It’s best to ask questions before you settle for promoting an affiliate program. Do some research about the choices of the program you intend joining and get the positive answers you are looking for because none of us want unpleasant surprises along the way.

What is the cost to join?

Most affiliate programs are free of charge. You will probably be spending your hard earned money on the promotion of this program so why pay up front money to join.

When do they Pay us Affiliates?

This depends on the program you are promoting. If you choose a program from Clickbank, you would be paid twice a month by Clickbank however, some other programs issue checks monthly or quarterly so you can see the importance of understanding this aspect from the get go. Some affiliate programs also have set a minimum earned commission amount prior to issuing a check.

What is the hit per sale ratio?

This statistic is very important. It is the number of hits on average it takes to generate a sale. From this the affiliate can approximately figure out the amount of traffic needed before a commission is realized.

How are referrals from an affiliates site tracked and for how long do they remain in the system?

When the affiliate marketer joins an affiliate program, he is issued an i.d. number. This number is added to the programs URL so purchases that are generated using your i.d. will be credited to you. When your prospect visits the programs website, a cookie is generated and credited to you so if no initial purchase is made but they return sometime later to make a purchase, you would still get credit. You need to know the term of the cookie. They do vary from program to program but aproximately a 3 month duration.

What are the kinds of affiliate stats available?

The affiliate program that you are researching should be able and willing to supply these stats. They are generally available to the affiliate after logging into the members area. These stats should be constantly checked by the affiliate to know the amount of impressions, hits and sales generated from your site. Impressions show the number of times a banner or text link was viewed whereas a hit is clicking the banner or text.

Does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions besides the commissions on sales?

This depends on what goods the program sells. If it is an e-book for example where the commission is generally 50 to 60%, then do not expect to get paid for your hits and impressions generated from your site. If the program sells tangible goods generally they offer much lower percentage commissions and hits and impressions could also be paid.

Who is the online retailer?

It is very important to know who you, the affiliate, are representing in business. You should know the products you are representing, you should also be aware of how good the retailers customer relations is and also check out the endorsements that generally appear on the sales page. Your name and reputation could be blemished if the program and the principal of that program do not meet the advertised jargon.

Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program?

A single tier program pays only for the business you yourself have generated whereas a two tier program pays you for your business plus it pays you a commission on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor into the program. There is another important aspect that many programs are now implementing, namely One Time Offers. This is a page that is displayed after the initial transaction is complete and generally offers an upgrade for X amount of $s. This is a bonus for the affiliate marketer because it could be 2 commissions earnt from one client. Sometimes the commissions vary from the initial sale to the O.T.O., for example, 60% for the initial sale and 50% for the O.T.O.

Lastly, what is the amount of commission paid?

Depending on the program the range can be anywhere from 5% - 70%. If you are an affiliate who represents a program who only sell digital products your commissions are generally in the 50 to 60% range. The reason for this is because product cost is very minimal due to instant downloads. For tangible items, the wholesale cost of the product plus the shipping and handling costs involved must be deducted from the
retail price so the affiliate marketers commission would only be based on the retailers mark-up.

These are some of the questions affiliate marketers should get answers to prior to getting involved with any affiliate program. There are many, many programs for you to choose to represent, but look at individual programs the same way as you would any conventional business that would require a front end investment. Remember, representing any affiliate program will certainly cost you time and generally promotional money so be sure to do your due diligence at the outset.

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Remember this?
Tumble outta bed
And stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
Yawnin’, stretchin’, try to come to life
Jump in the shower
And the blood starts pumpin’
Out on the streets
The traffic starts jumpin’
And folks like me on the job from 9 to 5

Sounded great didn’t it? But can you remember what followed?

Workin’ 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by
It’s all takin’
And no givin’
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
It’s enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it

Honestly, who needs it? If you’ve worked in corporate world for more than 5 years you’ll know your selling time for dollars. Stop selling your time and the dollars stop rolling in.

We all need a little extra but many look for a part time job when they should be building a part time business - one that will pay them over and over again to reflect the hard work they’ve put in.

The internet has paved the way for many to build there own business and become hugely successful but it’s still in its infancy. That’s why the opportunity remains for those prepared to focus on building a business to become wildly successful.

There is no denying that you will face many challenges but stop for a moment and imagine what it would be like to be your own boss, earning the income you deserve, working from when and where you want. Is it worth the effort? If you think so then read on..

There are 3 key criteria to making money on line

You need to be disciplined and focused.

You have to prepare a schedule of work and you have to stick to it whether or not your in the mood. For the fist couple of months this can be quite tough but once you start making money you’ll find it easier and easier.

You need to make time to work on your business.

There is no such thing as get rich quick you just need to take consistent and persistent actions. It isn’t any good doing an hour once a week you have to make a commitment and do at least 1 hour per day. Commit 1 hour per day and in 3 months time you’ll be making money.

Hang on a minute though isn’t that what everyone says? Absolutely and there’s a problem. You have to spend that 1 hour per day taking the RIGHT actions. Which brings me to my most important point.

You have got to have a proven system to follow.

In Awaken the Giant Within Anthony Robbins says the quickest way to success is to find someone super successful and copy what they are doing. That’s great advice, why? Because if you try to research, plan and test on your own it will take you months, cost a lot of money and if you don’t make any money within your first 30 days statistics show you’ll probably quit.

So stay focused and disciplined, make time to work on your new business at least an hour a night, follow a proven system and your success is all but guaranteed.

Don’t end up working 9 till 5 for somebody else. Give yourself the credit and get your own part time business up and running - I did and it’s fantastic.

Mike Page is an up and coming internet marketer who learned the expensive way. Don’t make the same mistakes yourself. Find out how you can save money here

Cash flow? In an internet business? Surely when the money comes in you spend it, and when it doesn’t you just count the days until it comes in again, right?

Although some internet marketers may run a part time internet business like this, if you are angling towards making money from the internet on a full time basis, then there is every need for you to treat it the same way you would any other type of business - and that is with a professional attitude.

One of the main advantages of running an online business is that you can start with very little in the way of money. It is also possible to start with nothing at all, especially as many affiliate schemes require nothing more than for you to sign up for free in order to get started. With many free methods of advertising available, you really don’t need a penny to get started.

But what do you do when the money does start to come in? Apart from keeping accurate records of everything you earn - regardless of the amount, you’ll need to declare it - you’ll need to know what’s going on at this base level in order to decide how to expand your business.

One of the main dangers for any internet business is not the fact that you might expand too slowly. In fact it’s the opposite - there is a risk that you might expand too quickly. If you don’t keep a proper track of any spending involved in buying products, buying stock, paying for advertising and so on, then you may overextend yourself and end up with debts and no cash to pay them with.

Any business is a balancing act between the incoming and the outgoing, and no matter how small your internet business might be this does apply to you as well. Even if you have only made a couple of affiliate sales so far, there is no telling how big or successful you may become in the future, so why not start out with good habits right now?

Get to know your cash flow month by month. Become familiar with how your sales tend to fluctuate during the year. Not only will you see how well you are performing as time goes by, you’ll also see that there is a very close correlation between what you have coming in, and what you will see going out.

There is a very real urge to spend more on your business as more money comes in, and this is a very real need. After all, if you spend more on advertising you will reach more people.

Managing your cash flow effectively will enable you to get a much better idea of how your business is performing and how many sales you are making each month. It’s not just a question of how much money you are making, it’s a question of starting to see how you can develop your internet marketing into a full time concern that will enable you to give up your regular job forever.

Now doesn’t the thought of looking at your cash flow suddenly seem rather more appealing?

Sean Rasmussen is an Internet Marketer and creator of the Affiliate Marketing Websites. You can read about internet business and Internet Marketing on his blog.