In the survey industry, it’s hard for small companies to find others to join panels because they have little time on their hands. Here is where every person can put their personal connections to work and invite others to join panels. You don’t have to be a large corporation with deep pockets and lots of resources to be an affiliate and refer others.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a form of performance-based marketing where the person who is paying for leads only pays based on measurable results. This ultimately means that someone can hire you as an affiliate to refer others, and you can get paid for hitting certain goals such as membership joins, survey completes, or some other type of action the company wants completed.
Why do companies use affiliates vs doing everything in-house?
Many companies try to do most of the referring themselves by optimizing their web pages for search engine optimization. This means they try to use keywords that will get them noticed in searches. In many cases this is not enough and these companies have to go to other resources to help drive traffic to their site.
Companies often turn to search giants like Bing, Google, or Yahoo to help spread their message through cost per click advertising. These systems don't always work and are often not enough. They need to reach the subset of the population who have advertising blockers and filters on and those who don't ever click on ads.
The reason these companies turn to referral programs is so they are better able to reach a much broader audience. They pay people like you to help spread their message and pay you for each action you are able to finish.
How do you get credit for referring others?
Generally when you sign up to refer others and agree to the terms of service, you will be provided a referral link also known as a URL. Once you get the unique URL, you can share that by whatever method you are authorized to share.
Once someone clicks on the link you provide and completes the necessary steps (required by the company to consider someone as a “referral,” such as fully join the website, complete a survey, etc.), you will get credit for that action.
Suggestions on How to Refer Others
Be creative on how you share with others. There is no one way to start sharing. Below are a few ideas to help you get started:
- Share on social networking sites
- Invite friends through email
- Write on your blog or webpage
- Have someone you know post on their blog
Read your agreement before signing
Not all referral programs are the same, so make sure you know what you are agreeing to before you sign up. You are dealing with money. Make sure you a) get paid; b) know the rules of referring others; c) know how you will get paid; and d) know when you will get paid and in what form of payment this will be.
For more information on referrals, read the article How to Refer Someone, and review the section about what to watch for in your referral agreement.