What exactly is an Affiliate Program, you may ask.

Associate and affiliate programs are turning out to be the
fastest growing area of E-commerce. They allow website
owners to partner with retailers and offer products and
services to their visitors. It's a mutually beneficial
relationship that can generate a wide-range audience for
the seller and a hassle free income for the associate.
The seller processes all orders, handles shipment and
provides a commission to the referring website owner.
The affiliate or associate promotes the sellers business
through banners and text links at their website and through
advertising in Ezines, Free Classifieds, etc.
 

Before joining any Program there are a few things that
you need to consider.

1. Does the program compliment your Website?
  Be sure to select a program that would be
  of interest to your visitors. If your website
  is about golf you would select a program that
  would be of interest to golfers. There are
  a few programs that appeal to a very large
  audience that would compliment any site, such
  as Internet Personals and Internet Auctions.

2. Is the Program Completely Explained?
  Be sure you know all the terms and conditions
  before joining.

3. What is the Commission Plan?
  Is the commission percentage offered and the
  minimum payout going to be easily achieved?
  Will you have to wait months before you reach
  the minimum payout amount to receive a check?
  Make sure you understand the compensation plan.

4. Do they provide sales material and support?
  Most programs offer banners and will provide
  example html and text links. Examples of E-zine
  ads and Free Classified Ads are becoming more
  common and are very helpful. Try to make sure
  the sales material gets updated regularly.
 

Tips to Promoting Your Affiliate Program

Do more than just placing a few banners on your website.
This will only generate a very small income. You must
promote your website and affiliate programs on a daily
basis. 

Personal Endorsements with a text link produce much
better results than banners alone. Be sure to use
personal endorsements.

Adversite your website and affiliate programs in e-zines
and newsletters. They produce the best results.

Advertise at Yahoo at least twice a week. Placing ads
with Yahoo will generate lots of traffice to your own
website and your affiliate sites.

Always apply what you have learned about advertising
and promotion from online sources such as websites, e-zines
and newsletters.
 

Resources for finding good Affiliate Programs:

Affiliate Options http://www.the-work-at-home.com/ao.htm
Associate-it http://www.associate-it.com
Refer-it http://www.refer-it.com
Associate Programs http://www.associateprograms.com
 

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"At Home Working News" - Your Doorway to Joining the
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