One of the biggest problems facing affiliates is time management.  You want your time to be spent productively and profitably.  You can't afford any "alligator affiliate programs" which eat away at your time, with little or no results.  Take caution when you choose an affiliate program to promote.  Before spending time promoting an affiliate program, make sure it passes the smell test.

Here's a few tips to remember when choosing an affiliate program to promote.

1.  Know your demographic: 

This  is a no-brainer.  If your site is about insurance, you're not going to make many sales for baby cribs.  Ask your sites visitors to fill out a questionaire about themselves. The more  you know about your users, the better chance you have to refer them to valuable products and services they will want to buy

2.  Merchant's website: 

It's hard to get visitors to click on affiliate links.  If a 3% CTR is considered good, that  means 97% of your users are not clicking on your links.  So it goes without saying, if your users click through to the merchant,  you want to make darn sure the merchant's website can "close the sale."  Does the merchant site look amateur and haphazardly thrown together?  Is their copy interesting and informative to your potential buyers.  Most importantly, is the purchasing process simple, secure, and fast?  Make sure your merchant passes this test before sending referrals their way.

3.  Quality of products and services: 

Would you use the merchant's products and services?  If not, your site's visitors probably won't either.  Build trust with your sites visitors by only referring products which solve problems or prove to be valuable in some  way.  Not only will you get more sales referrals, your site's visitors will trust you more with future purchases as well.

4.  Tracking Software:   

This is a biggie.  I used to be a big promoter of Commission Junction, but I found their tracking system to be clunky.  More often than not, their links did not work.  Your site's space is valuable, don't use it to promote merchant's who can't give you credit for your referrals.  Test the links to make sure they go where they're supposed to go.  This won't verify that you'll get referral credit for any sales, but it will at least confirm that your site's visitors are going where they want to go.  Check  your stats.  If you're getting a thousand visitors a day to a promotion page, but no sales referrals, something is awry.  Check webmaster forums, such as ReveNow Forums and see if any other affiliates have had any problems.

5.  Commission Structures: 

There are a number of ways you can be paid.  Consider these tips:
      a.  Choose affiliate programs with the highest commissions. Don't let anyone kid you - affiliate marketing is hard work.  Make sure you are compensated well for your referrals. 
      b.  Choose multi-tiered programs.  On top of your normal referral commissions, many merchants offer multi-tiered programs which allow you to earn even more money from affiliates who sign up with the merchant after clicking on one of your affiliate links. 
      c.  Choose affiliate programs who reward top sellers.  Contact the affiliate manager and ask them if they offer incentives or higher commissions to their top affiliates.  If you're already a super affiliate, request a higher commission before signing up.  If you are not yet a super-performer, you can still negotiate a better commission percentage when you build up your sales.  Explain to the affiliate manager you are making their company $30,000 a month and you would like an increase in your referral commissions.  As long as you are a good performer, most merchants will offer you a better rate.  If they don't, be prepared to find a merchant will will pay you a better commission.
      d.  Choose affiliate programs that offer incentives.  I always appreciate a program that offers contests which give away cars, vacations, or even an extra $100 for strong sales referrals.  Some merchants offer a higher commission percentage for a minimum number of sales.  Not only is it nice to earn the bonuses, it's fun too.
      e.  Choose affiliate programs that offer long-term commissions.  Many affiliate programs use 30 day cookies, meaning your referral has 30 days to buy.  If that referral buys on the 31st day, you receive no referral commission.  A 30 day cookie is pretty common.  Preferably, choose programs with longer cookies.  Some merchants even offer lifetime commissions.  If the site is a subscription site, find out if you will receive a commission one time only, or is it a recurring commission that is good for every month your referral remains a subscriber.

6.  Payment terms:

Just as there are many ways to be paid, there are also many ways that you won't be paid, unless you're careful.   
      a.  Make sure your merchant pays frequently, at least once a month.  If it's any longer than that, make sure the company has a solid reputation.  You'd hate to have 3 months worth of sales commissions disappear into the ether if the merchant goes out of business.
      b.  Make sure the minimum balance for payout is easily attainable.  If your merchant requires that you earn $400 in sales before payment, yet the product you are promoting only provides a $5 commission, you may want to look into another program.

7.  The merchant's Terms and Conditions: 

Make sure you read the Terms and  Conditions.  There may be any number of rules which pertain to your sales.  For example, the merchant may require a minimum number of sales before any commissions can be paid.  Don't be surprised and upset later.  Find out what your in for before you sign up.

Consider these tips when choosing your next affiliate program to promote. 

Feel free to discuss this article in the ReveNow Forums.