Setting up your own affiliate system can be either



easy or overwhelming, all depending on how many

affiliates you want to recruit, as well as your

payment policy and the type of product that you are

offering.

As for your affiliate systems, there are two options

for your business - outsource the entire system or

run your own affiliate system through your own

web host. Each one boasts its own advantages as

well as disadvantages.

If you have a small amount of affiliates, then you

can run your own affiliate software. If you plan

to recruit a large number of affiliates, then you

will probably need to outsource. The reason for

this, is because youll find it easy to deal with

a large number of sign ups, track payments, monitor

clicks, etc.

Types of affiliates

There are numerous types of affiliates out there

to choose from. Theres the pay per sale, there

an individual is paid only if a sale is generated

from the affiliates link. Its the least attractive

to people, unless the product is in high demand

and the most profitable for business.

Another type is the pay per lead, where you pay

only for traffic. With this type, the affiliate

is paid only if a visitor is generated from the

site of the affiliate. Its attractive to affiliates

although costly to web site owners due to the

possibility of non sale visits.

Considerations

When setting up an affiliate, something to consider

is whether or not youll approve affiliates manually

or automatically. Its normally recommended to

start affiliate programs with your established

customer sites then progress to new ones.

If you are dealing with pay per clicks, you may

have to control the affiliates as the quality of

visitors will be a huge factor when it comes to the

generation of sales. By manually reviewing, youll

also be able to judge the website or individual

affiliates to see if its in the best interest of

your company.

If you decide to use your own affiliate system, one

of your biggest challenges will be how to pay

affiliates a percentage of what you end up receiving

from customers. To do this, you can rely on software

such as Affiliate shop to help you track and manage

commissions.