When it comes to managing a network of affiliate websites, realize that the 80/20 rule definitely exists and is probably closer to 90/10. That rule being that 90% of all income from affiliate websites will come from 10% of your clients. Another way to look at it is 90% of your affiliates will essentially make you very little money, so you must focus on finding and working with the right clients.
Just like any business model you don’t want all your eggs in one basket (one big client), but the quality of an affiliate website client is more important than the quantity in your network. The best clients who use an affiliate website for fundraising purposes typically follow three rules: 1. They have a market of customers who want their product, 2. They have great artwork / a brand that customers like, 3. They know how to market and drive traffic to their website. So customers, artwork, and marketing are the three main qualities that typically make up a great affiliate website client.
In order to recruit a potential affiliate client sometimes a fulfillment center might want to take some initiative and “show” not “tell” a business/individual their affiliate website opportunity. Telling a business that you can provide them with an “online store” that your business will drop-ship for definitely works, but sometimes it makes sense to actually build an affiliate website before meeting with the client. By taking the initiative to build a custom affiliate website for a client you are able to show them what can be launched today instead of what you can do. It is only a good idea to do this if you are certain the affiliate will not mind / think you are overstepping your bounds. However, no risk, no reward.
