Definition: An affiliate program is an arrangement between a product provider and a distribution channel consisting of other individuals who represent that product for an agreed upon consideration.

It’s nice to get a good definition - if anyone else has a punchy definition please share, because I made this one up based upon my understanding of the process.

Affiliate programs are behind some of the most successful business models on the net, such as Amazon and now even Google Adsense.

In online education I have read many things about how to treat one’s affiliates but since joining several programs I have found that this is not being put into practice, and since I do not consider myself particularly unusual in business dealings I would like to mention the following stable points that must be in to create a flourishing and happy affiliate force.

That is not to say you can’t have an affiliate program that stagnates but who would want that - RIGHT?

Some background info:

1) Promoting someones product is not done without time and effort
2) It is a continuous process
3) An affiliate program provider generates income not only from the backlinks they receive but the sale of product to sections of the market they would not reach within the lifespan of the product.

Let’s start with the positive statements first: These are minimum actions that should be taken.

1) Publish the payment schedule so affiliates know when they should expect their money
2) Pay them on time everytime
3) Answer all communications rapidly - almost instantly if possible
4) Send them an email once in a while saying that you appreciate them. Roses would be nice but just an simple email is good enough.

The return flow in terms of money to the affiliate and communication to the affiliate is the golden oil that motivates your happy affiliate force to promote your program above any other.

One thing I have learnt powerfully recently is that you can tweak your systems, upgrade your computer and generally improve your hardware, but if you are not communicating to people in a real way then nothing is going to happen. As soon as you start communicating again - life and money returns.

Well, I’m sure someone will find this useful.

Now this is cool.

Just in case you haven’t been there yet check out Site Point. It’s a very well run forum and there is a wealth of knowledge for webmasters there. I’ve just recently bought a domain from the domain buy and sell section and came close to buying a whole site.

As well as that there is a ton of good advice on php, java and almost any language and application you can think of.

Another forum that is also pretty cool is digital point. I just like the style of the guys who run it. They are not serious at all, but they have a great range of free webmaster tools.

You’ve probably heard of the warrior forum right? It’s a regular hang of most internet marketers. I’m a member of that as well, but I don’t visit that often. It’s reputation is very good and it’s a great place to learn some internet marketing. I probably should visit more.

How are you with forums?

I tend to visit and contribute in spits and starts. This month I’ve spent a lot of time at Site Point. They are Aussie like me, but they’ve really made a great success of themselves, like I’m working on - haven’t got there yet but getting there.

One thing I don’t like about some forums is the negative people that get on there. They really stand out like a sore thumb. You get them on all forums. One of the best things I have done in my life is to learn how to recognize destructive personalities and get them out of my life no matter what it costs. I can say now that I am pretty well sorted in that regard.

Since I have taken this step it’s amazing how my life has smoothed out and much better things are happening.

Most forums self-police themselves - the social members will object to some negative personality having a rant. And this is I suppose a good thing - except when the effort to correct turns into more to and fro.

That’s where the moderators come in. A moderator will keep the peace, keep it on topic and make everything go smooth. A really well run forum such as digital point or site point usually has great moderators that are worth their weight in gold.

You may be shocked to find that the person who invented spam has finally confessed. It all began in 1994 one summer …

The person who invented spam