Staying Paid

Honey, We Forgot to Ask The Merchants!: A Short Lesson In What NOT To Do In Affiliate Marketing

Posted on March 29th, 2008 in General

It’s all about learning from mistakes, so I’ll let myself be the guinea pig on this one. I was all ready to go — I had my swipe file at the ready, I was testing different headlines and playing with keywords for this upcoming project of mine that had me really, really excited. I was researching a couple of campaigns to try out, and stumbled across a great program that paid out really well with an affiliate network I trust (Neverblue Ads) — I was in the zone.

for a time, that is…

I wandered back into my affiliate login page, checked out that campaign again. I had written copious amounts of notes, checked keywords, and pretty much got ready to fire — except that I forgot to actually ask the merchant to sell their product.

Depending on what network you choose and what products/services you promote, you may need to gain advertiser approval. This can lead to a lot of mismanaged time if you didn’t stop to apply for the program before barreling into it. I found another program that I also want to promote, but I’ll be patiently waiting for advertiser approval. Generally, if you show them what you’re working on, the advertisers generally approve you with no trouble.

Just click the button. Don’t pick up a pen until you do — and wait for the reply. If there’s trouble in paradise, you don’t want to go through all the trouble of helping the merchant make money while you’re waiting for your check to come in.