Affiliate Management Programs

For online businesses that want to make additional revenue from driving traffic to other businesses as an affiliate, or want to increase sales on their own site, Affiliate Management Programs, or referral programs, can serve as a cost-effective marketing solution.

Commission Junction

Description Our preferred provider for affiliate programs based on network size, ease of use and value.
Focus US
Merchants 1,600
Affiliates 350,000
Sign-up fees $795
Merchant fees 20% of payout
Minimum deposit $250
Realtime reporting Yes

LinkShare

Description Major affiliate management services provider - tends to be more expensive and service larger companies.
Focus US
Merchants 400
Affiliates n/a
Sign-up fees Yes
Merchant fees Monthly & % of payout
Minimum deposit varies
Realtime reporting Yes

ClickTrade

Description Affiliate management from Microsoft's bCentral suite of products.
Focus US
Merchants 7,000
Affiliates 120,000
Sign-up fees Yes
Merchant fees 30% of payout
Minimum deposit $500
Realtime reporting Yes

BeFree

Description Affiliate program provider, with greater selection of non-US merchant programs.
Focus US, Europe, LA
Merchants 360
Affiliates 25,000
Sign-up fees Yes
Merchant fees n/a
Minimum deposit n/a
Realtime reporting Yes

Other Resources

Affiliate Advisor
Affiliatetips
Affiliate Match
AffiliateWorld
AssociatePrograms
ClickQuick
ReveNews

business tips

How Affiliate Programs Work
By joining merchant programs as an affiliate, visitors from your website can earn you revenue based on impressions, click throughs or sales from another business. Or, as a merchant yourself, an Affiliate Management Program can enable you to drive results on your site at relatively low cost.

Signing up as an Affiliate is quick and easy, and all activity tracking is done by the Affiliate Management service you select.

Depending on the program, signing up as a Merchant usually requires an upfront deposit towards future payment, and a initial start-up fee, but is simple, and all tracking and payment processing is done by the Affiliate Management service.

Affiliates are paid based on performance of their links, and Merchants are generally charged based on a percentage of the Affiliate payout, and sometimes a monthly fee as well.