Golden Goose Marketing

When it comes to internet marketing ideas, going independent is one that more affiliates should act on.  If you’re like most affiliates, you probably have accounts with half a dozen or more affiliate networks.  Unfortunately, everywhere you turn, you see tons of competition.  By going independent, though, you can avoid a lot of that.

So what do I mean by going independent?  Instead of going to networks like CJ and Azoogle, just leave them alone for a while.  Instead, seek out programs that are run in-house.   Often, you can find offers and products with little to no competition from other affiliates.

The main issue with going to independent affiliate programs is security.  You have to be able to trust that your leads will be tracked and that you will actually get paid.  The tracking part is pretty simple in most cases – just place a trial order and return it later once you’ve gotten confirmation that it tracked.

Trusting that you’ll get paid is a little harder, but affiliate marketing always involves a leap of faith.  Even merchants on big networks can fail to make payments, so don’t think you’re any safer in those situations than going direct with the merchant.  There are a few things you can do to make it less risky, though.

• Research the company.  Have they been around a while?  Are there a lot of complaints showing up in the search engine rankings?  Do they seem responsive?
• Make them build up trust. Don’t sign up for a new program and immediately send $20k of traffic to their offer.  Until they have built up trust, don’t send any more traffic than you can afford to lose.
• Trust your gut. If they seem shady, they probably are.

Have you ever tried using an independent affiliate program?  Share your experiences in the comments!