Have you struggled to make real money promoting affiliate products? Most people do and many simply give up.

The thing is affiliate marketing can be both simple and very rewarding when done right.

Making money as an affiliate is the easiest way to get started making money online. And if you persist and avoid buying hyped-up products that waste both time and money, you can build a successful Internet business.

I know from experience that affiliate marketing can create a full time income and requires little or no overhead or technical skills.

But affiliate marketing is a business, and like any business it must be built on a solid foundation and requires learning a few new skills.

With that said let me share with you the checklist I used when starting out, the same one I use today.

I am approached daily by people who want me to promote their product or do a joint venture with them.

This is the checklist I use to evaluate those requests.

1. MAKE SURE THE PRODUCT YOU CHOOSE MATCHES YOU

The key is to pursue your main passion first. Once you learn how to promote on the Internet, move on to different products.

Learning the process of marketing will be easier, and more fun, if you are promoting something you know and love.

This is true for two reasons.

First, if you promote something you know about you don't have to learn both the process of marketing and gain product knowledge at the same time.

This can lead to confusion and information overload.

Second, being passionate about a product (or subject) means you will know automatically who will make a good customer and what their interests are --- because they will be like you!

Bonus reason -- it's easier to stay motivated when you are promoting something you believe in!

Getting and staying motivated is a big key in any successful endeavor.

Once you've found a product you want to promote...

2. CHECK IT OUT

The key now is to look for quality. The quality of the products you promote matters greatly.

Here's why...

You are going to build a list of buyers of your product (yes, this can be done as an affiliate) and so those customers need to be happy with you AND the product.

If they are they will buy again. Now you are a trusted friend, advising them about how they can benefit from your recommendation.

Ask yourself this question: is the product or service you are promoting something you would bring to your best friend?

If yes, move ahead.

If not, you may want to keep looking.

3. TALK TO THE PRODUCT OWNER

Here is a radical idea.

You should be able to talk via email to the person who owns the company BEFORE spending your hard earned money and precious time promoting their product.

And I'll go one step further -- that person should be helpful in their reply.

When you can contact the owner, or his or her staff, and get real help and answers you will have found a company that cares about affiliates.

That is what you want.

So now you have chosen a product, feel confident about the quality and have had your questions answered by a real person.

The next step is vital - you need to know how well the product converts.

Conversion simply means that for every 100 people who visit the site a certain number buy something.

So if 100 people visit the site and 5 of them buy that would be a 5% conversion.

For most established products you will promote you can expect this number to range from.5% to about 10%.

Anything higher or lower and you need to be careful about them telling you the truth.

There are MANY variables that effect conversion (I will cover them in an upcoming article) and many ways for you to be lied to, so you need to be careful here.

5. WHAT IS THE COOKIE DURATION?

Most affiliate programs track using 'cookies', small files downloaded to the visitor's computer.

It identifies you as the affiliate so you will be paid the commissions.

You need to know two things about this cookie, that will affect how you market.

If a company has a short cookie duration, focus on ads that make the sale now.

If they have a longer cookie duration you can use other, more passive methods. Like encouraging people to get free information to learn more about the product.

You also want to know if the cookie can be overwritten, something called a "last affiliate" policy.

This means the LAST link clicked will get the sale.

So if someone who first learned about product X from you clicks another person's affiliate link to buy that person gets the commission, not you.

This is a common practice in affiliate marketing.

Neither of these factors are necessarily good or bad ( Amazon has an incredibly short cookie but people still make fortunes as affiliates for them), but they are worth knowing.

6. DO YOU EARN 'BACKEND' COMMISSIONS?

Do you get paid when someone you refer buys a second product? It's good, but less common.

The merchant will feel that he or she is doing the work for the second sale so they should not have to pay a commission.

The affiliate will feel that the merchant would never have had that customer if not for them and so they earned the commission.

Both valid points.

Some people won't promote without this. Others look for a middle ground.

You will ultimately have to decide what works best for you.

Some sites even promise "lifetime" commissions where you earn on every sale the customers you send ever make.

7. DO YOU EARN RENEWAL COMMISSIONS?

This is another hotly debated issue that deserves your attention.

While you can't control many of these things, knowing about them gives you the knowledge you need to make wise choices.

The key question to ask is this - if you send someone to a site where they pay a monthly or quarterly fee, do you get paid every time or just once?

8. DO THEY SUPPORT YOU?

Most people don't know how to write ads and create banners or graphics, so the affiliate program should provide these tools as well as some training on how to sell their products.

You should expect reasonable support from an affiliate program, just as you do when you buy a product.

One of the best ways to find an affiliate program is to think about a product you love and visit their site to look for an affiliate program link.

Another option is to visit affiliate program portals like Clickbank, PayDotCom or RapBank. I know there are many others - those just sprung to mind.

There you will find many products that can earn you commissions ranging from 5% to 100%!

Forums are excellent resources to learn what really works because you can often communicate with people promoting a particular product right now. Just Google your interest + forum to see what you come up with!

Here is an additional resource to help you succeed as an affiliate fast.

Allan Gardyne of AssociatePrograms.com. Great advice from a guy who has "been there and done that."

Start by thinking about three programs or products you have been promoting, or want to promote, and see if they qualify for your involvement by using the criteria above.

If so, jump in!

Charlie Page owns the Directory of Ezines and is the author of 10 books about Internet marketing. Through his membership sites and personal consulting, Charlie helps people achieve their goal of independence in record time. Can Charlie help you? Find out at http://www.charliepage.com/

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