Open Source Affiliate

Guide: Different kinds of affiliate programs: how to make money with sales and CPAs

Different kinds of affiliate programs: how to make money with sales and CPAs

Although many affiliate marketers start with selling ebooks through Clickbank, there are many other ways to make money through affiliate programs. Let’s look at the different kinds of affiliate programs, and how you can make money with each one.

Affiliate sales programs

Affiliate sales programs are the common type of affiliate marketing. Clickbank, one of the most popular affiliate programs, is a prototypical example. You, as an affiliate marketer, try to convince someone to buy a certain ebook. In turn, you receive a portion of the sales price. Informational products are popular with affiliate sales programs because they are easy to purchase online, with immediate delivery following sales. Other affiliate programs for physical programs include Linkshare and Consumpion Junction, which serve as umbrella organizations for many different companies. Other companies, like Ebay and Amazon, have their own affiliate program. Physical products you usually provide a smaller commission than informational products, because the high production costs decrease the profit margins. However, more people are willing to buy physical products, such as those you would see in an ordinary store.

Cost per action affiliate programs

Unlike sales programs, cost per action (CPA) affiliate programs pay you whenever a customer performs a specific action. These actions can vary from simple clicks to complicated survey answers. Google Adsense is the most popular example of a program that pays whenever a user clicks on an ad. For such programs, you are usually not allowed to promote the ad directly, in order to prevent the advertiser from losing money on artificial clicks.

Other CPA programs pay per sign up, which can be free for the customer. Some CPAs will pay you each time a customer supplies a zip code or email address. Other require the customer to fill out a survey, or other more detailed information about himself. Sometimes there is a cost to the customer, such as payment of shipping and handling to receive an otherwise free product. In any case, the payout for CPAs is usually lower than for direct sales commissions. However, CPAs are often easier to obtain, since it is easier to convince a customer to fill out a form than to part with his money.

Which kind of affiliate program is best?

The type of affiliate program you choose will depend on the your campaign’s niche, as well as the source of traffic. If you are receiving targeted traffic for a niche where people purchase many products, you would be better off with an affiliate sales program. If, on the other hand, you receive general traffic, where people are still looking for information rather than products, you might be better off with a CPA that connects visitors with product information. It is usually best to diversify your options by joining and promoting multiple types of affiliate programs.