@Luke: A lot of good questions there. Thank you for them. Feel free to email me for a consultation, but, in a nutshell, many service-oriented online merchants run successful PPL (pay-per-lead) programs (and no, AMNav has no affiliate program at this time). Payouts per lead differ from industry to industry. So, in every case you’d want to run its own analysis of the competitive landscape… One place to start is this: Online Guide to Affiliate Marketing

Once again, thank you, both for your comments

I apologize if this is posted in the wrong area.

I am constantly amazed that you turn out such useful content every single day. I am curious for your opinion on something.

I consult with a lot of high end service businesses, lawyers, chiropractors, remodel contractors, ect. and I am a believer in not listing up front prices on websites or otherwise as it tends to turn their services into commodities. Sometimes with these businesses Internet marketing is a significant lead generation tool and it could be worth trying to set up an online affiliate program.

This situation usually works fine with offline “affiliates.” Such as paying offline referrers a % commission or sending a gift to previous customers who refer.

Are Online Affiliate programs effective for service businesses that do not list rates on their site. What if they accept online payment? What if rates are clearly disclosed to affiliates?

I imagine this looks quite leaky to an online affiliate. Would this turn off all quality affiliates and be a reason for listing rates in a shopping cart. Does AMNavigator have an affiliate program? Since I see that your rates are not listed.

Perhaps service businesses should only use online affiliate marketing for selling introductory online products which serve more of a lead generating function.

If it is a good idea to pay online commissions for referring to service businesses that do not have set rates what software solutions do you recommend?

I often recommend the simple WP eStore and WP Affiliate platform for getting started selling online since it is so cheap and an online affiliate program isn’t always right for everyone—but it’s pretty limited.