In the future, how will referring new affiliates to an affiliate program earn me money? That’s where a two-tier affiliate program comes into play.
Affiliates are becoming increasingly astute. Affiliates nowadays are aware of the various types of traffic for which they can be compensated. There are numerous definitions, including CPM, CPC, CPA, CPL, CPD, and others.
CPM stands for cost per thousand impressions, which means the publisher (the website owner) is paid every time a banner is displayed.
CPC stands for cost per click, and it refers to how much a publisher (or email marketer, or other marketer) is paid each time a banner or text link is clicked.
The other methods of compensation are grouped under the term performance marketing, which is also where the term affiliate is most commonly used.
An affiliate is a marketer who earns money by sending visitors to another site via a variety of methods (including placing banners or text links on their own site, purchasing sponsored listings on search engines, email marketing, and a variety of other methods). This action could be a lead (CPL stands for Cost per Lead), a sale (CPS stands for Cost per Sale), a download (CPD stands for Cost per Download), or a variety of other things.
CPA (cost per acquisition) is a term used by some in the Internet industry to describe performance-based marketing.
CPA (cost per acquisition) is a term used by some in the Internet industry to refer to performance-based marketing, though it is also used to refer to specific types of campaigns such as leads or sales.
The rest is simple now that we’ve gotten through the difficult part.
The affiliate is compensated for directing visitors to a specific landing page where they must complete a specific action, such as a lead, a sale, a download, or another action that the advertiser requires. Some advertisers, for example, want to build their databases, so they pay for each opt-in email address they receive; others want leads from specific locations, so they pay for zip codes, and then try to persuade visitors to fill out a more detailed lead form after they enter their zip code.
The common denominator is that the affiliate is compensated when a specific action is performed.
A two-tier affiliate program is simply finding new marketers to sign up under you to do EXACTLY what you’re doing now, which is sending visitors to various offers and getting paid when they take some sort of action. So, why would you want other marketers to join your team and promote the same offers as you? Simply put, you get paid a percentage of the revenue generated by the affiliate you referred? Does it appear to be difficult?
Don’t worry, it’s not difficult to comprehend. Let’s say John promotes five different offers through a single affiliate network. He is compensated for every lead, sale, email, and zip code he generates as a result of these various offers. John now tells Mark about the Network and convinces him to join by sending him a banner or text link that includes John’s referral code. Mark now joins the Affiliate Network as John’s affiliate and begins promoting the Affiliate Network’s various offers and advertisers. These don’t have to be the same offers as the ones John is promoting. Mark can promote ANY of the Affiliate Network’s offers.
The finest part is still to come.
John earns a portion of whatever money Mark is paid over and above what Mark is paid. So, if Mark is paid $1000 in Month 1 and the 2 Tier Affiliate scheme pays 5%, John will be paid $50 simply for introducing Mark.
However, it gets much better.
Some 2 tier affiliate networks provide commissions for the rest of your life. So John doesn’t simply get a referral commission for a month or a year; he gets it FOREVER.
If Mark becomes a fantastic affiliate and begins to generate massive monthly commissions, John may just sit back and collect the checks as he did when he introduced him.
When looking for affiliates to sign up under you in 2 Tier Affiliate Programs, there are three factors to keep in mind:
Is the affiliate program or affiliate network reputable, does it have adequate monitoring so your referrals are properly recorded, does it have appropriate campaigns and offers for affiliates to push so they truly make money, and does it pay on time? What proportion of amounts given to your referrals do you get paid if the affiliate program or network is good? All programs are different, so compare them to discover what the industry standard is.
How long do you expect to keep getting referral commissions? Some people pay for a month, others for a lifetime, and there are plenty of options in between.
So do your research and select a two-tier scheme that will pay you for the job you perform now in the future.
