There’s a common misconception that running an affiliate program is only good for driving extra sales. While this is definitely a big perk, it’s certainly not the only reason.

An affiliate program, properly designed and executed, can drastically increase your audience. This means more customers now and, more importantly, more prospects for future product sales.

In fact, many top entrepreneurs openly admit that they will run affiliate programs where they actually pay out MORE money in commissions then they earn in the sale.

What?! Why would you ever want to run a campaign that intentionally loses money? Well these smart guys have figured out that they are likely to make so much additional income on future sales, that it actually dwarfs the losses from the affiliate launch and they are willing to take the initial hit.

Running an affiliate program is one of the fastest ways to grow your sales and audience, but it’s not magic — you MUST have products and services that are high value and WOW your customers. Without this critical component, your launch will backfire and actually hurt your reputation in the marketplace.

As in all good businesses, providing high quality service and great products is the cornerstone of successful growth and integrity.

Interested in setting up an affiliate program for your business?

*image credit:  buddawiggi