| Any good affiliate marketing program has free | | | | 3. Tools for handling all types of commission structures. |
| software tools to help it operate effectively. These | | | | There are three types of commissions, pay-per-click, |
| free software tools make it fast and easy to access | | | | per-sale, and per-lead. You should have tools for |
| services relating to the program. | | | | handling each one, just in case you offer more than |
| Running an affiliate program can be overwhelming | | | | one kind of commission option. |
| without the proper support. The purpose of affiliate | | | | 4. Real time reporting is also useful. This allows you to |
| program tools is to mainstream the administrative | | | | keep all of your business up-to-date and current. |
| process. There are a variety of free software tools | | | | 5. Marketing tools. Some free software tools offer |
| used by affiliate marketing programs, but there are | | | | image banners, pop-ups, HTML banners, and more. |
| certain features you may find more useful than others. | | | | This takes some of the hassle out of creating |
| Before deciding on your affiliate marketing program | | | | everything from scratch. |
| tools, take time to think of the features you want to | | | | 6. Instant e-mail communication. Instant e-mail |
| provide. Consider what you want to accomplish with | | | | communication enables you to be informed when |
| your program, and work from there. Here are some | | | | anyone joins your affiliate program. You can also send |
| features to consider when evaluating free software | | | | mass email to all of your affiliates. |
| tools for use you're your affiliate marketing program: | | | | 7. Built-in fraud protection. To keep affiliates honest, |
| 1. Keyword selection tools help you find the perfect | | | | fraud protection seeks to eliminate false reports of |
| keywords to market your business. Keyword selection | | | | sales, clicks, or other dishonest activity. |
| tools help you track the popularity of certain words, | | | | 8. No sign-up fee or yearly dues. There are plenty of |
| and see how they rank in search engines. This also | | | | affiliate marketing tools that are available for free, or |
| helps with keyword optimization for copy on your | | | | for a one-time low-cost. |
| website. | | | | It may take awhile to find the tools you need, but it will |
| 2. Report analyzers offer a variety of tracking tools | | | | be worth the effort. Outsourcing is also a good option. |
| for certain aspects of your affiliate program. For | | | | There may be a monthly fee, but you usually get |
| instance, you can track the number of affiliates signed | | | | support also. Having reliable marketing tools save time, |
| with your program, you can track their performance, | | | | money, and effort in the long run. |
| and many other aspects of the program. | | | | |