Choosing Affiliate Programs
How do you choose which affiliate programs to associate with? With the constant barrage of offers showing up in your email and on traffic systems and forum signatures the task of deciding which ones are potential profit machines and which are money pits can be daunting.
I have read posts from people that have signed up for programs and invested relatively large sums on money only to complain that they are not developing any downline. True, some of these folks expect to make their first million a week after they sign up. But it can be easy to be swayed in to joining a program that is a dud.
I use a couple of criteria. These are based on the fact that I run my home business part time and don't have a lot of time to analyze potential programs.
1. Is it promoted by a well known internet marketer. For instance, if Alan Says is promoting a program I will give it a serious look. One such program is
ispvip.biz. This program offers a service that just about everyone uses everyday. It is priced well and has a good compensation plan.
2. Is it promoted by a marketer whose judgement I respect? With regards to
ispvip.biz, I learned of it through the Internt Warrior forum from Mal Keenan, a very sharp marketer from Ireland. Through his posts on the Internet Warrior forum and his own forum I have come to respect his opinion.
3. Is it a product or service I would use? If the answer is yes then it is much easier for me to promote. If it is not a valuable or useful product or service, or if its sole purpose is to seperate people from their money then it is not something I want to deal with.
Based on these criteria I have signed up for
ispvip.biz. This has a great income opportunity and provides valuable benfits for the cost.
How Is Your Customer Service?
I have a new member of my team that signed up for my main programs. One of those programs did not show her as a paid member. This of course was frustrating to her and to me. I posted a message on their message board and was told to submit a ticket at the service desk.
Long story short, I ended up submitting tickets five times and sending two PMs, most of which resulted in no response. This has finally been cleared up, a full month after my team member's initial payment.
Now, I am not trying to bash this program. I have been making money from them on a fairly regular basis. What I'm highlighting is the fact that, what appears to be poor customer service may have damaged this programs reputation for two people. And it makes it more difficult to promote a program if you are unsure of their responsiveness.
What approach do you take to customer service. I had a situation a few months ago when I also had a membership problem. My sponsor, Elaine Currie, was very responsive, replied to my inquiry quickly and worked to resolve the issue. I was very impressed and am trying to replicate that service when one of my team, or potential team member, has questions or problems.
Elaine's quick and courteous customer service prompted me to join some of her other recommended programs. And good customer service can be just as positive for you, and me, if we strive to give our best.
What If You're Out Sick?
In my last post I told you that I had purchased "guaranteed signups" for a couple of my programs. The offerer had not communicated with anyone for some time, although we had heard that he was ill. Today he posted in the forum that he has been quite ill and has had some family emergencies. He is now able to work again and I hope that he will come through with my order.
Which got me to thinking: what would happen to my online business if I was in the hospital or otherwise incapacitated?
I hadn't thought about this before and you may not have either. I am running my business myself and have not brought in any family members or left instructions on what to do in my absence. Granted, I am trying to create a business that will work "24/7". But if I am away there could be serious repercusions.
Look at what happened to the guy offering the signups. His name was starting to be mentioned in the same sentence as "scam" and "crook". This has caused a serious blow to his reputation that may take a long time to repair. Filling the subscription orders quickly will go a long way to fix the damage but many will think twice before doing business with him.
So it is time to start planning. I'm not sure how to approach this problem. Most of us have a fear of writing down account names, user id's and passwords for fear someone will get ahold of them and hijack our sites, or steal our commissions or worse, our identity. Somehow there has to be a balance between protecting our assetts and providing for continuation. If you have ideas feel free to post them here.
Do Co-Ops Work?
There has been alot of discussion lately on my favorite forum, the
Internet Warriors Forum, about co-op advertising. I purchased shares in two different co-ops this year and I am sorry to say that neither one has panned out.
One of them, the Ad Pro Network promised 10 SFI affiliates for $20. This was for affiliates, not prospects. You know, double opt-in affiliates. It has been six weeks since my order and I have received 2 affiliates and 3 prospects. Fortunately this was only $20. Not a great loss.
The other was much more expensive. This was for 10 paid affiliates to two of my other programs. This was offered by a member of the forum. He has made other offers to this group and the previous responses indicated that he had filled his committments. This time I'm not too sure he will. Several people have posted that they paid him for 10, 20 or more "guaranteed" signups. No one has yet received any.
I don't know if this is a scam but a lot of people are very frustrated. In addition, the offerrer has not communicated with us about what is going on. We have heard that he has been ill, that he has had server problems, etc. He has posted in other areas of the Warrior forum but appears but still does not let us know what the satus is with our purchases. Some folks have requested refunds and amazingly have received them. I am optimistic by nature so I will hold out a while longer. Maybe I am just naive.
Reading other posts I find that few people have had any success with co-ops. So it appears to me that in this, as with any other purchases, it is buyer beware.
My First Blog Post
This is my first post to the new Work At Home Business Resource Center Blog! I will keep track of the ups and downs of working at home and pass along what I have learned along the way.
I have greatly enjoyed my home business, from learning HTML and web design to marketing and meeting a lot of other online entrepenuers.
Check back and see what has happened lately.
