Quick Answer: For beginner affiliate marketers, joining just a few affiliate programs is recommended so you don’t lose focus. Over time, as you and your business grow, you can join more affiliate programs to generate multiple income streams.
Affiliate programs allow you to earn commissions by referring customers to a range of products or services without you having to create them yourself.
Affiliate programs are superb!
They give you a way to help pay for your site, and they also give you a way to earn money promoting others companies’ products that your audience is interested in.
There are tens of thousands of affiliate programs out there with millions of products so the scope for making money is enormous.
You can join as many affiliate programs and promote as many products as you want but I’d advise caution against joining too many when you’re starting out…
If you sign up for affiliate programs on every site that offers them, keeping track of all the accounts and links becomes more arduous, and your advertising efforts become scattered and unfocused.
It can also confuse readers when you have multiple links for the same product—they might choose the wrong link because they are not sure which one is best for them. It’s best to keep your focus, do what you do well, and use those affiliate programs that are the most relevant to your site.
Many people post on social media, “I am looking for an affiliate program! Does anyone know of any?”
All that does is give your competitors more time to claim the best programs before you do.
Instead, try contacting companies directly, like this:
“Hey there! I love your product, and I was wondering if you have any affiliate programs for me to promote. Thanks!”
What To Know Before Joining An Affiliate Program
Joining an affiliate program can be a great way to earn money while working at home. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scams and programs that pay out nothing at all.
If you join an affiliate program, you must ensure it’s legitimate. Not only will it help you avoid wasting time, but joining programs known for paying affiliates is also a great way to build up your reputation as an affiliate marketer and attract more potential customers in the future.
Here are some things to look at:
1. Scheduled Payouts
If the company offers scheduled payouts (for example, weekly payouts on Sundays), this is a good sign that it’s legitimate and trustworthy. Most companies operating honestly will do this for their affiliates for transparency purposes.
2. Payment Method
Another thing you would want to look out for is how they pay their affiliates. PayPal is the best option because it will allow you to receive payments instantly and without fees or conversion rates like there might be if they were sent by bank transfer or check. If they offer payment through PayPal, it should be a red flag if they refuse to work with PayPal as opposed to another payment processing platform like Stripe.
3. Accessible Products
The first thing you should consider before signing up for any affiliate program is whether or not the product(s) is something you’re genuinely interested in. It’s okay if you don’t know anything about it—the world is full of blogs and reviews that can help you get up to speed on any topic. But join without knowing anything about the product. You might not have anything new or exciting to say about it, making your reviews less valuable and engaging for your audience.
4. Reputation
Regarding reputable programs, you want to avoid any program that is too lenient with its terms and conditions. Some programs will allow anyone to sign up without doing any research or vetting first; these are bad affiliates because they bring down the entire reputation of the whole community. One example is companies that run Ponzi and pyramid schemes—they pay out incredible commissions only because they are taking money from new affiliates and giving it.
5. Commission Rates
One crucial factor is the commission rate they offer. However, you need to be aware that not all commission rates are created equal and that some of them may be way too exaggerated.
An affiliate program may offer a meagre commission rate but be very successful due to the nature of the product it is promoting.
Conversely, another program may offer a high commission rate but fail miserably because of its bad reputation with affiliates or because the company has a minimal market.
6. Always Read The Fine Print
Before you sign up for an affiliate program, make sure that you read through the contract and find out what the policy of the company is on late payments and cancellations. You do not want to get caught in a situation where your commissions are not paid on time.
The Best Strategies For Joining Affiliate Programs
Joining more affiliate programs than you can handle is a surefire way to feel overwhelmed and quit before you have even started.
If you do join multiple programs, here are some strategies to keep yourself from feeling like you’re drowning:
1. Choose Affiliate Programs Wisely
Choose a program with an easy sign-up process, so you would not have to spend a lot of time getting set up, which can be difficult if it means aligning your blog with the program’s style guidelines.
2. Don’t Join Too Many
Do not choose more than three affiliate programs that are running at the same time. The more programs you are involved in, the harder it will be to manage your time between them all.
3. Make A Schedule
Make a schedule for yourself of when and how often you intend to check on each campaign.
If that sounds overwhelming, consider using an automated service to help manage your campaigns, such as ClixSense or Neobux.
These sites can automatically check each campaign for you and notify you when payments are due or when there is a change in your stats. This will take some of the pressure of logging in daily but ensure that your campaigns are monitored regularly so they do not get left behind.
What Happens If You Join Multiple Programs At Once?
Some people like to join as many affiliate programs as possible. But before you do, ask yourself if your website can handle the additional workload and if it is worth it.
- Low Productivity
While affiliate marketing can be a great way to earn money, it does require time and energy that could be spent on other things.
Some people have difficulty managing all the different affiliate programs they are in, which means they are not very productive overall. However, if you limit yourself to 3 or 4 affiliate programs, you will be able to spend more time working on your business.
- Website Restrictions
Some sites do not allow multiple affiliate programs. This is especially true of membership sites, which usually offer an exclusive program for their members.
If you try to add yourself as an affiliate on these sites and they find out, they will either ban your account or remove your links from their site altogether.
While it is never a good idea to attempt this with high-profile websites with their own affiliate programs, smaller membership sites might be unable to afford to fire affiliates who break the rules.
FAQs
Why should I join an affiliate program?
If you are interested in making money online and you are into affiliate marketing, you must choose programs that offer great rewards for what you do. Most of the time, affiliate marketing payouts are anywhere from 30% – 80% of the total purchase. That’s pretty good if you ask me!
How do I know which one would be worth joining?
Popular products or popular services are more likely to provide good-paying affiliate programs. There are thousands of products available out there, so it can be hard to figure out which one is right for you. The best way to determine this is to read reviews online.
When should I join an affiliate program?
You can join an affiliate program whenever you want, but I recommend creating an account with your desired program before promoting their product or service on your website or blog. This way, they will have time to review your application and get back to you as soon as possible.
Before You Leave
The question of how many affiliate programs to join is tricky to answer because there are no clear-cut rules, but for the most part, the more affiliate programs you join, the more opportunities you have to build multiple income streams.
Some risks are associated with adding too many affiliate programs if you are not familiar with writing copy. Too much information is never good when it comes to sales copy.
Avoid this dilemma by being selective about what programs and offers you choose to promote. If there are not any offers that pique your interest or fit in with your overall blog content, then skip it!
That way you’re only promoting the affiliate programs you can truly get behind.
