Getting paid for your affiliate earnings

Posted by Felix Okoli on Thursday October 24, 2013 at 11:33:17:

One of the first things you have to consider when joining an affiliate program is how to get paid. Every affiliate network tends to list out the payment terms available to their affiliates.

Questions you need to ask are:
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- What qualifies as a commission?
- What is the commission rate?
- What payment methods are available?
- How long does it take to get paid?
- What is the minimum payout level?

What qualifies as a commission?
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You need to first checkout the terms and conditions of the affiliate program in order to know what referrals you need to make in order to earn a commission. At times, bloggers and affiliates tend to send a lot of traffic to a merchant but may not get credited when a sale has been made. Some merchants may be so cruel to place some restrictions on sales that would actually earn one a commission. They may require that a referral stay signed up for a minimum period or that they spend above a minimum before you get credited with a commission. If their terms for earning a commission does not suit you, you should opt out else you may continue with them.

What is the commission rate?
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This involves getting to know how much commission you actually earn when your referral becomes a buying customer. When a customer actually buys and earns you a commission, knowing how much you earn is important.
Most affiliate programs tend to offer affiliates a 10% commission for every valid sale but the more popular ones tend to offer less. Knowing the rate would allow you to know how much you'd earn per sale on a referred item. If it is 10% and the sales price is say $50, it means you'd earn at least $5 on your referrals.

What payment methods are available?
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There are a lot of payments methods available on affiliate programs and this include Paypal, gift cards, bank wire, western union, foreign cheque and so on. It seems the most popular one is Paypal since it is faster and saves cost. You should know and select which payment method that best suits you. Getting paid with foreign cheques tend to take more time due to mailing and clearing delays.

How long does it take to get paid?
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Some affiliate programs pay affiliates almost as soon as the month runs out and they've earned some money while others pay the next 30 days. So this means that some pay faster than others. You'd need to know how long it takes for you to get paid before getting started as an affiliate with a merchant.

What is the minimum payout level?
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Every affiliate program tends to have a minimum payout level. This is the level of accumulated earnings at which an affiliate becomes entitled for payment. For most popular affiliate programs, the level is normally higher than the less popular ones. While some may set a payout level at around $100 others would just set it at around $10 just to attract more affiliates.

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Re: Getting paid for your affiliate earnings Reply by Paul on Tuesday April 1, 2014 at 14:7:23:

Which are these "most popular affiliate programs"?




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