Affiliate marketing is a good opportunity for those who want to start some kind of business from home. The advantages of affiliate marketing are that you don't need to develop a product, you don't have to take care of customer service, and you do not need to operate the business. As an affiliate, your main function is to refer others to the seller's site and help them make the purchase (which earns you money).
What is hard for the affiliate is to figure out which affiliate program to join. There are so many different programs that it can be mind boggling. The very first thing you have to be looking for when choosing an affiliate program is to look for a product or service that is in demand. Is this product or service something that people want to use? Many people to work in a market that doesn't have strong competition only to find that there are basically no customers.
The second indicator you are to look for is if the product or service is of quality. Your goal as a partner is to create long term income and if the product or service is not what it claims to be, then people will eventually stop buying it. Pay attention to reviews of the product or service before you get involved and start promoting it. If possible, try it yourself to see how it is.
The third thing you have to look for is an attractive compensation plan. There are affiliate programs that pay you only 1% on small purchases. It is very difficult to earn money from promoting being a partner for these programs. Ideally, you need to find an affiliate program that will pay you a fair amount of money for your promotional efforts. A network marketing program might be an excellent idea as it can potentially lead to more earnings from your downline.
The fourth element you need to look for is solid customer support and support for partners. You will want to work with a company that works with its affiliates and delivers excellent support to its customers. If you run into a problem as an affiliate, you have to be able to contact the company with no issues. There are many companies that do not respond to their affiliates or customers in a timely manner or at all.
The fifth indicator you want to look for is the seller having a functional website and sales copy that is designed to sell the visitor. If you lead people to a poorly designed website, the chances are that they will leave the site right away and you will be deprived of the opportunity to earn commissions.
An excellent example of an affiliate program that has all these elements is LGN Prosperity. LGN Prosperity is a program built around a popular commodity - travel. The program is centered on a high-quality product, huge market, good payplan, and great customer support.