Since Missy Ward is the Co-founder of the Affiliate Summit conference series, we thought she would be a great candidate to get affiliate marketing advice from. As evidenced in this video, Missy offers up some compelling suggestions regarding affiliate marketing.

While there are many rewards to affiliate marketing, there are also a few risks that people don’t always consider. Risks can include fraud, brand damage, and even legal issues. Missy says the rewards far outweigh the risks. A few of the rewards she points out are low start up and customer acquisition costs, driven sales force, and a channel to search marketing strategies.

Now that you know that there are both risks and rewards, you’re ready to continue with your affiliate program. But how do you get noticed? Missy says she gets asked that question all the time. In her session at PubCon South, she gave the following answers to this question:

-    Provide tutorials
-    Get to know your affiliates
-    Get social – Blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
-    Share metrics
-    Attend and organize affiliate marketing events
-    Speak and get published
-    Establish relationships with journalists and bloggers
-    Get listed in affiliate directories
-    Advertise to recruit affiliates

Missy also recommends actively participating in affiliate marketing forums such as ABestWeb.

Lastly, before starting an affiliate program, make sure you have the time and resources to invest in it. If you don’t, you will be left with an affiliate program that does not perform.