What is an Affiliate Program?
An affiliate program is a modern business idea that uses a revenue sharing scheme which is used by many sites on the web to generate revenue. The affiliate program has proved to be a good business model for businesses where the number of potential customers is vast.
Our affiliate programs cost nothing to join, but every time you refer a paying customer to us you take a share of the profit. The more prominent the link you give us, the more users will buy and the more money will be generated for you.
How much does it cost to become an affiliate?
Nothing! It’s absolutely FREE!
What products are available for sale by affiliates?
Although Affiliate Programs sell many insurance and loan products, the ones that also convert well are Mortgage Leads, Car Insurance, Credit cards and Other Finance products. The business of Airport parking, Holidays and Holiday Extras is very lucrative. Our new mobile phone products such as ring tones and logos are also proving to be very popular indeed.
As we introduce more products to the affiliate program scheme we will contact you to see if you are interested in promoting these too.
How much will you pay me?
We like affiliates to work hard at selling our products so we pay them well, we are not just another ‘paste a hyperlink and sit back’ company! You can earn from basic pocket money to a very comfortable living depending on the popularity of your site. We will supply you with the exact figures on application, but it is safe to say that you will be paid a generous percentage of each policy sold. There are highly beneficial terms to ensure that we all are able to claim our share of over £500,000,000 in annual commissions that are available in the UK alone. We will certainly pay you much more than one of the automated affilliate program companies such as Trade Doubler or Commission Junction.
Through the popularity of our system one of our larger affiliates makes over £18,000 each week.
How and when do you pay me?
We send you a cheque in sterling 30 days after the end of the referred month.
How do I know you will pay out?
We ask you to sign an agreement that guarantees you will be paid all commissions resulting from the sale of a policy. We also ensure all sales are tracked by the unique identifier we give you to build into the link. This ensures no sale coming from your website will be missed.
How much work is involved?
As much or as little as you want to do! However we recommend that you submit your site to search engines regularly and seriously consider optimizing your site to make it attractive to search engines. See the promoting your web site section for further advice.
Can I get help with promoting my web site?
We find the excellent Marketing Forum site very useful.
UK Affiliate
Marketing Forum is a discussion forum where you can exchange
ideas and post requests for help.
Why do First Affiliate Program need affiliates to sell their products?
There is no shortage of customers for our products especially in today’s online market. It’s a bit like selling beer in pubs, there will always be a demand, but we need them to buy ours rather than somebody else's. Cross marketing is the secret, for instance if a web site sells skiing holidays or scuba diving courses, it would probably get travel insurance customers who were not initially looking for travel insurance. A sports equipment shop is another example of an ideal affiliate for travel insurance.
Do I have to be a ‘proper company’ to sell insurance?
No, because it is just your job to get customers to click your unique link to the affiliate program site, from then on all the queries, sales and after sale care are handled by First Affiliate Program.
How do I know I'm suitable?
Most web sites will qualify for our affiliates program although there are a few types of site we will not accept: Web sites that discriminate or promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, physical disability, sexual orientation or national origin, web sites that show or promote sexually explicit material, web sites that show or promote violence, web sites that show, promote or commit illegal activities, web sites that encourage the violation of or violate international intellectual property rights.
Similarly we do not tolerate any affiliate member spamming by email, newsgroups, ICQ or any other means.
OK, I am very interested in becoming an affiliate, what do I do next?
Just complete our simple form and we will be in touch very shortly, soon after that you will be able to start making some money.
Once the agreement has been signed, an account will be set up for you. We will then email you a unique link so that all your sales are tracked.
Framed link vs Banner ads vs Dedicated web sites
To what extent you incorporate our services is always up to you because each site is unique. Banners / logos are simple to incorporate, don't take up much room and are reasonably effective marketing tools. Framing our site within yours guarantees you don't lose traffic and adds content to attract back your users. Some of our affiliates use both strategies to great affect. An example of a dedicated website is www.uk-mortgage-protection.com
I am not based in the UK can I still be an affiliate?
Most of our products are biased towards the UK market, however there is no reason why you can’t be located anywhere in The World as long as your site attracts UK traffic. For instance, The webmaster for UK Insurance Online actually lives in a ski resort in The Southern French Alps.
Is an exclusive deal wanted?
Certainly not! Our conversion rates are currently the best on the web so we don't mind sitting alongside our competitors if they don't. However you will find that our rates are better than any other company.
What if my sales don't convert?
Don't worry, they will, it's all just a numbers game. The products you are selling are good value and excellent qualityand have been shown to convert well. But if the amount generated doesn't match your expectations, all we would ask you to do is contact us directly at our office before removing the link. That way we both have the chance to discuss other opportunities your affiliation may have generated.
Is the contract binding?
The agreement simply states that should you have a link from your site to ours, then it is our duty to pay you a certain commission based on the number of quotes that have converted. It doesn't lock you into anything and you may stop at any time.
Why are your products cheaper the competitors?
First Affiliate Program charge less than the vast majority of our competitors because we are simply less greedy and more efficient. Unlike the lenders and unscrupulous brokers, who profiteer at their client’s expense. First Affiliate Program only need to take a modest commission because our online administration system vastly reduces our operating costs. With this saving, we purchase far superior policies for our clients from the same underwriters that our competitors use.
What promotional techniques do you recommend?
First Affiliate Program have been working hard to get ranked high with search engines and in the process have discovered some excellent tools and techniques. See our section on Promotional tools.
But I don’t have a website?
Then build one! Most professionals use the excellent Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, but there are lots of free tools out there too. If you need professional web space contact Rick Lomas at ricklomas.com who can supply you with 20Mb of space on a Windows 2000 server with Frontpage Extensions, ASP 3.0 and unlimited email addresses for just £300/year.
Who are First Affiliate Program?
First Affiliate Program are the affiliate arm of the First Finance Company and are associates of GISC, BIBA and CIFMA. We have traded successfully since the early 1990’s achieving a premium income approaching £50 million.
All risks unless otherwise stated are placed at Lloyd’s or other specialist London Market insurers with whom First Affiliate Program have negotiated unique and highly competitive insurance facilities.