| Affiliate programs are the way the internet is doing | | | | Email is currently one of the most popular methods |
| business. Affiliate networks are growing at an | | | | of recruiting affiliates. But, this can be both positive |
| exponential rate as more website owners realize the | | | | and negative both for the website and for the site's |
| potential for business growth and word of mouth | | | | owner. If the email is sent out in a random fashion, it |
| publicity for their websites. Affiliates use their site's | | | | may not be compliant with the recent CAN-SPAM |
| traffic to increase their own revenue as well as | | | | laws, making the site's owner vulnerable to lawsuits |
| increasing the sales for the site with whom they are | | | | and legal action. In addition, because many site |
| affiliated. The affiliate's website will have a link or ad | | | | owners rely on their network of affiliates to further |
| that can be clicked through to the website offering | | | | recruit affiliates, those affiliates may recruit through |
| the items or services. The affiliate is paid either per | | | | email that is not CAN-SPAM complaint, further causing |
| click through or by a percentage of the sales made | | | | potential trouble for the site owner. The site owner is |
| by the people who clicked through. This win-win | | | | legally responsible for their affiliate network's |
| situation can be cultivated with the right affiliate | | | | recruiting tactics and can be prosecuted by the FTC |
| recruiting methods. Recruiting is the process of finding | | | | for any violations that their affiliates commit. There |
| quality affiliates who will bring traffic to your website | | | | are many other ways of recruiting affiliates than |
| and spread your company's name. | | | | sending mass emails or allowing the affiliate network |
| To find affiliates who have traffic of their own and | | | | to do so. |
| will drive the right kind of traffic to your website, the | | | | Email is a good way to recruit affiliates, but they |
| key is the recruiting process used to find the | | | | must be used deliberately- targeting specific people |
| affiliates. Recruiting affiliates is not a simple matter of | | | | with a legitimate offer to join the affiliate network. |
| chance and it is not something that should be done in | | | | Contacting webmasters of websites that have a |
| the simplest possible method to attract the maximum | | | | similar content to your site is a good first step to |
| number of responses. Having a poor quality of | | | | finding affiliates. The emails should contain all of the |
| affiliates can negatively affect your site's reputation, | | | | information that an affiliate needs to make the |
| as well as wasting your time and energy. | | | | decision to visit the site and join the network. |
| An effective affiliate program vastly increases the | | | | Sketchy details in an email will read like spam and not |
| amount of publicity the website receives, increasing | | | | the legitimate opportunity with your network that it |
| page views and building a name for the site and its | | | | really is. When sending recruiting email, think about |
| goods or services. Affiliates will go on to recruit other | | | | questions you would ask if you were learning about |
| affiliates, further spreading the word about the | | | | your network, and answer all of those questions. |
| website and the items it sells. Affiliates who are | | | | Include contact information to further separate |
| recruited in a questionable manner may then recruit | | | | yourself from the spammers. |
| others in a questionable manner, rendering the | | | | Effective affiliate recruiting can also be done through |
| publicity that the program generates a negative | | | | targeted telephone calls. Directly calling those who |
| publicity. And, negative recruiting methods can cause | | | | may be interested in an affiliate relationship is likely to |
| problems that go beyond just a matter of the site's | | | | be just as effective as or even more so than mass |
| reputation. | | | | emails, as they are not filtered out as spam and it is |
| Affiliate recruitment is something that should be done | | | | possible to speak directly to the potential affiliate. A |
| legitimately, through legal means. This means avoiding | | | | strong business relationship can be made from |
| spam, unlawful telemarketing, filling up irrelevant | | | | speaking directly over the phone in a way that is |
| message boards with your information, etc. There | | | | more difficult to establish through email alone. A |
| are many legitimate ways to recruit affiliates that will | | | | business relationship that begins with phone contact is |
| not be seen as harassment or as an annoyance and | | | | more akin to a business relationship in the real world, |
| will garner a better reputation for your site. A site | | | | rather than something only conducted through email. |
| with a good reputation is more likely to attract quality | | | | People do respond to a personal touch. |
| affiliates. | | | | |