Watch For This When You Pay Your Affiliates
As you may know, getting affiliates involved in your products or services can be a nice way to gain more customers. The affiliate refers someone to you, and when a sale is made, they get a commission.
It's kinda like having a sales team that only get paid when they help make a sale. You, the business owner, pays them an affiliate commission. This is a very common technique that many 1ShoppingCart (Marketers Choice) users implement.
But did you know that if an affiliate refers someone, who buys a $0 priced product (or any discount off the original sale price) that the affiliate still gets the full commission?
i.e. if you have special VIP folks who you let into your progams or products for free, or if you have alumni who come back to your product for free, and if that person was cookied with an affiliate's ID, then that affiliate would get a payout that was not warrented.
This is not a bug.
This is how 1ShoppingCart/MarketersChoice is designed.
So before you send out your affiliate checks, you may want to go through and make sure that any affiliate commissions that apply to a $0 priced sales are what you intended.
Spread the Word!
Filed under Affiliate Marketing, Tips by Christina Hills
Comments on Watch For This When You Pay Your Affiliates »
Wow, I did NOT know this. Thank you so much for bringing it my attention. I'm launching a few new products with various comp codes for select audiences, and this will definately have an affect on me.
Thanks again!
Marty,
Yes, you can accidentally pay out commissions that don't belong.
So just check over your payments carefully before you print any checks!
-Christina
I agree with you Christina, because once you automate commission payouts, asking a refund will cause so much trouble and will cause you some money.