Tips For Choosing The Best Affiliate Programs

What is Affiliate Programs?

Affiliate programs are one of the best ways to make money online through website or blog. The web advertiser or merchant recruits webmasters to place the merchant's banner ads or buttons on their own web site or blog. They will receive a referral fee or commission from sales when the customer has clicked the affiliate link to get to the merchant's web site to perform the desired action, usually make a purchase or fill out a contact form. The industry has four core players: the merchant, the network, the publisher, and the customer.

The main problem faced by webmasters or bloggers to start with affiliate program is that they don’t know which affiliate program is good for them and which affiliate program to choose from huge number of affiliate programs available online.

Before you think how you are going to make it best and financially rewarding, first think about how you are going to land on a good affiliate program with the thousands of affiliate marketing opportunities abounding in the internet today. Try to look into the following tips and suggestions on how to best select the affiliate program that's right for you.

The most popular affiliate programs:

• Amazon - world's largest online retailer
• Clickbank - online marketplace for digital information products
• iTunes - a way to link to songs, apps, and more
• ShareASale - affiliate marketing network
• Elance - get paid for referring friends
• GoDaddy - website hosting industry 
• Linkshare - affiliate marketing network
• CJ -  affiliate marketing network

Read more about "Best Profitable Affiliate Programs You Should Try "...

1. Trustworthy

Going for unethical way to earn money is the worst part of blogging. Don’t ever try to sell off things just because you have to earn money through affiliates by hook or crook. If you don’t trust any product, don’t try to sell that product to your visitors.

2. Research

It is very important to research about the affiliate programs before signing up. You should not register to any affiliate programs just because your friend suggested you for same. Check out few forums and know the customers reactions, read discussion boards. Know about their customer support and the mailing list. These things are generally ignored while choosing affiliate programs but these are very important.

3. Offer new products

Why visitors will purchase from your affiliate program if they are getting same products on other blogs also. Thus when you select product, make sure that you provide new products to your visitors so that they will be keen to purchase new and unique products from your blog. If affiliate program allows you to change the products then it is better to keepon changing products so that visitors will get something new to buy.

One mistake most of affiliate marketers are doing is, they copy the product what others are promoting. This is a bad idea, as your blog will lack the freshness and uniqueness. Try to pick relevant affiliate product, which fits your niche, is awesome and very few people are promoting it.

4. Relevant to your niche

It is very important that you must select the product of affiliate program relevant to your blog niche. Like if you are having a blogging and WordPress blog, you can choose for Thesis Affiliate Program. You should analyze what kind of traffic you get and choose the affiliate program according to your visitors so that your visitors will be interested to purchase the product.

5. Payments

There is a myth that with high rates of payment you will earn more even if you get fewer clicks. Before choosing the right affiliate program for your blog check out the minimum payouts, referral commissions, terms and conditions etc. Know how they are going to pay you either with PayPal or cheque.

---

If you do not have much time to promote intensively the affiliate products by creating banners, graphics and articles, choose affiliate programs that help you create these for your web site. It would be great if the company provides training on how to effectively market products online. Remember that affiliate marketing is a partnership, it's always great that your partner is able to support you as you help him promote his products and services.

Take down all the advantages and disadvantages of each program you are considering so you can clearly see the difference among your options; then later, compare the advantages of the programs with your own checklist. Take time to gather all the info you need to choose the right program.