Many decisions to make on what I should do ?

[montyauto]

Would you say it be more profitable/ productive

as well as be more worthwhile to me - overall to make up my Own

Affiliate directory & put it on my website OR to join a few “Good”

programs & promote them on my website ?

[Thesa]

You can significantly increase site revenue and traffic by starting your own associate or affiliate program.

The following things are required:

- Planning your program will involve choosing or developing your software, setting up agreements with your associate sites, and deciding how much pay in commissions.

- You will also need to accurately track the activity on your program once it's up and running, and to do this you'll need to consider how you can provide good reporting systems to your associates.


However, before you decide to start, consider the following:

- You should be clear and understand the basics of affiliate networks and decide if this approach is indeed the best outlet for your marketing energies.

- A successful affiliate program will require you to consider and decide on many options, like outsourcing opportunities, product offerings, program models, and affiliate site evaluation criteria.

- You'll need to target your market and spread the word about your opportunity, and manage the selection and payment of your affiliate sites.


Now, elaborating on the above points in the following posts, so it is easier for you to understand:

[Thesa]

Point 1: Understand Affiliate Programs

Creating an affiliate program is a good way to boost your revenue, expand your marketing reach and increase your site traffic.

However, you should understand the different types of programs and the different commission structures working before starting your own.


Should You Create an Affiliate Program?

Once you understand the basics of an affiliate program, you'll have to evaluate whether having one will be a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

As with any other business venture, you will need to consider many factors, including whether there is a demand for the program, whether you have adequate capital and staff to implement and manage it, and whether you will gain an acceptable return on your investment.



Point 2: Choose Your Path to an Affiliate Program

If you decide to go ahead with an affiliate program, you have two basic choices:

-- Outsource by joining an affiliate network
-- Go the independent route

If you have a sufficient budget, an affiliate network, such as www.CommissionJunction.com, www.LinkShare.com, or www.Nexchange.com, can handle the basic development and implementation of a program.

However, if your budget is limited or you would prefer to develop the program on your own, the entire development process can be done quite effectively in-house.

[Thesa]

Point 3: Develop Your Own Affiliate Program

If you go the independent route, you'll need to develop the entire program yourself as follows:

-- To decide which of your product offerings will be included in the program

-- To choose a program model to drafting legal agreements and determining evaluation criteria for membership.


However, before you begin, be sure to research on the following:

-- Which affiliate programs in your space already exist?

-- What your target market is looking for?



Point 4: Launch Your Affiliate Program

Once you have developed an associate program, you need to do the following:

-- Make a decision on "what types of affiliate sites you wish to target and plan a marketing campaign to garner their attention?"

-- You will need to visit each applicant's site to determine whether it is okay for it to be included in your network.

-- You will need to be prepared to provide members with the necessary links and graphics to promote your associate program on their venue.

[Thesa]

Point 5:Manage Your Affiliate Sites

If you've developed an attractive associate program and marketed it well, it won't be long before you have a good number of sites to manage and links to track.

Managing your members effectively will require you to use dependable tracking methods to ensure accurate measurement of each affiliates' effect on your sales and traffic.

As a reputable affiliate merchant, you will also want to do the following:

-- Pay timely commissions

-- Provide administrative and technical assistance

-- Establish an ongoing quality control program to ensure affiliate conformance with program guidelines