Steps To Make Money Online

+ Pays good commission -- Hard goods have lower margins than digital ones so their commissions will be lower. Still, you should make at least 10% (hard goods) or 20% (digital goods) on any product that you recommend. Don’t bescared off by low-priced products if they offer a good % commission -- the lower dollar value per sale is offset by the higher sales volume.
+ Must be free (no charge) to join, no need to buy the product.
+ Lifetime commission -- If the program pays a commission on future sales of other products to customers that you refer, this is a huge plus.
+ Two-tier commission -- If the program pays a commission on affiliates who join because of you, this is also great.
+ Lifetime cookie -- Do you receive a commission if the person you referred returns and buys within one month? Three months? The cookie that tracks this should not expire.
+ Restriction on number of affiliates -- You won’t find many of these. But if you do find one, grab it.
+ Monthly payment, with reasonable minimum.

Do all those plus signs have to be present? No. But the more, the merrier. Minus signs are definite detractors. Naturally, if you are unable to give a + to any of the criteria listed just above, consider its absence to be a minus. And
watch out for these negative factors...

Example -- If lifetime customers are important to you, then a clause that allows unilateral termination or modification of the agreement at any time by the company without just cause effectively makes the lifetime commitment of no
value.

Example -- No exclusivity (i.e., you should be allowed to represent more than one book vendor).

And perhaps the most worrisome factor of all…
“The dark side” of affiliate programs. Is the program really just a way to legally bribe folks to recommend overpriced, UNDERdelivering products in order to collect excessive commissions? There is a commission that is “just right” for each product. If the commission is too low, it is not interesting enough for affiliates. If it is too high, it’s a consumer
rip-off. (Excessive commissions also push the price of the product up to levels that cannot survive for long in the competitive Net marketplace.)

Your job as an affiliate is an important one. You deliver high-value content that gains the confidence and trust of your visitor/reader. You include recommendations and referrals to your new friends as part of your service and content. Recommending anything less than sterling products is simply sophisticated, subtle fraud.

If you find products that fit your theme but that don’t deliver quality, sell the distributor advertising on your site. This way, you don’t compromise your ethics or your reputation because the customer recognizes advertising for what it is... a promotion. Nothing wrong with that at all, because her “guard is up.” Bottom line... Don’t allow yourself to be bribed into recommending such products -- in the long run, your reputation will be ruined. And so will your business.