For one thing affiliate commissions are easily the biggest cost in any affiliate marketing program. Moreover, payout rates are one of the most significant factors evaluated by affiliates in choosing which merchants to promote. Fortunately, determining payout rates and methods is entirely up to the merchant. Regardless of the particulars, the importance of properly structuring affiliate payouts can't be overstated. Click, Lead, Sale With over 3,000 merchants now offering affiliate programs, payouts vary tremendously from merchant to merchant.
Many merchants seem to trade originality for low risk.
As a result pay per sale programs are easily the most common. If you pay too little, your program will never really get off the ground. Likewise, if you offer a pay per sale program when your true goal is to drive awareness, affiliates may drop your program as quickly as they first joined it due to poor earnings. Similarly more and more merchants are shying away from per click programs, in many cases due to improper planning and implementation, which leads to affiliate fraud. Pay too much or for the wrong clicks and your program runs the risk of self-destructing.