Affiliate marketing can prove a very profitable online venture ? you're basically promoting someone else's product, for a percentage of every sale you generate. You can endorse products complementary to your own, or just find a niche you're interested in promoting. But according to Wade Schlosser, of http://AffiliatePrograms.com, you need to be discriminating with your endorsements. Warns Schlosser, ?If you push poor-quality products or lousy services, you'll quickly gain a bad reputation on the Internet.?

Signs of a Good Program

Before you sign any affiliate agreements, explore different programs and find the ones that you feel comfortable supporting. Consider the following factors when researching a program:

Affiliate Training and Support

Look for programs that have a dedicated affiliate manager to provide you with the support and materials you need in a timely fashion. Ask questions, and notice how quickly and thoroughly they answer your emails and phone calls.

Different affiliate sites convert differently, so ask the affiliate manager which of their materials convert most effectively with your site type and traffic demographics. Make sure they offer the kind of content you need to effectively pitch their products to your consumers:

? Keyword research for content creation

? Coupons, sweepstakes, and discounts

? Text links and banner ads

? Dynamic data feeds (ex: articles, blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, etc.) to ensure the product information you're publishing is up-to-date and accurate

? A private or ?white? label ? this is a domain name that provides all the content info you need, as well as pictures, forms, etc., for you to cut and paste to your web site

? A dedicated 800-number with affiliate tracking

Payment and Commission Plan

Note what actions you get paid for ? per lead, per sale, per click, etc. Make sure your consumers won't have to fill out endless forms that will likely discourage them and cost you sales. Look to see the frequency with which you get paid ? you want that money funneling back into your marketing campaign as quickly as possible. Also find out the method with which you get paid ? do they have an online payment solution that moves your money into your account as soon as the numbers are finalized? Will you have to wait for a check?

Take a close look at the affiliate percentage, and make sure it's comparable with similar programs in the same industry. An absurdly high commission, like 75%, may be a red flag that the program is merely a lead-generation scam, taking the targeted leads you send them and reselling their contact information to other companies in similar industries.

Acceptable Traffic

Certain industries don't do well with certain types of marketing, like incentive marketing; and not all affiliate programs accept all kinds of traffic. You don't want to rack up $5,000 in sales for a program via email marketing, only to learn they don't accept email sales. That's why you need to read and understand a program's policies before you sign up. The affiliate manager can help you determine if your type of traffic and marketing techniques are a good match for their company.

The companies you support can either enhance your e-business or damage it. That's why you have to take the time to ensure that you want to be tied to the merchants you become an affiliate for. Says Schlosser, ?Affiliate marketing can be a great source of online income. The key to using it successfully is doing your homework and finding programs that are well-suited to your business model and marketing techniques.?