An affiliate program (AP) is the intermediary between the affiliate marketer and the advertiser. Payouts, offer quality, and scaling speed depend on its reliability. It's easy for a beginner to waste their budget due to hidden network shaving. In this article, we'll examine three main criteria for choosing an affiliate program.
1. Size and Reputation
The first factor is scale and market presence. Large affiliate programs are more stable: they have higher turnover, streamlined payouts, and, most likely, excellent risk management. News about yet another small company's scam appears almost every month.
Top networks have more experienced managers, a wider selection of offers for different geographies and verticals, and technical support (trackers, postbacks, domains) usually operates without lag. Stability is critical when scaling: when you find a working partnership and want to double your budget, a small affiliate network may not be able to handle the load or suddenly change its offer terms, leaving you without profit. Before registering, Google reviews on forums, ask your friends for their opinions, check how long the affiliate network has been operating on the market, and so on.
2. Quality of affiliate managers
Much depends on your personal manager. A good affiliate manager will suggest fresh offers for your geo, promptly request feedback from the buying agency (or advertiser) on your approaches and creatives, and help with quickly connecting postbacks.
An affiliate program (AP) is the intermediary between the affiliate marketer and the advertiser. Payouts, offer quality, and scaling speed depend on its reliability. It's easy for a beginner to waste their budget due to hidden network shaving. In this article, we'll examine three main criteria for choosing an affiliate program.
1. Size and Reputation
The first factor is scale and market presence. Large affiliate programs are more stable: they have higher turnover, streamlined payouts, and, most likely, excellent risk management. News about yet another small company's scam appears almost every month.
Top networks have more experienced managers, a wider selection of offers for different geographies and verticals, and technical support (trackers, postbacks, domains) usually operates without lag. Stability is critical when scaling: when you find a working partnership and want to double your budget, a small affiliate network may not be able to handle the load or suddenly change its offer terms, leaving you without profit. Before registering, Google reviews on forums, ask your friends for their opinions, check how long the affiliate network has been operating on the market, and so on.
2. Quality of affiliate managers
Much depends on your personal manager. A good affiliate manager will suggest fresh offers for your geo, promptly request feedback from the buying agency (or advertiser) on your approaches and creatives, and help with quickly connecting postbacks.
An affiliate program (AP) is the intermediary between the affiliate marketer and the advertiser. Payouts, offer quality, and scaling speed depend on its reliability. It's easy for a beginner to waste their budget due to hidden network shaving. In this article, we'll examine three main criteria for choosing an affiliate program.
1. Size and Reputation
The first factor is scale and market presence. Large affiliate programs are more stable: they have higher turnover, streamlined payouts, and, most likely, excellent risk management. News about yet another small company's scam appears almost every month.
Top networks have more experienced managers, a wider selection of offers for different geographies and verticals, and technical support (trackers, postbacks, domains) usually operates without lag. Stability is critical when scaling: when you find a working partnership and want to double your budget, a small affiliate network may not be able to handle the load or suddenly change its offer terms, leaving you without profit. Before registering, Google reviews on forums, ask your friends for their opinions, check how long the affiliate network has been operating on the market, and so on.
2. Quality of affiliate managers
Much depends on your personal manager. A good affiliate manager will suggest fresh offers for your geo, promptly request feedback from the buying agency (or advertiser) on your approaches and creatives, and help with quickly connecting postbacks.
An affiliate program (AP) is the intermediary between the affiliate marketer and the advertiser. Payouts, offer quality, and scaling speed depend on its reliability. It's easy for a beginner to waste their budget due to hidden network shaving. In this article, we'll examine three main criteria for choosing an affiliate program.
1. Size and Reputation
The first factor is scale and market presence. Large affiliate programs are more stable: they have higher turnover, streamlined payouts, and, most likely, excellent risk management. News about yet another small company's scam appears almost every month.
Top networks have more experienced managers, a wider selection of offers for different geographies and verticals, and technical support (trackers, postbacks, domains) usually operates without lag. Stability is critical when scaling: when you find a working partnership and want to double your budget, a small affiliate network may not be able to handle the load or suddenly change its offer terms, leaving you without profit. Before registering, Google reviews on forums, ask your friends for their opinions, check how long the affiliate network has been operating on the market, and so on.
2. Quality of affiliate managers
Much depends on your personal manager. A good affiliate manager will suggest fresh offers for your geo, promptly request feedback from the buying agency (or advertiser) on your approaches and creatives, and help with quickly connecting postbacks.
A bad manager will send a bunch of links on Monday and disappear until Friday. Sometimes affiliate networks have no managers at all—communication is only through tickets or support email. For a beginner, this is a big disadvantage.
3. Free services and consumables
Obviously, the best affiliate networks don't just provide links; they help plug technical gaps. Pay attention to the availability of free services. For gambling, these are ready-made applications (PWA, webview, native) that don't require any custom development. For product and Nutra, top affiliate networks are happy to share creatives, landing pages, and pre-landing pages.
Split testing
Key point: a good media buyer is never 100% loyal to one affiliate network.
Work with a split model. Take a group of affiliate networks with the same offer (or similar ones) and run them simultaneously. See which network has the highest ROI. Your traffic may generate X in one network and 3X in another. After all, some networks may have a strict shave, others may have a more relaxed KPI, and others may simply be better served by the call center.
A bad manager will send a bunch of links on Monday and disappear until Friday. Sometimes affiliate networks have no managers at all—communication is only through tickets or support email. For a beginner, this is a big disadvantage.
3. Free services and consumables
Obviously, the best affiliate networks don't just provide links; they help plug technical gaps. Pay attention to the availability of free services. For gambling, these are ready-made applications (PWA, webview, native) that don't require any custom development. For product and Nutra, top affiliate networks are happy to share creatives, landing pages, and pre-landing pages.
Split testing
Key point: a good media buyer is never 100% loyal to one affiliate network.
Work with a split model. Take a group of affiliate networks with the same offer (or similar ones) and run them simultaneously. See which network has the highest ROI. Your traffic may generate X in one network and 3X in another. After all, some networks may have a strict shave, others may have a more relaxed KPI, and others may simply be better served by the call center.
A bad manager will send a bunch of links on Monday and disappear until Friday. Sometimes affiliate networks have no managers at all—communication is only through tickets or support email. For a beginner, this is a big disadvantage.
3. Free services and consumables
Obviously, the best affiliate networks don't just provide links; they help plug technical gaps. Pay attention to the availability of free services. For gambling, these are ready-made applications (PWA, webview, native) that don't require any custom development. For product and Nutra, top affiliate networks are happy to share creatives, landing pages, and pre-landing pages.
Split testing
Key point: a good media buyer is never 100% loyal to one affiliate network.
Work with a split model. Take a group of affiliate networks with the same offer (or similar ones) and run them simultaneously. See which network has the highest ROI. Your traffic may generate X in one network and 3X in another. After all, some networks may have a strict shave, others may have a more relaxed KPI, and others may simply be better served by the call center.
A bad manager will send a bunch of links on Monday and disappear until Friday. Sometimes affiliate networks have no managers at all—communication is only through tickets or support email. For a beginner, this is a big disadvantage.
3. Free services and consumables
Obviously, the best affiliate networks don't just provide links; they help plug technical gaps. Pay attention to the availability of free services. For gambling, these are ready-made applications (PWA, webview, native) that don't require any custom development. For product and Nutra, top affiliate networks are happy to share creatives, landing pages, and pre-landing pages.
Split testing
Key point: a good media buyer is never 100% loyal to one affiliate network.
Work with a split model. Take a group of affiliate networks with the same offer (or similar ones) and run them simultaneously. See which network has the highest ROI. Your traffic may generate X in one network and 3X in another. After all, some networks may have a strict shave, others may have a more relaxed KPI, and others may simply be better served by the call center.
How to Choose an Affiliate Program (AP): A Beginner’s Guide
3 min read
How to Choose an Affiliate Program (AP): A Beginner’s Guide
3 min read
How to Choose an Affiliate Program (AP): A Beginner’s Guide
3 min read
How to Choose an Affiliate Program (AP): A Beginner’s Guide
