1. Stop using direct affiliate links.
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You probably already know that it’s a good
idea to cloak (hide) your affiliate links.
Doing so will help ward off the link hijackers
who switch in their affiliate ID for yours,
and thus steal your commission when they buy
the product.
It also virtually reduces the number of buyers
who ‘cut off’ the affiliate portion of a link
and go straight to the sales page (perhaps
thinking that doing so will somehow give them
a better deal?)
But there’s another reason NOT to use direct
affiliate links: Namely, because you could end
up with 100′s of ‘dead’ links all over the net.
You see, if you make a blog post, Tweet about
an affiliate product or include a direct link
in an ebook, then what happens if the vendor
stops selling that product?
You’ll have dead links.
(Maybe hundreds of them)
Now, if you use a redirect link instead you can
change the redirect link to point from the dead
affiliate link to a similar affiliate product in
just a matter of seconds.
And in doing so, you could potentially save
thousands of dollars in affiliate commissions.
2. Look for these common sales leaks.
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If you don’t vet the sales process thoroughly,
you may find that the biggest thief is the
product vendor!
Sometimes the vendor is just a new marketer
who doesn’t know any better. (Other times,
you may find vendors who are deliberately
trying to rip you off)…
Here are some things to look for:
* Google AdSense ads on the sales page.
Some marketers don’t realize that a sales
page shouldn’t have any distractions, and
that the only way to leave a sales page is
via a back button or the buy button.
Other marketers know exactly what they’re
doing – you send them traffic for free, and
they get the money every time someone clicks
on their ads.
Either way, avoid these vendors.
* Alternative payment options. Another sneaky
way product vendors reach into your pocket is
by offering multiple payment options on the
affiliate landing page.
This is only troublesome IF you don’t credit
if the customer chooses a different option.
For example, if the vendor uses Clickbank for
affiliate tracking, then obviously you won’t
get a penny if the vendor encourages customers
to call their orders in.
* Customer service reps that send visitors to
a new page.
Watch out for this sneaky trick: sometimes when
a prospect has a question, the customer service
rep (or the vendor) sends the customer to a
different sales page.
End result? You lose the commission!
3. Find out what loopholes the vendor will use to keep your money
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Here’s one last tip: Always read the TOS (terms
of service) and affiliate agreement.
Sometimes you’ll find outrageous payment
thresholds that allows the vendor to legally
keep your money until you reach that threshold!
Other times the vendor charges a huge
‘accounting fee’ just to cut you your check.
There you have it – three quick and easy ways
to start banking bigger affiliate paychecks.
