As an affiliate or publisher with a new site, you’re in the position of convincing merchants or advertisers that you will bring qualified buyers to their sites. Your traffic, demographics and content of your site will be reviewed by the merchants, and you will be approved by those who feel you can bring them additional sales.

So, you’ve gone on for six months or longer, and some merchant sites have done better than others. Some have done MUCH better than the others. How can you capitalize upon this? Well, flesh and blood salespeople often earn the right to higher commission rates and benefits once they have proven themselves. And a great online sales originator can often get additional consideration. Remember – you are a no-risk proposition to a merchant or advertiser – and for them getting the same level of sales from a group of super affiliates simplifies life considerably.

Ask the program manager at the merchant site how you rank in their pool of affiliates, as well as in your category of merchant, such as women’s apparel. If you’re in the top group, there may be room for re-negotiation of your commission agreement. Merchants value being able to predict good sales from your site, and an increase in commission for a partner that produces and is easy to deal with, and keeps up their end of the bargain is important.

Bolster your case by quantifying your increase in sales over time, and be prepared to show that this is not a fluke. For instance, catalog the improvements in your site that have made it more content rich and more attractive to the buyers they seek to reach. And show them your plans for further enhancing your site. You may even be able to negotiate a reciprocal link, where they send visitors to your site. This is the cat bird’s seat of the affiliate partnership!

Karen Kari's articles and more information on the affiliate business can be found at:

http://www.affiliatebandit.com
http://www.advertisingcellar.com
http://www.billionfreeads.com