Affiliate Marketing QnA
I’m getting asked a lot of interesting questions by the kids here at the camp, and so I’ll write those up in a future QnA for you when I get back.
Today, I want to explain the affiliate link process, and let you in on a really cool report I’m working on…
I also received this email earlier this week and it made my day:
“Craig, I gotta let you know how much I appreciate all of the information you provide. As a college student, buying loads of marketing products in the hope they work to get me started online simply isn’t an option. I can honestly say that I go online every day looking forward to finding out what you have to say for the day. Thanks, man!”
Cool. Cool. Cool.
Happy to help.
Alright, QnA time.
Question: A quick question… You inserted an affiliate link to Ryan Deiss’ report but I was wondering how you make money from that when there’s no product at the end of it?
Or is it that you make the money from when Ryan launches his product and he tracks who “opted-in” through your link and the leads and sales created through that? Because obviously right now there’s no product for sale at that link… – Marc
Answer: Correct, I make the moniez when the product is launched.
When someone clicks on my affiliate link, this person is “cookied” (whatever that means) and the visitor’s computer is tagged with my affiliate link.
Now if you clicked on that link on one computer and then used a different computer to go straight to the website to order, then I would NOT get the affiliate commission.
Hope you followed that.
Also, there are many different affiliate programs available on the web, and they all have slightly different rules when it comes to tagging an affiliate visitor.
This question tied in with a conversation I was having with my friend AC the other day…it went like this…
AC: Does Clickbank cookie the opt-ins for 60 days?
CB (Me): Yes, 60 days.
That means if Joe clicked on an affiliate link that sent him to Turbulence Training and he ordered 60 days later, that affiliate would still get a commission.
But if Joe ordered 61 day after clicking the affiliate link, the affiliate would NOT get a commission.
Clickbank is one of the few affiliate programs that has such a short tracking period.
Most affiliate programs are set up for longer, and most of the big guys, like Ryan Deiss, use programs like InfusionSoft instead of Clickbank, and reward their affiliates by tagging each affiliate visitor for life.
That means when you buy Ryan’s program through my affiliate link – which would be tres cool – this week, if you buy any other products from Ryan in the future (even over a year from now), then I will still get a commission.
Also, Clickbank has their affiliate program set up so that the “last cookie wins”.
Here’s what that means…
If you promote a Clickbank product to Joe Reader today, and I promote the same Clickbank product tomorrow to Joe Reader, and then he buys the day after that, then its ME who gets the affiliate commission – not you.
The last person who had the customer click on their affiliate link gets the commission.
Again, this is different between programs, and there are pro’s and con’s to each.
AC: My affiliate program, 1ShoppingCart.com is different. In it, the first affiliate gets the commission. And it automatically has it set for 1024 days.
CB: Interesting.
I guess it all depends on when you email…if you’re first, you’ll like 1ShoppingCart (which I like to call “1ShoppingCat” because it sounds hilarious).
If you’re the last affiliate to promote, then you’ll benefit if it is a Clickbank product.
So that’s it for Affiliate Link questions.
NOTE: If I’m wrong on any of this, which is entirely possible, please correct in the comments section below.
Question: Hi Craig, love your stuff man. Thanks for all your hard work. Just one question. How is the collapse of the world economy going to affect Internet marketing? – Bart
Answer: This is a great question.
I’ve been thinking about it for days, and I’m 10 pages deep into a report that covers all of my Internet Marketing predictions for the future turbulent times we are likely to be facing.
I’ve been meaning to do a predictions report for a while, so bear with me while I work on this over the next couple of weeks. The travel schedule is going to slow me down as well.
But I have a really good analogy and story for how this is all going to work out in our favor.
So fear not…if you have a website, and you’re willing to do the work, you’re going to be much better off than a lot of people who are in dying industries.
I take no pleasure in other’s pain, just stating the facts.
Until then, be good, be careful, and work hard.
Have a great weekend,
Craig Ballantyne
“You must believe that your past is not your future. You are not stuck or defined by tradition and you don’t have to listen to what others tell you to do. Focus on the bright things, the ones that bring a smile to your face. Find that passion and focus.” – Gayle Carson