The Best Affiliate Programs: How to Spot Them

“What I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career…”

If you’ve seen any of the 17 (right?!) Taken movies, you’ll recognize what might just be the best business introduction ever. Of course, as an affiliate or publisher, you’re not using that particular set of skills to track kidnappers down. You’re using them to generate calls and leads as a performance marketing professional.

If you’ve mastered that particular set of skills, you know you’ve got what it takes to be part of the best affiliate programs out there. Many affiliates sink countless hours and resources into promoting products on Amazon or Clickbank. But the veteran affiliates among us know they can get a much higher payout by working in the pay per call or data lead arena instead.

Are There High Paying Affiliate Programs Out There?

Absolutely! In fact, it’s not unheard of for top-quality publishers to hit the seven-figure mark. They know how to solve a major problem for big companies - keeping the sales funnel full. It’s not easy work, of course. If you’re commanding the highest affiliate commissions, you’re earning every penny! That “very particular set of skills” didn’t appear out of nowhere; you worked hard to hone them.

It wouldn’t be fair for us to publish affiliate program reviews here, since we’re more than a little biased. We love the publishers we work with, and we work really hard to find more just like them! Plus, part of our vision is creating one of the absolute best affiliate programs ever created.

But we thought it might be helpful to outline the qualities a great data lead or pay per call affiliate should look for when choosing a program.

#1: The Best Affiliate Programs Really, Really Hard to Get Into

That might sound crazy. After all, how could having to jump through hoops and prove yourself possibly lead to bigger payouts and a happier work life?

But maybe it’s not crazy at all. Think about Ivy League colleges and what it takes to get in. (Especially if you don’t have an “Aunt Becky” to help you!)

Consider Harvard. It might seem like having a 4.0 GPA would wow the admissions department, but, “The average high school GPA of the admitted freshman class at Harvard University was 4.04.”

As a Harvard student, you’ll work your tail off. You’ll pay an arm and a leg, too. But when you graduate, there’s a huge payoff. You’ve got the Harvard name and all the connections that come with it.

There are reasons Harvard is so hard to get into. Likewise, there are reasons it’s hard to get into the best affiliate programs. By having tough standards, an organization can attract the cream of the crop. Extremely particular organizations aren’t interested in working with just anyone; they want the best.

All the other benefits you get by working with the best affiliate programs hinge on this one. Programs that accept everyone who applies simply can’t compete with those that are super-choosy.

#2: The Best Affiliate Programs Have the Potential to Make You Very, Very Rich

Obviously, all the usual income disclosures apply here. Nobody’s saying anyone’s going to make a million as an affiliate. But that’s partially because for most affiliates, it’s like competing in a very crowded pond. Some get to eat, most end up swimming hard and never getting fed.

When an affiliate program accepts most applicants, they end up with a virtual army of people promoting their products. Some are talented and get great results. Some don’t. This guy on Quora put it well:

You can make anywhere from $0 to $25,000 per month.

Will you make $25,000 per month if you're just starting out?

No.

You'll be lucky to make $5 in your first month or two.

Is Amazon mean? Not especially. But think about most of the items in that marketplace. They’re typically pretty cheap. They’re also one-off purchases. No wonder most affiliates - if they make even a dime - make only a few cents for each sale they generate.

In contrast, let’s say you’re working with a far more exclusive affiliate program. You’d likely spend your days generating calls and leads for much more expensive products, like health insurance, tax debt relief, credit repair, and final expense insurance - just to name a few typical campaign verticals. They’re expensive! So penny payouts just won’t do.

Amazon can afford to have millions of affiliates toiling away in the hopes of making a few dollars. Sure, some make really good money. But it’s not easy… not in the least.

#3: The Best Affiliate Programs Will Never Leave You Wondering Whether You’ll Get Paid

If you dig around in the various Facebook groups and other forums where affiliate publishers hang out, it won’t take but about three minutes to hear a horror story. The details change, but the plot remains the same:

“I generated X qualified leads for ABC company. My commission report shows that I earned $Y. But payday came and went and I never got paid. I’ve been trying to reach them but I’m not getting a reply. Starting to give up hope that I’ll ever get what’s due - and my bills are piling up.”

Crooks? The industry has a “few” for sure.

What do those fraudulent networks have in common? SUPER easy to join. They don’t care about the quality of their publishers, because they have no intention of paying them. Certainly not long-term.

Worse still, because of their nearsighted perspective on business, these network owners are more about “take the money and run” than building a quality brand that advertisers and affiliates trust enough to do business for the long term.

#4: The Best Affiliate Programs Insist on Compliance

Pizza delivery, little kids on Halloween, and maybe whoever took Ed McMahon’s job at Publishers Clearing House - those are really the only knocks on the door anyone wants to get. But for fraudulent affiliates, it could be the FTC a-knocking, and that’s indubitably going to be a very bad day.

Shoving every compliance regulation to the side, it would be really easy to make a jaw-dropping income by generating calls and leads by any means. There are reasons compliance laws are on the books - and enforced with vigor.

Some affiliate programs succeed (at least for a little while) only because they buck the regulations. Their game plan is to move fast, do whatever it takes to collect a paycheck, and when the feds start poking around, they vanish into thin air. They might even wait a few months for everything to die down, then re-open under a new name. All that’s left then is to re-staff their affiliate ranks. Who cares about standards - everyone gets in!

What do you think happens to your commission check if you’re working for a company like that? “POOF!” might be the shortest answer to that question.

#5: The Best Affiliate Programs Work WITH You to Help You Succeed

There’s a reason companies buy calls and leads rather than trying to generate them in-house. It’s expensive and time-consuming for their marketing departments to go through all the trial and error involved in crafting a campaign that actually converts.

So, instead of risking losing money, they turn to a performance marketing agency or network for help. They agree to pay a certain amount for each qualified call or lead. The network offers these campaigns to their affiliates, and pays for call or lead that meets the advertiser’s specifications.

That doesn’t sound easy. But it’s still easier said than done.

There’s a lot of testing and tweaking involved to make the numbers work. For the owners of some affiliate programs, especially with a short-term view of business and no real standards for their affiliates, time is the enemy. They know they have to move fast, get the cash, and be prepared to find new clients and affiliates.

But the best affiliate programs take a much longer view of the whole arrangement. They cultivate relationships with their advertisers, taking the time needed to build trust. They wouldn’t wreck that trust for all the money in the world.

That perspective carries over into their relationships with their publishers, too. When they find a gem, they know that together, they can create remarkable results and a whole lot of money. So, rather than having a “deliver or die” mindset, it’s more about cooperation and teamwork.

They’ll work with you to make sure you’ve got what you need to do your work. They understand that testing and optimization take time - and they’ll work with you to help you succeed.

Digital Market Media Aims to Be One of the Best Affiliate Programs Ever

A chat with the CEO, Tom Carolan, revealed his not-so-secret dream. Decades from now, he can picture sitting at his retirement dinner, surrounded by a host of people - publishers and advertisers as well as employees.

One by one, they’re coming up to him saying what a wonderful blessing the company has been in their lives. Digital Market Media made them very rich and helped them grow their own “particular set of skills” as a marketing professional.

With this vision driving the company, it makes sense that we’d want to create one of the absolute best affiliate programs ever. While we can’t promise your application will be accepted, we can promise that we’re every bit as committed to your success as you are!

If this sounds like the kind of affiliate network you’ve been looking for, the next step is to apply.