You may wonder why so many affiliate programs have high payout thresholds. Believe it or not, it is often not because the person running the program is greedy and wants to keep your money. Although there are surely a few unscrupulous business owners who have such ulterior motives, they do not represent the majority. This article will explain affiliate program payout threshold - pros and cons to help you decide which is best for you.
Reduction of paperwork is one benefit to affiliate managers of having a high payment threshold. Every time they make a payment, entries must be made into their computer system and paperwork is created that must be filed. Fewer payments mean less paperwork. They also mean lower fees from payment processors such as Paypal. The best reason of all for setting the threshold for payment high is to protect the affiliate from people who want to sign up, buy the product through their own affiliate link and cheat the person who made the referral out of his commission.
As long as the threshold is high enough that more than one sale must be made in order for an affiliate to be paid, most potential cheats will be deterred by the payment threshold. There is a downside to having a high affiliate payment threshold though. If the threshold is too high you might never see your money.
Some program managers set their minimum payout so high that it takes several sales to receive a check. If it takes more than a few sales to get your money, you have to evaluate the odds of your making enough sales to receive your commissions. If you have to make ten sales to qualify for a payment, you might want to reconsider selling that company’s product and choose one that is more likely to result in a payment.
One way to reduce the risk of having a little bit of money in accounts here and there but not enough to receive payment is to sign up with an affiliate program that offers a wide range of products. If you have hundreds or even thousands of products to choose from, it will be much easier to reach the affiliate payout threshold. If one product doesn’t sell well, you can try promoting something else.
When you are signing up for an affiliate program, try to find programs that give clear warnings right on the sign up page that buying the product for yourself through your affiliate link is not allowed. Programs that emphasize the methods they have put into effect to catch violators of this policy are desirable because this will help ensure that you get the commission for the sales you are responsible for.
Learn more about other factors that should be considered when choosing an affiliate program. Stop by Affilla.com’s site where you can search for the best affiliate programs right for you.