5 Ways To Deal with a Non-Paying Affiliate Partner

Affiliate marketing can be very lucrative, but from time to time you may find yourself struggling to grab the money you have earned from your affiliate partner. If you happen to deal with networks such as CJ and LinkShare, you have more leverage to put pressure on your partner. Unfortunately, that is not the case if you are a part of one of those smaller networks. A lot of times, those smaller networks only cover software issues and give your affiliate partner the final say on payments. That can be dangerous if your partner turns out to be a greedy business that’s willing to rob its affiliates out of their commissions.

Trying to get your commission from your affiliate partner can be difficult if you don’t have too much leverage. Once a company decides to go rogue and steal from its affiliates, then all rules are out of the window. That is actually very rare. Most companies that I have personally had issues with have not been rogue. Sometimes there are misunderstandings. It is essential for all affiliates to try their best to reach out their merchants before doing something drastic.

Here are 5 ways I would try to get my commission from my merchants:

• Contact and ask for explanation: mistakes happen. Assuming the worst is not going to help anyone. Affiliates should never do anything drastic without trying to contact their partner. Most ethical merchants will try to work with you and provide you with an explanation why your commission check has been held. Of course, from time to time, you may end up with a non-responsive partner.
• Do not sound desperate: acting desperate and begging for your commission check is not going to help. Staying professional is the way to go with dealing with a rogue partner. If they don’t respond to you, contact them again. Just don’t write graphic e-mails as that won’t solve anything.
• Search the Web for other forms of communication: affiliate partners that ignore their affiliates’ emails are very problematic. Sometimes, your e-mail could be filtered by your partners’ filters. So try to figure out if there is any other way you can communicate with your partner. Don’t assume the worst without trying other ways to reach out to your partner.
• Don’t burn your bridges unless you have to: don’t burn bridges with a partner if you disagree on one or two payments. I have had issues with many major affiliate programs in the past. Minor problems I can live with. As long as your partner is willing to communicate with you and try to work with you, there is no reason to burn your bridges with them.
• Use your channels to your advantage: if all has failed, you can use your social media presence and forums to put pressure on a non-paying affiliate partner. This is not an ideal solution, but if your partner does not respond to your e-mails, then you’ve got no choice (especially if we are talking about a significant amount of commission). Try to reach out to your partners on Twitter or Facebook if they are there. If they still don’t respond, it may be time to make your episode public. Not the best solution out there, but there is no harm in letting other affiliates know about your rogue merchant (staying professional here is a must).

There is no right way to deal with rogue affiliate programs. Every situation is different. What you don’t want to do as an affiliate is getting into a name calling contest with someone. Thankfully, there are not too many of these affiliate programs around. Doing your research before partnering up with someone can reduce the chances of you having to deal with this issue.