With these programs, you only pay if a customer performs an
activity on your site (i.e., registers for an event, makes a purchase,
signs up for an e-mail list, or whatever product or service you
want the customer to get). This differs greatly from advertising,
where you pay the fee up front and hope it delivers. Affiliate mar-
keting allows you to pay onlyafter the results are delivered. With
these programs, you agree to pay another business (your affiliate)
a referral fee for each customer who completes an activity at your
Web site.
For more information on affiliate marketing, investigate:
Commission Junction: http://www.cj.com
Be Free: http://www.befree.com
Performics:http://www.performics.comMicrosoft Bcentral.com offers five tips for making affiliate mar-
keting live up to its potential for you:
- Seek good offers that provide graduated levels of investment.
- Offer a variety of links.
- Find the right affiliates.
- Actively recruit affiliates.
- Take care of your affiliates once you have selected them.
There are a variety of programs; therefore, finding the right
one, or creating your own, may be a challenge. After joining a
program, be sure to continue to evaluate its performance and
track its effectiveness. With a bit of effort, affiliate marketing can
increase online activity by up to 15 percent. These programs do
take time to administer, but they can be worth it. Amazon.com
has over 450,000 affiliates sending it new customers. This could
be you!
LINKING
Long before there were sophisticated marketing tools like banner
ads, affiliate programs, and sponsorships, there was the simple hy-
perlink. By linking your site with others, you can generate more
traffic to your site. Web Ad.vantage offers great tips on successful
linking. Visit its “Marketing Tip Archive” at http://www.
webadvantage.net.
Marketing Your Event on the Internet 71