Legal Protections for Affiliate Marketing Programs

Internet marketing has created endless possibilities to create revenue. Affiliate marketing has evolved as a consistently growing opportunity and venue for the Internet savvy entrepreneur. However, this lucrative marketing enterprise creates the need for specific contract and legal obligations.

Is An Agreement Needed?

Whether you are setting up or participating in an affiliate program, you will need an Affiliate Agreement. Typically, this form of agreement is posted directly on the Web site. The agreement or affiliate contract explores the “what ifs” at the formation process in order to create proposed solutions.
It is important to delve into and create solutions for any problems that may arise. Being proactive in this endeavor will reduce aggravation later. Generally, the potential affiliate partner enrolls in the program and agrees to the terms and conditions of the Affiliate Agreement, by checking a box that says “I have read and agree to the terms and conditions.” It is important to be familiar with the terms. Remember, all contracts and agreements are negotiable.

Do I Need To Use an Attorney?

If you are creating an affiliate marketing program and are in need of an agreement, use an attorney well versed in business partnerships. Often times, in order to cut corners, some may try to go it alone or use a “verbal” agreement. These type of relationships are complicated and although there can be lucrative results, without proper protection, disaster can occur. If you do not understand an affiliate agreement that you are about to enter into, it is important to get legal counsel.

What is an Affiliate Agreement?

A Website Affiliate Agreement sets forth the terms under which one website may become an affiliate of another, providing promotional services in exchange for commission payments. An affiliate contract generally contains the details of two main components: terms and compensation. There are many requisites of an affiliate contract.

Some of the key provisions that are addressed in an Affiliate Agreement are as follows:

• Payment/Commission Terms
• Frequency and schedule of payments
• A provision for indemnification in the case of infringement by any content created by either party.
• An explanation of how the referred customers will be tracked and reported.
• Who is responsible for the creation of the advertising?
• What types of links will be provided to the affiliate? (i.e. product link, a search box link, or some general text link )
• What are the trademark guidelines and may trademarks be used in title tags?
• Is there the right to remove the advertising if the advertiser fails to pay?
• Who will be liable for errors in the text of the ads and/or in the running of the ads in terms of times and placement?
• What are the requirements to end or terminate the agreement?

When joining an affiliate marketing program, it is easy to sign up and agree to terms without reading them. This is a mistake. The terms and conditions construe a legal contract. Tedious as it may be, it is imperative to read the agreement completely and carefully!

Affiliate programs can be a lucrative partnership for both sides. In order to proceed, there must be guidelines for all parties to follow. As a result, this complicated relationship should not be entered into without a strong contract protecting all who are involved.

Affiliate Marketing: Doing Business with People Who Have Influence Over a Network of Your Ideal Clients

The old adage, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is true, especially in affiliate marketing. You can have all the affiliates in the world, but if they’re not people with a network of people to whom they can market, you may as well save your time and energy when it comes to developing an affiliate marketing program.

You need to find the people that are already networked, or are networkers who understand the power of providing great information that will attract people who are interested in an additional product or service. Networkers actively “meet” people. Not necessarily face to face, but they are out there in the world getting to people and getting people to come to them. There’s a bit of an art to becoming a successful affiliate marketer, and you want to make sure you get at least a couple of these superstars on your team. One or two superstars can out do hundreds of well-meaning, but non-networked affiliates.

Think about it. In the sales world, who are the superstars? The people with the connections, right? Those people who are out there meeting people and giving and getting referrals are the ones who are most likely to succeed in the sales world.

It’s the same with affiliate marketers. The most successful affiliate marketers are those who are out there in cyberspace, meeting people while getting and giving referrals. You want to have people on your affiliate team who are networking fiends! Those are the people who network religiously and relentlessly. They’re the ones that will make your affiliate program a success.

Where do you go to find these networking superstars? You can do a search in your industry and see if there are any affiliate marketing superstars and contact them directly. You can tap into affiliate directories and advertise your affiliate program. You can even go to affiliate chat rooms and ask a few questions regarding the best ways to attract top-notch affiliates to your program. Just make sure you have a great program to attract them to before you get too far down the road.

Top affiliates, like top sales people, don’t want to waste time. Make sure your ducks are in a row and you know just what the compensation plan is going to be and how it will work. You can purchase software programs that will do all the tracking for you, or you can set up accounts with current websites that offer affiliate programs. You might even consider contacting a sales superstar in your industry and asking if him if he’s considered moving his sales skills and network into the affiliate marketing arena. It might just be the extra income he’s looking for, benefiting both his income and your revenues.

Whatever program you decide to use, set your sights on those people who are networked and networking. They will bring more immediate traffic and income than some of your other affiliate marketers. However, keep in mind that even though superstars can boost your profits quickly, there is something to be said for developing your own affiliate base because you can create a loyalty and somewhat of a customized program based on their feedback. Therefore, creating a mix of superstars and the average affiliate marketer will maximize your profits, as well as your time and effort.

Get to know the people who know the people, and your affiliate program will flourish.

Giving Your Affiliates the Resources They Need To Sell More of Your Products and Services

Building a successful affiliate marketing team requires that you provide your affiliates with appropriate support. Even the “super-affiliates” require organizational support in order to maximize referrals and sales, and the regular affiliates depend upon this assistance much more. If you are looking to maximize the returns on your affiliate marketing efforts, then providing them with a foundation of resources is the first step to higher revenues.

• Tracking Software

Of course, first and foremost, your affiliates are working hard to promote your business to make both you and them money. Make sure that your payment structure is very clear, and that your affiliates are fairly and properly paid for their efforts. Using tracking software ensures that your affiliates are happy that they receive monetary credit where credit is due. Especially if you utilize third-party tracking software, this makes the entire process more transparent, which is an element that all affiliates appreciate.

• Persuasive Promotions

Whether you are online or offline, the quickest way to drum up business is through promotions. A discount is psychologically one of the most compelling ways to persuade a consumer to enter in their payment information and hit the “buy” button. When a consumer believes that he or she must “act now” to take advantage of a special offer, they are more likely to become a customer.

Empower your affiliates with special discount codes, promotions, or sales. You should change these promotions often, whether you offer free shipping on month, 10% off on another, or a free bonus gift. This keeps the energy fresh and exciting. When your affiliates can offer their contacts discounts, this creates larger volumes of orders and ultimately giving you a higher revenue boost. Giving 10% off a product that will result in an increase of revenues of 30% certainly passes all of the cost-benefit analysis.

• Content is King

Indeed, the internet adage “content is king” still reigns true in today’s online era. Your affiliates typically engage in high levels of SEO to garner large volumes of traffic. The key to building high search engine rankings stem from fresh, valuable content for the search engine bots to index. The more relevant content your affiliates have with appropriate keywords, the higher their rankings are and the more customers they will reach.

Having your in-house staff or hiring a content company to create articles for your affiliates to use is a valuable resource that will be greatly appreciated. You can either allow your affiliates to publish the articles as is, or that they can use the articles for ideas, but must re-write the wording to avoid duplicate content. Either way you go, your affiliates will appreciate this additional resource they have in their arsenal to increase your company’s sales.

When you empower your affiliates, you empower your full revenues. Making sure that your affiliates have the tools you need is key to running a powerful affiliate marketing strategy. In addition, when you show that you are dedicated to your affiliates’ success, they will return the appreciation threefold in increased sales.