How to Deal With Shady Affiliate Programs

If you have been in the affiliate marketing business for any period of time, then there is a good chance that you have run into a shady affiliate program or two. You know, the companies that promise everything but deliver nothing; companies where you seem to be doing real well, and then all of a sudden you are doing nothing; companies that don't pay you what you are owed, or take forever to pay you what you are owed.

The question is, how do you deal with companies like this? What are the steps that you should take to make sure that your stats are being tracked properly, and that you are getting paid on time?

1. Develop a relationship with the affiliate manager right away. Email them. Call them if you can. If you aren't getting quick responses to emails right off the bat, or can't talk to anyone on the phone, then stop doing business with this company. You need to be doing business with companies that are responsive and will deal with problems immediately. If you have a strong relationship with your affiliate manager, then you can alert them to problems and they will scan your account to see if there are any problems.

2. Do a Google search on the company. Standard procedure. Many affiliate companies out there have terrible reputations and have been black-listed by many affiliates. If you are reading more negative things than positive about the company, abandon ship and send traffic somewhere else.

3. If a company is slow in paying you or hasn't paid you at all, you need to constantly remind them of this fact. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If they continue to duck you, then continue on to step 4..

4. Alert the affiliate marketing company. Air your grievances out on major affiliate marketing forums. If this specific niche has a forum, then post it there. If not, take it bigger and post to a forum such as Warriorforum.com. You need to pressure the company into paying you the money that you are owed.

5. Remove the company from your web site, even if they end up paying you. You really want to chase your check every month? Take them down and go with another company. Send them an email saying that you will no longer be sending them any traffic. Oftentimes, the company will suddenly have a change of heart and promise to treat you better, due to the fact that you are cutting off your most important asset; your traffic. Bury them though, and don't put them back on your site. You will just be repeating all of these steps again in a few months.

Filed under: Making Money Online | General Knowledge