Has Your Affiliate Network Failed You?

Nowadays, it seems there are a bunch Affiliate Networks left and right that are shuttering their doors, with the latest casualty being AffiliateWise. Whether it’s because of financial hardships, bad management or FTC lawsuits, quiet a few companies are going under, and it is important to know which Affiliate Network you can trust and work with.  Not all networks are created equally.  Knowing which Affiliate Networks are good and which are bad will save you lots of headaches and money in the future.

One of the best ways to vet potential Affiliate Networks or Advertisers is by first thinking of them as a bank.  You wouldn’t deposit your money with a shady bank that is not FDIC insured, would you?  With an Affiliate Network, that is exactly what you are doing.  You are entrusting them with your money, because in more cases that not, they do not pay you until 30 days after the end of the month.  That’s two months that the network is holding your money for.  So in a way, they are acting as your bank.  So next time you think of of joining an Affiliate Network, ask yourself this question:  Can I entrust this Affiliate Network with my money, and will I eventually be paid for all of my time and financial investment?

Below are five ways to successfully vet Affiliate Networks without getting burned.  Ask yourself the following:

1. How long has this company been in business for.
2. Are they financially stable.  Look around on oDigger and offerVault, and see if they are popular and if other networks are working with them.
3. Are they easy to reach and do they respond to your emails/phone calls in a timely fashion.
4. Do they have competitive payouts on their offers.  Stay away from brokered networks.  Their fate lies with other Affiliate Networks they are brokering offers from, and if those networks fail, than so will your network, leaving you high and dry.
5. Do they have competitive payment terms.  Most networks offer net 30 payments, but with good quality volume, you can get weeklies or at the least net 7.  Shoot for weeklies.  That way you know your getting paid fast, and you can in turn reinvest that money in your traffic to make more money.

Over the past few months, we’ve gotten many affiliates that have literally lost everything because they failed to see the signs of a failing network.  There are a TON of irresponsible networks out there that will stop at nothing to taking your money.  On the flip side of that though, there are also a lot of really good networks that you can make money with.  Of course, we are not going to list any of the good/bad networks here for fear of sounding a little bit biased.  But do your research.  Be smart.  There are quiet a bit of good Affiliate Networks out there that want your traffic, and they will always pay the full amount and on time, granted that your traffic is good quality.  Once you have vetted the Affiliate Network and you feel comfortable with your decision, you can than start dedicating some hard work towards your offers, except this time, you know that you will be compensated.  Only than will you really start enjoying Affiliate Marketing, and all the perks that come along with it.