Affiliate marketing is all the rage these days. More and more people are trying to make a name for themselves through online jobs and businesses such as affiliate marketing. This all has some upsides and downsides. But one of the biggest downsides is the treatment that newcomers to the industry get when trying to join affiliate networks.
A bunch of people is joining the industry and starting out, but more and more of them are facing the same issues. They just don’t get accepted into affiliate networks. While this was always happening, the recent increase in the sheer volume of potential affiliates left networks in a sticky situation.
Why Isn’t Everyone Accepted
Newcomers to the industry are not as valuable as professionals, and those newbies who have no idea what they are doing are more of a burden to affiliate networks than anything else. For this reason, networks started implementing some new rules and guidelines that people need to follow. But not all of them are crystal clear, and some of them are not properly disclosed. This leaves a lot of beginners unable to join these networks and start working properly.
With inexperienced affiliates, affiliate networks have to take some risks that are a bit too much at times for them. There are some glaring issues like:
- Fraudsters
These affiliates scam the networks and cause them massive losses. Or they can scan the users and tarnish the reputation of the networks themselves. - Aggressive Affiliates
Some affiliates try all kinds of tactics to try and push their offers. This can result in some lawsuits or bad press that the network then can be held responsible for. For this reason, these types of affiliates are usually frowned down upon by networks.
Those who are in the industry for years know these secrets and they have no issues getting in, but newcomers are filtered through all of this. But, as with anything, there are some things you can do to improve your chances by a lot! We compiled some of the best and most usual tips and tricks you should implement into your business so that you get accepted as soon as possible into your affiliate network of choice. So let’s not waste time and let’s get going!
The Best Tips That Can Get You Approved in The Top Affiliate Networks
Sadly there are no “get accepted for sure” things you can do, but there are a couple of things that you can do to greatly increase your chances of approval. The more of these things you do, the more likely you are to get accepted. We would say that you are pretty much guaranteed to get accepted if you follow all of these things in detail.
Take Your Application Seriously
One of the biggest mistakes that beginners do is not take things seriously. Affiliate marketing is a business like any other and there is a lot of money involved in it. If you act like you don’t care and don’t do even the most basic of research behind the platform you are trying to apply on then your chances can be quite low.
On your application answer the questions with as many details as possible. Be precise and concise with your answer but include some things to make sure that they know that you care. One-word answers are not good and you will lower your chances by a large amount.
Apply For Relevant Programs
Every affiliate network has a couple of verticals that they base their business on. Similarly, all affiliates have something that they focus on. As an affiliate, you should try finding affiliate programs and networks that best fit you. Applying for non-relevant programs might give you a higher chance of rejection as you simply don’t focus on the same things.
Finding the right network and programs not only gives you better chances of getting accepted, but they are a much better choice for you anyways. You will make more money and create better campaigns because you have the same interests.
Work On Your Website
Managers for networks have a list of things they look at before approving new members, and your website is probably the first thing they look at. If you want to be taken seriously you will need to have a couple of things, starting with a top-level domain.
Using subdomains like wordpress.com are okay for personal use, but if you want to sound and feel professional you will have to get your domain and run your page on it. Speaking of, make sure that your page is live in the first place. Managers don’t tend to check your page often, so you need to make sure that when they do, your page is live and running!
Focus On Quality
The first impression that an affiliate manager will get from your page will be determined by how it is designed and how it looks. Your design needs to capture their attention and give off the impression that you are a serious affiliate. If you don’t have developers working on your page, then consider using some premium themes that will set your design apart from all the rest.
Make sure that you have all the proper information and data on your page. As well as affiliate disclosures, privacy policies, about pages, contact pages, and all the rest. This will all add to your credibility and give an overall better impression to the reviewer.
Show What Makes You Great
When showing networks who you are, try explaining what your strengths are and how these strengths helped you in the past, and how they can help you in the future. If you have some previous experience in the field you can show what your skills are and how they impacted your performance.
Show off your relevant skills and experiences and create a positive image of yourself when talking about your past work. Mention if you are subscribed to any affiliate marketing services or tools that might help you with your campaigns. This not only shows that you know about them and that you (probably) know how to use them, but it also shows that you made an investment and that you are there to give it your best and try everything out.
The worst thing affiliate networks can do is waste time with people that don’t have real interests in the industry, and showing you aren’t one of those is the perfect way to get accepted.
Give Some Reference
Is this network not the first one you have worked with? Great! You can use your previous work to act as a sort of proof of stake for your future ventures. If you can give the new network some additional info about your previous work and even a contact so that they can check how well you were actually doing.
The best thing that can happen in that case is that they contact the company you used to work with and that they say that you were a worthy partner. This is pretty much one of the best ways to get accepted by affiliate networks.
Show Them Your Traffic
Sometimes networks will ask you to show them your traffic before getting approved. Depending on the verticals and niches the program focuses on, they will want to see some similarities between your traffic and their ideal customers. The more these two groups match the more likely you will get approved.
But what if you don’t have traffic? If you are completely new and don’t have traffic, don’t worry too much. Apply in any case and explain your position. If you get rejected, join more low-level programs that will accept complete newcomers and start running small campaigns until you have some sort of audience. Then re-apply to the program you want again.
Gain Experience
Experience is everything in affiliate marketing. With it comes better campaigns, ads, decisions, and of course profits. Networks know this and they take your experience quite seriously. If for whatever reason you get rejected, you should try and work on your experience in any way possible so that you can later apply again and show them that you made some progress.
Some networks require previous experience so try working for smaller networks with lower requirements first and then joining the big ones where the big profits are.
Be Patient
Affiliate managers have a lot of things to do daily and checking through hundreds of potential new members is only a part of their duty. For this reason, sometimes you will have to wait a bit before you get a response from the network or program. Be patient and don’t bother the network too much with your application unless there has been a significant time gap where nothing happened.
Conclusion
Joining affiliate networks and programs can be tough at times, but not all of them are the same. While some require a lengthy and difficult approval process, some networks don’t. And those who don’t are usually a better fit for absolute beginners. For those who need approval, those things take a few business days, but it can be longer if there are more applications than usual.
Getting rejected by a program is not the end of the world as well. You can re-apply or just try to join a different one on the same day. The important thing is to not give up!
Have you run into issues with affiliate programs and networks? What did your experience look like? Share more in the comments below!
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