How to Choose Good Affiliate Programs

by David Cooper


Once you're ready to start promoting other people's products as an affiliate marketer, your first question might be how to choose a good affiliate program? And the answer usually is: It varies. There are many things to take into consideration in choosing an affiliate program, so we'll look at several of the most important ones here.

1. What market are you promoting to? An affiliate program which sells shoes won't be much good to you if you're selling to people who want to learn how to train their new puppy. So the first step in choosing good affiliate programs is to only choose from those which fit your particular affiliate marketing niche.

2. What are the commissions? Knowing how much commission you'll earn from one affiliate program to another can help you decide which one might be best for you. There are other things to consider besides commission levels of course, but most new affiliate marketers feel this is important. They'd rather earn 50% sales commissions instead of 35%.

3. How much actual cash do you earn? Most new affiliates don't realize this, but sometimes a high paying commission rate is not as good at it might first look when choosing an affiliate program. If you choose to promote a $50 product for 50% commissions for instance, you'll earn $25. If on the other hand, you promote a product which sells for $150... even though you're earning 35% commissions, that ends up being a cool $52.50 for you. Twice as much as that "higher" paying affiliate program.

4. What are the program's terms? It's very important to read the rules, terms of service, and all fine print for any affiliate program before you join. Unfortunately there are some affiliate programs which aren't overly kind to affiliates in their terms of service. If they only allow you to earn sales commissions when someone clicks your link for instance, but not if they come back an hour later, you might want to reconsider joining them.

5. What are the payment terms? Some affiliate programs require you to earn over $100 before they'll send your earnings to you, and others will only pay you once every three months. Many new affiliates can't afford to wait three to four months for a payment, and many also can't earn $100 or more very quickly when they're first starting out. So find out what their payment terms are before joining, and be honest with yourself about whether that payment plan will actually work for you or not.

6. How good is the sales page? This is a very important item that many new affiliate marketers are clueless about. If the sales page will not sell, then you're not likely to make much - if any - money promoting that product. A good rule of thumb is to check out the sales page first, and gauge your own reaction to it. Does it make you want to whip out your credit card and buy? If so, then it's worth at least a trial promotion period.

If the sales page makes you scratch your head, say "hmmm" or "huh?", or you find yourself constantly trying to reread a section to understand it, you may want to pass this one up. If it's not good enough to engage the reader and make them want to buy, it's not likely going to help you make affiliate sales.