Offers That Sell
Affiliates are looking for products and services that match the content of their site. They're looking for offers that are consistent with the theme of their web site, and the products or services should appeal to those who visit their site. After all, a parenting site would rather sell children's clothing, books, and toys than a Smashing Pumpkins CD. A site that does movie reviews would rather sell videos or DVDs than strollers. An affiliate that caters to Webmasters is looking for software programs, not gift baskets. Affiliates need to cater to the wants and needs of their site audience.
They're also looking for programs that have good growth potential with an expanding product or service offering. Good sites work hard to keep their content fresh so they can attract return visitors. They want the same from the affiliate programs they join. Affiliates want to offer products and services that keep customers coming back to see what's new and exciting. They don't want to join programs whose product offerings are a dead end, so affiliates will look for a merchant program that not only sells multiple products and services but also makes timely offers. Selling one product or service gives up a lot of valuable web page space, so that product had better be highly profitable to sell. A merchant's program would be better accepted by affiliates if it sold a variety of products or service.
Bookstores, music stores, and movie stores are good examples of merchant programs where a variety of products can be offered. Clothing, sports equipment, and toy stores are others. In addition, affiliates are looking for merchants who take advantage of the seasons or special occasions to promote their products. Christmas, Hanukah, Easter, Passover, Father's Day, and Mother's Day are seasonal events that affiliates can exploit to sell products to their visitors and keep their offers fresh. Birthdays and anniversaries offer other opportunities for fresh content.
Merchants who understand the need for this fresh content will attract the right kinds of affiliate partners.