Your thoughts on minimum payout?

[DrMarie]

I set up my new affiliate program with a $20 minimum payout. (Affiliates get 25% of either an $8 or $15 sale.)

However, the more I think about it, it doesn't seem fair to not pay someone for business they have sent me.

I'm considering going to no minimum payout. Is there any negative to this other than the fact that I will be making lots of small payments to people? I'm pretty sure if I use Paypal masspay the cost is the same whether I pay 2 or 200 people.

 

[Ron Bechdolt]

Marie,

In setting a minimum you also encourage affiliates to make more sales.

Another thing to consider is with payout for just one sale you may get people signing up for the affiliate program just to buy the one product themselves.

Based on my experience I would pay once a month and at your $20 minimum. $20 is actually low compared to some programs so you would be doing well to set it at that amount.

 

[Linda Buquet]

I agree with Ron!

 

[djbaxter]

I also agree with Ron.

Although you could give affiliates a choice, the reality is that PayPal charges an additional fee, albeit small (I think it's 50 cents or something), for withdrawals under $150.00, which makes withdrawing anything less than $20 not very cost effective in any case. My guess is that given a choice, affiliates would probably choose some thing $20 or $25 or higher anyway.

 

[Toucan-marketing]

I agree.20 bucks seems fair, and I constantly increase my payout level myself because of fees. Also if you have international affiliates, you have to consider that they might lose money. I get charged ?7 for cashing in a USD cheque plus losing on the exchange rate, too.

 

[flammableeye]

$20 seems perfectly fine to me. If there is an option for it then give your clients a choice

 

[mlevenhagen]

I'm considering going to no minimum payout. Is there any negative to this other than the fact that I will be making lots of small payments to people? I'm pretty sure if I use Paypal masspay the cost is the same whether I pay 2 or 200 people.

You do still get charged.. the benefit with masspay is on the affiliates side because you bear the fee and they get the full commission payment.. but for you it's still 2% with a cap of $1.00 per payment (still not bad!).

I use masspay to pay all my affiliates.. I don't have any minimum officially set, but most of my commissions are above $10 so it's never bothered me to pay the couple cents. And it's just easier to pay out (especially on new or those one hit wonder affiliates) right away so they don't sit there staring at me in my system every month.

Definitely if you can make it a choice though.. being an affiliate too (from that perspective), I generally like the higher payouts, but I know a lot of those affiliates starting out need all the bread crumbs they can get to get their business off the ground and those funds reinvested. What's peanuts to you might mean a lot more to someone on a budget trying to make it as an affiliate.