Getting More Affiliates - Learning Through History

Getting more affiliates is a major concern for most online vendors. Competing in the online marketplace has become as difficult as competing in the virtual world. Vendors who depend on the Internet as a cheap method of branding and promotion are always keen on getting more affiliates in order to survive the marketplace. Internet options are unlimited, you can find as many affiliates as you want, but good affiliates can spell the distinction between poor and exceptional sales. A look at the history of affiliate programs can be enlightening. You will get new ideas from the past, learn not to repeat the mistakes made by others, and find affiliates who will have a passion for promoting products in the niche you want to be known in.

Affiliate programs are as old as the history of marketing. However, we will discuss the history of online affiliate programs here. The internet became a phenomenon in the mid-1990s. No one is sure who the first vendor was who came up with the idea of getting more affiliates online for promoting his business. However, some people claim that the first affiliate programs were started by Amazon.com. The first affiliate program on a big, commercial scale was started by Jeff Bezos. This program was also the most highly publicized of the online affiliate programs. Amazon was successful in getting more affiliates through its convenient features, easy registration and setup.

Small Scale Programs

There were probably many small-scale, less hyped affiliate programs before Amazon. However, we will probably never know about them. The reason for this vagueness is that the Internet was still new, with less efficient means of documentation and record keeping. In addition, as some people claim, the first websites that were successful in getting more affiliates were probably part of the adult entertainment industry. Today, Amazon does not claim to be the pioneer of affiliate marketing programs online.

LinkShare

The first website that was successful in getting more affiliates online was LinkShare. The website was launched in 1996. Probably more than any other affiliate program, LinkShare managed to attract a fair number of affiliates soon after its launch.

Be Free

Be Free started out on a small scale, and soon grew to be one of the foremost affiliate networks of its time. Be Free later became a part of Value Click, another prominent affiliate network.

When more and more websites started getting more affiliates through online programs rather than mailing programs, online directories for affiliates started coming up. Associate Programs was set up by Alan Gardyne.

Affiliate programs are as old as the Internet. Most of them did a good job of getting more affiliates to sign up online. Thanks to these pioneers, we can look forward to lucrative affiliate marketing businesses online, today.

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