Now, there’s an affiliate cop to make sure you’re Paid On Time!

We all want to be Paid On Time, and when someone messes with our money, it gets really personal really fast. So, here’s a little diversion to discuss exactly that…

About a week ago, I told you about my top 20 list of tools that I love and rely on to run my business. Then, I didn’t write any more about it.

Sorry about that. They’re coming. As you can guess, I got sidetracked by rolling out the integrated MyNAMS website, testing it, and cleaning up the database.

So, the top 20 list will continue this week.

But sometimes something comes along that is so intriguing, I have to tell you about it.

You’ll notice a new badge on this page at the bottom on the right. It’s a Paid On Time badge. My membership in the new affiliate directory signifies my commitment to abide by the ethics standards of Paid On Time.

I met Ryan Healy through his software partner. And he pointed me to the Paid On Time site before it was completely finished.

I joined immediately.

Right now, Paid On Time is offering a ridiculous annual fee for anyone who joins while they offer the charter membership to build up their membership momentum.

Paid On Time such a good idea!

The purpose of Paid On Time is to create an affiliate program monitoring service – product owners (or anyone who WILL sometime have their own products) must agree to abide by the code of ethics.

And any affiliate who wants to can bring a complaint against a product owner. Paid On Time will arbitrate.

Because it’s such a new site and a new concept, I ask Ryan to answer a few questions. So, introducing Ryan…

1) What’s the purpose of Paid On Time? Why did you think this service is something others would want and need?

The purpose of Paid On Time is to provide a third-party accountability feedback loop between affiliate programs and their affiliates. It’s also to provide credibility to member affiliate programs so affiliates are more likely to sign up and promote member’s products.

What I’ve discovered is while there are many good, honest, and ethical affiliate programs out there, there are also quite a few bad ones. There’s affiliate skimming, late payment of commissions, and even non-payment of commissions.

That’s why I say the real victory for affiliates isn’t earning commissions — it’s actually getting paid. And Paid On Time is a credibility and accountability service to make sure affiliates are dealing with reputable companies that pay their affiliates on time.

2) Other than putting a seal on your site that signifies that an affiliate program pays on time, how do you see Paid On Time benefiting product owners AND affiliates?

It benefits product owners on two levels:

First, they get increased credibility by displaying the Paid On Time trust seal on their web site. If an affiliate is interested in signing up, then the trust seal could be a deciding factor in their decision. In other words, it could boost the conversion rate of a product owner’s affiliate sign up page.

Second, product owners will get visibility and traffic from being featured in the Paid On Time Affiliate Program Directory. Every member has a public profile page they can use to advertise their affiliate program to prospective affiliates. Members also get a link back to their affiliate program sign up page.

Even though our service is in its infancy, the Affiliate Program Directory is the second most-visited page on our site (next to the home page), and I’d like to see this trend continue.

Paid On Time also benefits affiliates.

First, it gives affiliates a place to come look for affiliate programs that have agreed to abide by the Paid On Time Code of Ethics. So when an affiliate joins a program that is a Paid On Time member, they can be confident they’re dealing with a company that honors their agreements and pays commissions on time.

So rather than just picking a random affiliate program to promote — and then wondering whether it’s any good — affiliates can feel confident “shopping” for affiliate programs using our directory.

Secondly, if there ever is an issue of late payment or non-payment, affiliates can report abuse back to us for investigation and some kind of resolution. Ideally, that resolution would be that the affiliate gets paid. But if for some strange reason a program didn’t quickly resolve the issue, then that product owner would be kicked out of the Paid On Time network.

3) How does an affiliate report a product owner? And how does arbitration happen?

Right now we have a “Report Abuse” link that appears in two places: 1) At the bottom of each member’s profile on our web site and 2) At the bottom of the verification page a person sees when they click on the trust seal.

This directs the person to a form where they can provide details about whatever the situation is so we can investigate further and help to resolve the issue.

Our involvement on the affiliate’s behalf is handled privately. We give members 30 days to resolve any issues that come up.

4) Why would an affiliate who owns no products want to join Paid On Time?

Well, just because you don’t own any products doesn’t mean you can’t have an affiliate program. If you pay commissions to affiliates for the sale of services or advertising, you may want to consider joining Paid On Time, too.

Also, if you’re currently creating a product or planning to create one soon — and you plan to sell it through affiliates — then you may want to join Paid On Time now rather than later because the price of membership will be going up.

5) Why are you offering Paid On Time for such a low charter price?

Paid On Time is a new idea. It’s not something that’s been done before in the industry. So we’ve decide to offer a low charter price for a brief period of time to attract more interest. Once we’ve built momentum and people understand the value of displaying our trust seal, then the price will be going up.

6) What are your plans for Paid On Time?

To use a metaphor, I’d like for Paid On Time to become “the BBB for affiliate programs.” In other words, I want member programs to be recognized as top tier programs who treat their affiliates ethically and honestly at all times.

So at some point in the future, we may offer some sort of grading of affiliate programs. But for now, it’s pretty simple: You can become a member if you pay your affiliates on time. And if you don’t pay your affiliates on time, then you’re out.

Thanks Ryan, that clears up a lot of my questions. If you have questions for Ryan, input them below.

In the meantime, do not miss out on this opportunity to get in Paid On Time on the ground floor at a fraction of the price.