Last week I was visiting with my mother when she shared with me that she had placed a phone order for a product that was in a flyer. She was describing her elation with her new purchase when I interrupted her by asking her if she made certain to give the operator the promo code that was marked on the flyer. She said, "Oh, the operator asked me about a code, but I did not know what she was talking about, so I didn't give her one". I asked to see the flyer and sure enough, there was a promo code, but it was small and seemed insignificant. I explained to my mother that the person who had sent her that flyer did not receive credit (or a commission) for the order she had placed because she neglected to give the operator the Promo Code. She felt bad that the hard-working affiliate did not make money from her order, but there was nothing that could be done now, the company had already placed her order and would get to keep all the profit for themselves. It is important that affiliate marketers not allow this to happen to us.

Affiliate marketers can lose commissions on sales if your clients don't know Your Promo Code when they call in an order. As affiliate marketers, we must explore every avenue in search of a sale. And that means offline as well as online marketing. This is most important in a tough economy. However, there are many affiliate marketers that lose their commission to the parent company, simply because the person calling in an order, doesn't know where or what an affiliate promo code is. It is always best if we can get our clients to order from our affiliate web page so that we are certain to get credit for the sale. But this is not always practical, so, what steps can we take to protect our code and therefore, our commission.

1. When you make up flyers, brochures, newspaper ads, etc... Always give your Promo Code a position of prominence. Don't go overboard, just make certain that it is easy for a client to see when they phone in an order.

2. Always place your Promo Code right next to the toll-free order phone number. That way it will be hard for your client to ignore when they call in the order.

3. Remind your clients to mention your Promo Code. You could include a statement to this effect; "To be certain you get the best possible price (service, the correct product, etc...), be Sure to Mention Promo Code XXXXX when placing your order". In other words, don't be shy about telling people how to use your promo code, or you will lose a commission.

4. Always make certain that your affiliate web page is easy to find and encourage your clients to place their order on the Internet, instead of by phone. Computers do not lie or steal, if a person places an order through your affiliate portal, you will be credited for the sale and commission.

I can only hope that my elderly mother has learned a lesson about making certain that an affiliate gets paid for their time and energy whenever she orders a product. And I can only hope that this will teach us, as affiliate marketers, to always give Prominence to our Promo Codes so that we get paid on every sale that should belong to us. Good things happen for those who are diligent.