How to choose the right Affiliate Program

With affiliate programs, it really pays to work well
with others.  Also known as referral programs,
affiliate programs are normally commission based
sales.  You'll recommend a site to your visitors and
then pick up a percentage of any sale that those
visitors make.  You'll benefit from the commission
and the merchant benefits from the sales.

If you already have a website set up, you can run
an affiliate program from it, or you can simply
build a site to promote a particular product or
service.  As long as it brings in more cash than it
takes to build or run it, you'll make a profit.

With any marketing program, you'll need to be careful
when you select an affiliate program.  The benefit
of an affiliate program will give you another way
to make money from your users.  Instead of selling
them a product, you simply send them to a partner
then take a cut of the profits.

Even though it may seem tempting to go for programs
with the highest commissions, those programs won't
pay you anything if your visitors don't buy them.

Here are a few  tips to help you select an
affiliate program that's right for you:
1.  Do not accept any less than 25% with
commission. There are many programs to choose from with exceptional
payment structures and high percentages of pay in
just about any field.
2. Decide on a program with statistic pages that list the
number of click throughs, sales, and earnings so
you'll be able to keep track of your progress.
3.  Always choose  programs that offer a
wide variety of tools to put on your web site, which
include your Affiliate link such as banners, text links, and graphics.
4. Make certain you know how often you'll be paid and
be sure that the payment schedule meets with your
own expectations.  Some programs will pay monthly,
while others will pay quarterly.
5. Customer support is very important when choosing an Affiliate program.
  If they can't answer your questions in a  prompt manner,
my advice to you is decide right then and there to
pick another product to promote.
6. Essentialy you are your first customer. When you pick an Affilaite product
you just can't rely on testimonials from other
Affilates. You must use and then review that product
to give yourself a better understanding of how to sell it and
if its the right program for you. Trial software is an ideal product to promote(try before you buy). If you don't like some of the functions you can decide rather quickly to sell it or choose another product.