though you are sharing your profits with your affiliates, the benefits are increased traffic and sales. Think of it this way, you may be sharing your initial profits but you will be selling a lot more.
Here's an example of how this works:
Let's say that you have a product that sells for $37. Depending on your marketing efforts it may vary as to how many sales you make, but let's say that you make, on average, 2-5 sales a week. That's about $74- $185 a week. Now, if you create an affiliate program and offer a commission of, let's say 40%, your affiliates will make $14.80 for each sale and your cut would be $22.20 per sale. That's less money for you, but… if you have 50 affiliates and each affiliate makes just 1 sale a week that's $740.00 a week for you. That's a lot better than $185 a week. That’s not even counting the sales you will make yourself where you will get the full $37 per sale.
There's phenomenal sales potential with having your own affiliate program. There's no limit to how many people you can get to promote your products and they'll be motivated to promote because you'll be paying them a commission. That's exactly how I increased traffic and sales to one of my personal products. By creating my own affiliate program I gave myself about a 300% raise!
If you've considered an affiliate program for your products, which obviously I recommend 
I wouldn't fumble around trying to figure it out on your own. I've done that and it wastes a lot of time. I much prefer getting step-by-step instructions from someone who has done it and knows what they are talking about. Jimmy D. Brown is someone who has not only done it many times and knows what he is talking about he is a superb trainer and educator.
I mention Jimmy because he offers one of the best courses around for starting an affiliate program. It's called Sales Army Secrets. This is a step-by-step audio course with transcripts and creative bonuses that will get your affiliate program up and running in a few days plus he references some pretty clever techniques and tools for your affiliates for keeping them motivated to sell. That's important. Jimmy helped me come up with 10 original ideas and strategies that I never would have thought of on my own, some I've implemented, others I'm still working on.
After you get your affiliate program set up you're going to need to manage it and Jimmy has help on both hiring someone to do it for you or managing it yourself, including a candid interview with his own affiliate manager, Nicole. But if you're just starting out I'd suggest managing your affiliate program yourself. This not only gives you the personal experience you need to manage it on your own but it also helps you know what you will personally require in an affiliate manager if you choose to hire someone later on. I always like to experience things first hand before I hire someone else to do them for me.
There's incremental power in getting others to promote for you. Honestly, it's been more than exciting to see such an increase in my own traffic and sales – totally worth it!
If you’re ready to take your products and marketing efforts to the next level then take a look at Jimmy's Sales Army Secrets. Like me, I think you'll be more than pleased with the results.
Related posts:
- Affiliate Marketing: Where To Start
- How To Triple Your Affiliate Marketing Sales
- 3 Shortcuts to Finding a Profitable Affiliate Niche
- 5 Affiliate Marketing Tools for a Competitive Edge
- What Does It Take To Do Affiliate Marketing From Home?
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