Affiliate marketing is no different than other sales organizations. You have to earn your stripes to a certain extent, for more details visit to www.money-secret-exposed.com but I'll bet you didn't even know that the commission structure is negotiable if you are a producer.
Even better yet if you become a super affiliate you can command a higher commission rate than the average affiliate is earning. You have earned that right based on the fact that you have become a known entity in the affiliate marketing world.
The top affiliate programs pay good commission rates because they know without affiliates they have no business. If you come across an affiliate program that is not paying what the market rate is then you are going to pass that affiliate program over.
For example if you look at Clickbank you will see that commission rates run on an average around 50%. There are smart publishers who are willing to pay up to 75%.
As an affiliate marketer I know I am going to go with the higher commission rate if all things are equal. The top affiliate programs not only pay well but they also provide quality products and back end support too.
You certainly want to look at the whole picture before determining the affiliate program that you want to represent. There are instances where I will accept a less commission, for more details visit to www.success-affiliate-marketing.com if I feel like the product and the marketing materials are better with that merchant.
Just because a merchant pays a higher rate does not necessarily mean you will make more sales. Ultimately successful affiliate marketing comes down to conversion and increasing your visitor to sales ratio. That is easier done when you have better marketing materials and a quality product.
One thing you should definitely do is get to know your sales rep for a particular affiliate program. These people have the ability to get things done including paying you more if they think it will benefit them as well.
Getting a higher commission rate from a top affiliate program must be mutually beneficial. It should benefit you, but it must also benefit the merchant, as well as the sales rep who is working on your behalf to get you a higher rate.