Guidelines to choosing an affiliate program

For first time affiliates the most (one of them) challenging thing is wondering what to look for in an affiliate program. Well, you don't just join the first program that comes your way(but some do),i did and it cost me a lot in terms of money and time. Take your time to know what the affiliate program involves, the products/services you will be dealing with as this will put you a step ahead in reaching your goal, with that said here are a few guidelines that have helped me and i hope they maybe of help to someone else also:

1.Research on the affiliate program itself and also on the product/service:perform a standard internet search, and as a search criteria use the name of the affiliate program or product. Check with major scam sites e.g scam.com to see if the program is listed as a scam, also check in affiliate marketing forums for peoples views about the program and my personal favorite checking the affiliate program at The Better Business bureau (gives the company location,product/services offered,market strength,management team and their expertise,contact information ).

2.Read the rules,regulations and guidelines:Before joining any program please! please! read the rules it saves a lot of time,take time also to read the FAQ's may shed some light about the program and clears questions you may have had.By doing this you will know the do's and dont's, code of conduct,compensation plan (in some).

3.Product/service you have to sell:In addition to the product/service being of good quality it must conform to your interests by either being something that you like or something that you deal with often like in a business or a website you own e.g If your website is dealing with computers you may want to join a program that has products/services related to computers and thus increasing your chances of making a sale hence increasing your profits.

4.Choose a program that pays decently:As much as it's important to choose a product you can stay behind, earning a substantial amount of money is also important. Most programs pay about 3% to 5% of each sale made,as this may be a good percentage there affiliate programs that pay higher as muck as 10% to 15% and its only fair that anyone searching for an affiliate program earns the best.

There are more guidelines but the most important guideline is your own judgement which is the easiest way to choose an effective affiliate program, hey! who knows you could easily make a full time living just with affiliate programs,so all the best of luck and stay DETERMINED.