Which came first: the chicken or the egg?
It’s a common question for new affiliate marketers – How do you get approved as an affiliate at an Affiliate Network, if you don’t yet have your affiliate site created?
The question came up again on my recent post titled HTML Tips: Anatomy of an Affiliate Link. Carlos asked:
Hi Lynn, I just got my domain name and hosting account and I plan to use this site to promote affiliate products. The question is about CJ.com … they asked me for my website on the affiliate application, but at the moment my site is empty. Will CJ approve my application anyway – or not? If not, what do I have to do first? What is the process if my website is only to promote things?
When you create your first affiliate site, or a new affiliate site that requires new affiliate relationships, it’s best to set the site up first.
The big concern that most people have is wasting time setting up an affiliate site, without knowing for sure if they will get approved to the affiliate program or affiliate network they want to work with.
The fact is, to get good favor with both Affiliate Networks – and with Google, your website needs to offer value. Meaning if you don’t monetize it at all, or your strip out all the promotions, it still offers valuable content to human visitors.
See: Warning: “Thin Affiliate Sites”
You have a few options…
If your affiliate site is ecommerce-style, meaning it looks like an online store and each product you feature simply deep links to the merchant’s product detail page, you can go ahead and create the entire site in good faith that the merchant (or network they work with) will approve your affiliate application.
You can start with direct links to the the merchant’s products and change them to affiliate links later, or leave out the links and add them in later.
Personally I don’t recommend relying on only one merchant as an Affiliate Marketer. I usually create an affiliate site with at least 3 merchants in mind. A primary merchant (the one I most want to work with or promote), a secondary merchant (as back-up, or for additional options to offer my market), and a third merchant is just good measure. When I can’t find a 3rd merchant, Amazon.com usually makes a good back-up option.
The reason is because sometimes merchants close up shop, discontinue their affiliate program, or make other changes that make you want to stop working with them. Never create an affiliate site around ONE merchant or ONE product.
So go ahead and create your affiliate site, and populate it with content and/or products. Fill out your affiliate applications, include the URL to your affiliate site, and include a note in the comments section of the application if they offer one on the form. Mention that this is a new site, and you look forward to working with XYZ merchant. Include your name and telephone number with the comment for good measure.
Another option is to create a related blog. This blog can be used to write content that leads into a specific recommendation, linking to specific products on your affiliate site, so you can funnel traffic from the search engines to your specific product pages. Populate the blog with good content, use it in your affiliate applications, and then add in the recommendations later once you are approved.
Getting Declined by Merchants or Affiliate Networks
This is going to happen. It even happens to me, and I’m a Super Affiliate. In fact, just yesterday I was declined by Priceline in the CJ Network. I had signed up to be their affiliate, with plans to promote them on my new GeekTrax website.
Often you’ll get declined because of something in your profile at the network, or because your website is unfinished or unrelated. In my case, the website(s) in my CJ profile were not related to travel, and so Priceline denied my request to be their affiliate.
In a case like this, I always write back to the merchant with a request for reconsideration. CJ (Commission Junction) has it’s own messaging system, so I simply wrote a short reply to them directly through the network, and explained who I am and what I do – and how/where I plan to promote their program.
Affiliate Managers get a large number of requests every day, but they ARE looking for quality affiliates that will promote their offers. Go the extra step in letting them know why they should approve your application.
And like I said, have back-up merchants in the wings in the case that your preferred merchant doesn’t approve you. You can always come back later and apply again once your affiliate site is more established.
Affiliate Networks vs Independent Affiliate Merchants
Apply for the Affiliate Networks in the beginning, but if you don’t get approved right away then seek out independent affiliate merchants. There are many affiliate programs outside of the major networks that offer instant approval.
Just go to Google and type in your main keyword and the word “affiliate” or “commission”. So you might type in “baby bedding affiliate” or “baby bedding commission” (without quotes) and look for independent merchants. You can also search ClickBank or $7 Offers for relevant info-products to recommend – these don’t require approval and are open to anyone.
Final Note…
If you’re really passionate about your topic and your business model, invest the time to set it up and get it established – even without a monetization strategy to start. Set up social media profiles and make a name for yourself in the niche. Build a readership and a following, and the merchants will be coming to you.
You can always use Google Adsense, or sell advertising, in the meantime. But don’t let the concern of declined affiliate applications deter you from starting the online business you want.
Best,
Also See:
Best Cheap Web Hosting
How to Start a WordPress Blog (Checklist)
How to Sell Products Online as an Affiliate
Affiliate Site Options & Examples
One way link building is an important part of your overall SEO strategy. The major search engines view these as high quality inbound links – when done right. 
