The Truth About International Affiliates

This guest post was written by Dina Riccobono of MarketLeverage. If you live within the United States or Canada, affiliate marketing is pretty easy to understand. However, if you are an international affiliate, you may be limited by time differences, network compliances and payment limitations. I was recently talking with Dina about how international affiliates are managed and accepted differently on the affiliate network side. Dina took the time to put this great informative post together covering many questions on international affiliate marketing. Feel free to follow up with any questions, and I’m sure she will be happy to respond.

Q: Do networks automatically reject affiliate applicants from other countries?

While I can’t speak for other affiliate networks, MarketLeverage does not automatically reject affiliate applicants from other countries.  MarketLeverage’s international applicants go through the same review process as our U.S. based publishers.  While there are a couple of supplementary forms that we require for verification & for payment purposes, MarketLeverage is excited to expand its business with every affiliate, regardless of their location.

Q: What extra steps do international affiliates have to go through, and why?

We require each of our international applicants to fill out our bank reference form and an I.R.S. W-8 tax form.  A W-8 tax form is required by the I.R.S. for every international affiliate that we work with.  Our bank reference form allows us to validate each applicant’s business, which helps protect our advertisers and our network.  Once an international affiliate’s account gets approved, we ask them to provide us with their bank’s wire transfer information.  Over the years, we’ve discovered that wire payments allow our international publishers to receive their MarketLeverage earnings on time, versus having them waste time waiting to receive a commission check via snail mail, and then having to deposit the commission check, only to wait for the funds to clear their bank.

Q: What do I need to know before I start running offers?

First, you should read and completely familiarize yourself with our network’s Publisher Terms and Conditions.  Second, you should be fully aware of the laws, industry regulations, and general guidelines for your specific method of online marketing, in the US and internationally.  For example, if you own or manage an email list, you should have full knowledge of the CAN-SPAM Act, as well as have a complete understanding of our publisher terms and conditions, and our network’s additional terms regarding email marketing.  In the same way, if you promote offers via paid search, display ads, contextual traffic, or downloadable software, you should read and understand our network’s additional terms and conditions regarding your specific marketing method.

Q: How do I know when my manager or a network is available?

Standard U.S. business hours are Monday through Friday, between 9:00am and 5:00pm, in each respective time zone.  MarketLeverage’s business hours are Monday through Friday, from 9:00am to 6:00pm, in the Eastern Time Zone.  In addition to having direct telephone access to your Publisher Manager during our business hours, your Publisher Manager is accessible through AOL Instant Messenger, as well as through email.  Should you wish to contact your Publisher Manager outside of our business hours, simply send an email directly to your Publisher Manager and he or she will reply by the next business day.  Also, you may want to consider establishing a weekly appointment time that’s convenient for you to speak with your Publisher Manager on the phone!  After all, our Publisher Managers are here to help you! In the rare event that an issue is of an extremely serious nature, our website’s emergency contact form may be used, which is monitored around the clock, every day of the year.

Q: Do I have to speak to someone over the phone?

Phone calls are a requirement at some networks to verify the information you provided online.  If you have difficulty communicating over the telephone, then simply explain your situation, and the affiliate network may consider speaking to you via email or instant messenger.

Q: Do I need to keep in touch with my Publisher Manager if I’m an experienced affiliate?

Absolutely! Developing a relationship with your Publisher Manager is a must for all affiliates, regardless of your level of expertise!  At MarketLeverage, your personal Publisher Manager serves as an invaluable resource.  They will provide you with beneficial, personalized updates regarding the best offers that fit your niche.  They can also give you customized statistics for any offer available on our network, which will help increase your revenues with us!  Should the advertiser discontinue an offer that you’re promoting with us, you may be informed faster by your Publisher Manager, and will receive suggestions to replace that offer with similar, top performing offers- which will help you maintain your revenue!

Q: How do I know which deal will work for me?

Though there are no guarantees, there are four basic guidelines that you can follow that can ensure the best results possible.  One: make sure that the offer you’re interested in running accepts traffic from the country that you’re targeting.  If an offer only accepts traffic from U.S. audiences, but your traffic comes from Australian sources, then the offer will not perform for you.  Two: make sure the offer you want to promote accepts traffic from the media type you’re using.  For example, if you’re a search publisher, make sure that the offer you are interested in running accepts search traffic.  You will not receive payment if you send your search traffic to an offer that only accepts traffic from email marketers.  Three:  always follow the network’s terms and conditions, and comply with any additional guidelines that our advertisers request.  Four (and most importantly):  feel free to ask your Publisher Manager for their recommendations at any time!

Q: Can I find out more about MarketLeverage before applying?

Of course!  In addition to visiting MarketLeverage.com, we designed MarketLeverageTV.com, or MLTV, with that purpose in mind!  MLTV gets updated weekly, allowing you to find out which of our network’s current offers come highly recommended.  MLTV also offers the latest industry news & insight, and gives you a way to get know some of the team members you’ll be working with!  MarketLeverage also offers GreenLinks affiliate tutorial videos, another great resource to answer general questions about the industry and navigating around our network.