Affiliate Marketing - Choosing Pay-per-Lead Over Pay-per-Sale Programs

Pay-per-sale programs are so attractive to affiliate marketers because they involve higher commission rates. What they don't realize is that they can actually make so much more from pay-per-lead programs. In this type of program, affiliate marketers simply need to gather information from visitors in order to gain commissions. Even though commission rates are lower, you can potentially gain much more because generating leads is definitely much easier than generating sales. Keep in mind that it is easier for more of your visitors to fill up a registration form than to actually make a purchase on your mechant site. This is especially true if you attract them to sign up for something worthwhile such as a newsletter or a free gift.

When you promote high-ticket items for a pay-per-sale affiliate marketing program, you can reach the typical conversion rate of 0.5%. If the program pays $50 for every sale, you can earn $50 for every 200 visitors to your site. While this may seem like enough money for you, you should consider how much more you can make from pay-per-lead programs that have typical conversion rates of 20% to 40%. Even if the program paid just $2 per lead that you generate, you can earn anywhere from $80 to $160 for every 200 visitors at these conversion rates. Just imagine how much you can earn if the program's commission per lead is higher.

That is the reason why so many affiliate marketers succeed with pay-per-lead programs. Because conversion rates are higher, all they need to worry about is attracting targeted traffic to their affiliate site. Among the most popular ways to do this is through the development of a content-rich website or blog that directs traffic to your affiliate link. You can also benefit from Google Adwords. Through a successful Google Adwords campaign, you have the potential to earn so much more with pay-per-lead affiliate marketing programs.