Hi

I have been busy developing my own merchant website over the last 5 months and am about to go live. In this time I have gone from practically zero knowledge on e-commerce to having a solid understanding of whats required to increase and drive sales online.

Recently I have been in discussions with the owners of three other companies / merchants who all have similar traits:

i) Great content rich websites
ii) Fantastic products
iii) Excellent brand awareness within their markets

Another thing that these companies have in common is that they have no affiliate marketing schemes, and they have asked me to look into setting up their first affiliate programmes:tup

Prelimary discussions have centered around myself helping them to increase sales through affiliate marketing, this is the most important area the three merchants want to improve i.e. online sales,.

First question, has any managers got any seasoned advise that they wish they had heard when starting out?

Secondly, any advise on what network to use and advise on how to set up a plan of action.

I would like to eventually manage a portfolio of companies helping them reach their goals through affiliate marketing.

Thanks!
Bradley