What Are Mortgage Affiliate Programs?

Mortgage affiliate programs give bloggers and website owners the opportunity to make money through mortgage loans without the expense of managing a mortgage company. Affiliate marketing is inexpensive for the mortgage company, creating a win-win situation for both parties involved. Most mortgage affiliate programs pay for cost per lead (CPL), cost per sale (CPS), or both. All sales and leads are tracked through special tracking links, and the mortgage company usually relies on a third party to oversee the affiliate earnings.

When a mortgage company creates an affiliate program, it is made so the company can get extra marketing without a huge extra expense. Mortgage affiliate programs only pay if there is a lead or sale, so the mortgage company is spending very little money to get customers. By doing this, the mortgage company gets a large marketing force of affiliates that will bring in customers without having to spend money on advertising that may not affect sales. For example, print and TV ads and cost per click (CPC) advertising, which pays the affiliate every time someone clicks an advertising link — even if that person doesn't buy anything — all cost the company money without guaranteeing results.

Affiliates make money from mortgage affiliate programs when a lead, sale or both are completed according to the affiliate’s terms. To start, an affiliate marketer will embed a tracking link on his or her website. When someone clicks the link, it takes that person to the mortgage website.

For CPL payouts, the typical terms say the person visiting the mortgage website must fill in his or her name, email address and at least ask for a mortgage form. Some specify that the potential customer must actually fill out the mortgage form. For CPS, the customer must fill out the form and be approved for a mortgage loan. CPL normally pays a flat fee, while CPS normally pays a percentage of the sale price. Some affiliate programs allow the affiliate to earn a monthly percentage for CPS, such as 10 percent of the profits every month, while others pay once and the affiliate earns no extra money from that customer.

Companies that offer mortgage affiliate programs sometimes oversee the program but usually employ a third-party service to manage the affiliate aspect. This third party ensures that tracking links work, affiliates are paid and the mortgage company is making money. The third party also helps the mortgage company get affiliates by displaying the company’s affiliate terms and payout information on affiliate hubs or websites where affiliate marketers find affiliates to represent.