One time,big time commissions or small but frequent ones?

[Michelle]

A lot of commission structures are available in the market today. Some are offering high commission but products are also of higher prices. Some of these types are jewelries and real estates which millions yet the commission is directly proportional to the sales. In this case, sales will not be that frequent. On the other hand, other products that are lower in price like books, softwares and food yet are being bought every now and then but since the total amount is smaller, the commission that the affiliate will get is dynamically small too.

I just want to seek the opinion of my colleagues in the Affiliate Marketing business. Which is more likely to be chosen and which is more advantageous, promoting products which is expensive and are is harder to be sold yet pays out higher commission ones bought or the ones that are cheaper and are most likely to be bought frequently yet you obtain small commissions?

Question: Would you go for the One time, Big time commissions or the Frequent Sales, Small commission set-up?

[Manny]

Frequent Sales, Small Commission Set-up would be best. Imagine having big time commissions but rare sales? Simply not an ideal marketing strategy. Put it simple: if you have fast-mover items, less storage, but slow-mover items would take more storage.

[Andrea]

Commission structures that pay out in small amounts but given frequently are more attractive especially to the beginners in affiliate marketing. Affiliates tend to be more motivated when results of their efforts are achieved in real time. There are cases wherein the affiliate does not see results right away and gets discouraged. But eventually, they would want to try out programs with different commission structures.

[WEB-Link]

Just wanted to also point out another variant of commissions which is that of recurring whereby the one single sale pays off over and over on renewals. Focusing on this type of program truely lets you build a business which keeps increasing.

[zul200289]

hmm..

what about if we are able to find a "hungry" niche.. really hungry ones.. and then the payout is also VERY HIGH?

Such as --> The Hardcore Fans of Red Hot Chilli Peppers who couldn't find the place to buy tickets??

[Megatron]

I would figure out first the going rate and type of product or service.

[mini_0]

I think frequent ones is the best as in that you do not have to wait for payments till a particular amount . multi level commission structures are great for people who feel that they can make just enough sales to bring in others who will do a good portion of the work for them. Unfortunately, the hardest part of this is actually finding these people. Most Internet marketers are very poor at recruiting others. In other words, out of every 10 people you make a sale to, you're lucky if you find one who does anything at all.

[sbam]

small but frequent ones

[Jackie]

I agree with sbam, small but frequent ones. no further elaborations needed!

[Thesa]

The question rephrased as “Does a product that offers higher commissions means that it will be better for me to promote?” is a common one which most affiliates face when they first start out.

It is commonly believed that the product that gives the highest commissions will be the best one, which is not true. It may be nice to have good commissions, but it can be that those high commissions affiliate programs are not worth the time and effort you shall spend on promoting them.

Checklist to see whether it is worth going for those high commissions affiliate programs:

a) How much the merchant is charging for the product? Is it over charged?

Some merchant shall deliberately increase the values of their product in order to pay more commissions. You may be tempted, but to realize that many sites might be offering the same products with the same functionality at a lower price. So, the “Customer is the King” and has the wisdom to know whether the product has been over charged or not. So, to fool him/her in this manner; means loss of goodwill and new customers also.

This, shall mean lower conversions (sales) and in turn lower earnings (commissions).


b) Suppose you are promoting a program that offers low commissions plus their products are also cheaper than other merchants. Is it worth?

Sometimes, it is important to look beyond the commissions, for if the products sold are of the same quality and functionality but is cheaper than similar products out there in the net, assured conversions (sales) is there.

Assured sales means assured earnings (commission) in the long run.


Therefore, do not only blindly run for higher commissions, check out the product saleability also.