Choosing the Right Affiliate Program for Your Membership Site

We are being asked by clients all the time which affiliate program is the most recommended one to use, so we decided to write a thorough overview about the most popular affiliate programs that integrate with Wishlist Member.

You should keep in mind that there isn’t any “right answer” when choosing an affiliate program,one affiliate program that may be enough for one person, may not be good enough for a different person.

That’s why I decided to write the post in a “Pros and Cons” way, to give yo all the important points regarding the most popular affiliate programs available, so you can decide which is the right one for your need.

The Most Popular Affiliate Programs – Pros & Cons

Clickbank is one of the larges affiliate networks online, and it is also a marketplace for digital products.

After reviewing several options, we have decided that Clickbank is the most suitable option for us, so we are selling all of our products through Clickbank, so it makes sense we have more pros and cons regarding Clickbank.

You may, of course, find that other affiliate program serves your needs better, and we will be more than happy if you will also write us in the comment section you pros and cons.

Clickbank Pros

Paying on Time

Clickbank is one of the most reliable affiliate networks with good reputation in paying on time, to vendors and affiliates as well.

Automatic Future Refunds Calculation

When the payment is sent to you as a vendor, you know that the money is 100% yours and you won’t need to “save” it for future refunds if there will be any. That is why Clickbank guards the money for a specific period of time till they send you the check.

Reliable in Refunds

Clients can rest assure that they will get a refund if they ask for it, and a refund will be issued on time.

Recruiting Affiliates

Since Clickbank also has a marketplace, you can recruit new affiliates more easily. Of course, it depends on your product’s niche. If you niche is very small, this may not get you new affiliates.

Reports

You can see sales reports and know in which point your customers left the buying process.

One-Click Upsell

You can use a one-click upsell feature for upselling to your customers and giving them special offers.

Clickbank Cons

Approval Time

Your product needs to be approved by Clickbank, and it usually takes about 3-5 business days. It may take longer if you need to adjust things.

Communication with Affiliates

Contacting your affiliates is a problem, since they are registered through Clickbank. If you want to be able to contact them, you need to register them to the affiliate program through your website.

Strict Rules

Clickbank has very strict rules in regarding which products can be sold in their marketplace and they also have strict guidelines you must follow. If you want to save yourself time, read their guidelines carefully before you submit your product for approval.

Account Activation Fee

When you open a new vendor’s account in Clickbank, you need to pay $50 for the first account, and $29.95 for every new account from the second one you open (you need to mention it to them before the payment).

Limited Amount of Products

Clickbank allows only 1 product for every account. You can set different prices for each product, however, if you want to sell different products, you need to open a new account.

Limited Product Price

Clickbank usually has problems with new products that are being priced over $100, since they are afraid of high refund rates. If you want to price you product higher than $100 you need to give them a good reason, or wait till your account starts to generate sales and get good reputation.

Brand Name Issue

If your product’s name includes a brand name, Clickbank will most likely to reject your product, but it really is a matter of luck so send you product for approval anyway.

Refund Policy

Whether you like it or not, Clickbank has a 60 days money back guarantee policy and you must comply with it. Also, Clickbank issues a refund automatically when the client asks for one, without allowing the vendor to contact the customer first to try and solve the problem.

Clickbank’s overall Reputation

Though Clickbank has some very good pros, it is still considered a bit sleazy, because of past hype products they have in their marketplace.

JVZoo is another marketplace for selling digital products, and though it does not have a fixed integration with Wishlist Member, it is still an option for many membership sites owners.

JVZoo’s Pros

Contacting Your Affiliates

Your account can be integrated with your autoresponder, so you can contact your affiliates later on for promotions and contests and basically anything you want.

Unlimited Amount of Products

You can upload as many products as you want to your account.

Vendors and Affiliates Features

Ability to track links, build a partner program for super affiliates, add one-time-offer for up-sells, have a “Dime sale” and increase your sales every number of sales that you choose which is a great way to create urgency, add contests and even  create a sales page right inside JVZoo’s and host it there.

100% Affiliate Commission

You can choose to pay affiliates 100% of all commissions if you want to.

Immediate Payment for Affiliates

Affiliates are paid instantly by the vendor, so it can be a very good incentive for affiliates to want to promote your products over others.

Set Different Price Quotes

You can set your product’s prices to be raise after every number of sales.

Create Sales Pages with JZVoo

You as a merchant can create your sales pages and host them inside JVZoo very easily so even if you don’t have a website you can still sell products.

JVZoo’s Cons

Integration with Wishlist Member

JVZoo doesn’t fully integrate with Wishlist Member, so if you still want to integrate it with Wishlist, you can currently do that using Clickbank’s integration settings. JVZoo’s API is currently using Clickbank’s integration, however, they can change their API at any time, and it may cause issues in the integration process.

Contacting JVZoo

You cannot contact JVZoo through phone, like with Clickbank.

PayPal Accounts Access

In order for Jvzoo to be able to handle refunds and include all parties involved in the payment chain, it must be granted access to both vendors and affiliates PayPal accounts. This can be somewhat discouraging for affiliates and can cause some of them not to register to your affiliate program. You can read more about it inside Jvzoo’s knowledgebase center

Refund Policy

Also, if a customer opens a dispute for a refund directly through PayPal, you need to contact JVZoo to make sure the refund will pass through them, so the money that was paid to all the sides involved and got paid (JVZoo, vendor and affiliate) will be refunded properly.

InfusionSoft is a complete all-in-one solution for selling online. It integrates CRM (customer relationship management), e-commerce platform and email marketing.

Being an all-in-one solution, it does have some great benefits, however, it may not be suitable for everyone’s needs, since it is much more complicated to understand and use and it is also expensive.

InfusionSoft’s Pros

Good Reputation

Since InfusionSoft is expensive in comparison to over solutions, you are likely to have better reputation, since the assumption is that if you can afford to pay a high monthly fee ($299/month), you are likely generating high revenues from your products/ services.

Promotion Materials for Affiliates

You can upload promotion materials for your affiliates, and they can also easily generate tracking links from their affiliate account. The more promotion tools your affiliates have, the higher the chances for them to promote your products.

Unlimited Number of Products

You can upload as many products as you want.

InfusionSoft’s Cons

High Monthly Fee

Using InfusionSoft costs $299/ month, so if you only need an affiliate program and you are not going to benefit from their “all-in-one” solution, this may not be the best option for you.

Slow Learning Curve

Since InfusionSoft has so many features and options, it takes time to learn how to use it correctly and to fully take advantage of its potential.

In conclusion

I think that the most suitable solution for the average membership site owner will be Clickbank.

Of course, it really depends on the plans you have for your business, on the type of business you build and on how much money you predict to make from your site.

I hope this was helpful for you and that it helped you on your decision which affiliate program to use.

If you are looking for a more thorough guide, you can check out our guide “Choosing an Affiliate Program for Your Wishlist Member Membership Site” which includes a more in-depth comparison and also more affiliate programs and is available for purchase here.

Also, if you have any more tips regarding the above affiliate programs or other programs you have been using, please write us a comment in the comment section below. Thanks! 

You May Find These Posts Interesting:

Choosing an Affiliate Program for Your Wishlist Member Membership Site

WP Affiliate Surge Review

Affiliate Royale Review

Choosing the Best Shopping Cart for Your Wishlist Member Membership Site

Choosing The Best Support Help Desk for Your Membership Site – Complete Guide

prev next