Get to know your program

As an affiliate, over the years one of the most challenging aspects of this business is knowing affiliate platforms. That may mean different things to a lot of people. With affiliate marketing though – it should be pretty straightforward and consistent across the board. 

The affiliate platform you use is extremely important for your success in converting your traffic and making good revenue. In this article, I’ll be naming at least two examples of affiliate platforms which are known for serving both mainstream ecommerce and high ticket programs and products alike.

To start things off, it’s important to understand that in affiliate marketing, there are a number of variables that count when you’re looking at making this a long-term success, and like anything there will be challenges and sometimes you end up spending a lot of time figuring out those challenges. My goal is to cut down those hours so you can focus your time on the relevant things that will bring you revenue and eventually profits.

ShareASale

The first example of an affiliate platform that’s quite well known especially in North America is ShareASale.

Shareasale is both an affiliate program and a network that has a number of features that make it quite unique. The first thing to look at when selecting the platform you want to go with is – what kind of products are you promoting. The second thing is – what’s the financial viability and opportunity of working with this program.

ShareASale, while popular, tends to have programs that offer you a range between 5% to 15% on average so while the products can be excellent, the margins may not be as exciting. So for example, you may want to promote dog products, or education online which are both excellent areas to focus on – but realistically that comes with a price because you may have a ton of great offers to work with, but the volume is a bigger part of your success as the margins are just not that high.

Another advantage of ShareSale is the format in which the programs are presented. Many programs tend to have a less than desirable graphical interface, while ShareASale make things very easy as far as finding what you need, including a search bar and have many additional features that while, it could take some time to learn – does make life a bit easier which you want especially at the start of your journey as an affiliate.

The statistics and financial dashboard is another great feature which you absolutely need to have if you’re going to keep a good handle on what’s going on with your affiliate revenue. One thing that ShareASale does brilliantly is provide you a very well laid out list of options and details on how you get to see your results. For example – your payment threshold may be something you want to set on $1000 because you’re motivated to generate a larger amount of money to keep yourself working hard.

Another advantage of ShareSale is the format in which the programs are presented. Many programs tend to have a less than desirable graphical interface, while ShareASale make things very easy as far as finding what you need, including a search bar and have many additional features that while, it could take some time to learn – does make life a bit easier which you want especially at the start of your journey as an affiliate.

The statistics and financial dashboard is another great feature which you need to have if you’re going to keep a good handle on what’s going on with your affiliate revenue. One thing that ShareASale does brilliantly is provide you a very well laid out list of options and details on how you get to see your results. For example – your payment threshold may be something you want to set on $1000 because you’re motivated to generate a larger amount of money to keep yourself working hard.

Other programs on the other hand pretty much tell you what the threshold is and don’t give you a choice so whether it fits you or not, you need to accept it.

On the other hand – a disadvantage of ShareASale is the lack of communication with a proper affiliate manager. Because ShareASale has so many programs and does it’s best ot focus on the platform – the communication with the affiliate manager through the platform leaves a lot to be desired. This of course varies between programs – but it seems to focus on self-service which is great for the most part – but once you’re stuck – it makes things a little delayed.

Cell Expert

Another platform that is worth checking out before jumping into the affiliate world is Cell Expert.

Cell Expert is a platform that’s really well known for working with high-end products, specifically casino and forex. The opportunity to generate higher level revenue is relatively high with these types of products but at the same time takes a bit more of an initial investment and choosing the right program with the affiliate platform behind it is really important.

Cell Expert is a great choice to get into for a number of reasons as far as ease of use, financial breakdown and dashboard, as well as displaying marketing tools.

On the other hand there are a few disadvantages which will also be listed and something to keep in mind so you’re not surprised about it.

Unlike ShareASale which is a network, cell expert is a singular platform that requires you to select a broker or casino brand for example to use the platform. If you do have an ambition to become a successful affiliate in a high ticket area like Casino or Forex, it’s good to get familiar with the platform you’ll be working with.

Financial breakdown on Cell Expert is always very clear – and in most cases, the affiliate manager needs to approve your details including your payment info and also tells you what the threshold and payment date is. 

It’s important to understand how to navigate around that so that you don’t run into any unnecessary delays that you definitely don’t want when it comes time for payment – and that’s where we can help to get you around that by explaining that in a bit more detail. If you’re interested, be sure to email us at enquiries@nczaffiliate.com

Ease of use is probably by far the biggest advantage for Cell Expert. This is especially because when you’re retrieving links, banners, and everything else you want it to be accurate, and loads quick enough where you’re able to get your information and materials quickly and easily.

Lastly, with Cell Expert is all about displaying not only marketing materials but all your options that go together with statistics. On the right hand side of the cell expert login – you’ll find that everything is very neatly and simply lined up in a way that makes things really easy to navigate through.

On the flipside, if you’re a bit newer to affiliate marketing – you’ll find yourself very much reliant on the affiliate manager and the program you’ve chosen’s overall quality to properly use cell expert. Unfortunately that puts you in a vulnerable spot at times because if the affiliate manager misinforms you or doesn’t provide you with the necessary info like how to link properly, using subids and many other features – you may find yourself really confused.

Overall though Cell Expert is absolutely an excellent platform and something we definitely recommend getting familiar with as it will come in handy when jumping into the world of affiliate marketing, specifically forex and online gambling.