The best affiliate programs are worlds apart from the worst
programs. Affiliate marketing is a complex system with countless
variables. Everyone involved, from consumer to affiliate to merchant,
has their own best interest in mind. This is completely understandable
as marketing is an integral part of capitalist machinery.
Internet marketing does not have to be a cutthroat game of stab
your neighbor. The worst affiliate programs provide a perfect
environment for self-interested combat. The best affiliate programs
provide a network through which affiliates, advertisers and vendors
can all scratch one another’s backs. When this happens,
and honest competition is involved, consumers are also able to
reap the rewards of affiliate marketing.
A common attribute of all the best affiliate programs is a competent
program provider or affiliate manager. Affiliates rely heavily
upon program providers from the start. Good affiliate managers
will stand by their affiliates throughout the initial set-up process
and, if all goes well, for years to come. Low-quality managers
do little more than track sales and write checks.
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