Title: Seeing Through Affiliate Program Hype Word Count: 1531 Summary: Affiliate Program Overview “Cutting Through the Information and Finding the Right Program for You” One of the fastest growing trends to making money on the internet is the affiliate web based business. Affiliate programs are everywhere, and if you’ve been reading your spam offers, you have probably received countless invitations to join various programs. Affiliate network internet marketing offers a reliable and fast way to set up a business to make money on the inte... Keywords: Article Body: Affiliate Program Overview “Cutting Through the Information and Finding the Right Program for You” One of the fastest growing trends to making money on the internet is the affiliate web based business. Affiliate programs are everywhere, and if you’ve been reading your spam offers, you have probably received countless invitations to join various programs. Affiliate network internet marketing offers a reliable and fast way to set up a business to make money on the internet. Each program comes with its own web site, product or service, commission plan, and advertising aids. If you have been looking for a web based business to make money on the internet from home, affiliate marketing plans have exactly what you need to get you started. Choosing the right one for you may not be so simple. Your inbox has been jam packed with offers to join countless affiliate marketing programs and you are certain you want to explore this option, but narrowing out the top choices may seem daunting. One of the best ways to figure out which program will help you make money on the internet is to ask questions, a lot of questions, to help you decide which program is designed for you. With so many to choose from, there’s bound to be one that fits your criteria. Research is a vital part of making decisions when it comes to internet marketing. No matter how good a program might look, making money on the internet can be more effective with just a few key concepts in place. Never jump at the first opportunity promising big profits without effort or guaranteed results. Learn to ask the appropriate questions so that you can make the most of this growing internet trend. Knowing What Questions to Ask Having a basic list of questions when investigating affiliate network marketing programs will help you narrow down the list of options quickly. Your goal is to make money on the internet, and the right set of questions will help you save time and money when making your final decision. Start with the basics. How much does the program cost to join? There are numerous affiliate network marketing programs out there that are free to join. Some are free to join but require you to upgrade before you can receive a commission check. Remember that affiliate programs are commission based businesses. There are some programs that require a membership fee right from the start, sometimes even before they tell you what their product or service is. Do you really want to spend money just to find out that the program isn’t right for you? Not all free programs are worth your time and energy. Some of them have commissions so low that reaching a basic level of commission would require a ridiculous number of sales. The company makes money but you don’t. Understand the commission structure prior to committing. Making money on the internet is possible, but you have to be able to access your money in a time frame that is right for you. There are affiliate programs that require a minimum dollar amount before sending out a check. Some companies pay their affiliates bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly. It can be frustrating to need a little cash and seeing it sitting completely out of your hands for another month or so. Most people choose programs with a faster turn around time than quarterly. A few programs are starting to pay their affiliates weekly, but they are fairly rare. Do a little math. Affiliate programs offer varying ranges of commission, starting at very small and working their way up to quite handsome sums of money. Some pay for only the sales you produce while others pay for a couple of tiers below you. Since you are interested in making money on the internet it would make sense to go with the programs that offer the most methods of making that money. Tier programs offer you several streams of income and can be the most productive for your time and money. Check the stats. How many hits does the average affiliate site need in order to produce a sale? If the product or service is high quality the ratio will be fairly low. If the product or service is overpriced or useless the ratio will be quite high. Just because an affiliate program offers better commissions doesn’t automatically mean you will be making more money on the internet. It is more reasonable for the average family to spend $29.95 than it is for them to come up with a spare $1000. Reasonable cost for a good product or service will result in more sales. Some affiliate programs pay for hits and leads as well as actual sales. If someone pops onto your affiliate site and fills out their contact information but doesn’t make a purchase, some programs will pay for that. Again, if a program is offering multiple methods of making money on the internet, they are ahead of the pack. Thoroughly investigate the referral system is it has one. Affiliate programs that pay for a few tiers down need to have accessible stats and a way for you to get in there any time you want and find out what’s happening with your web based business. How long do active participants stay active in the program? It’s frustrating to build a web based business that people continuously are dropping out of, leaving you to start all over again every month. Nor will you be making much money that way. Affiliate tiers are an interesting concept. You are working to build your web based business and so are the people you have introduced along the way. You brought them to the business so most affiliate programs do reward you for that. After all, the more people they have out there marketing for them the more money the company is likely to make. When choosing an affiliate tier program, check how far down the commissions go and what percentage you receive off of their sales. Expect out of pocket expenses. No matter what program you are planning on joining, there will be marketing expenses. Factor those expenses into your monthly budget. Does the company provide assistance or are you just out there by yourself playing in the dark? Any program that promises no out of pocket expenses isn’t interested in your success nor has honesty as a priority. It is impossible to market a web based business without some form of advertising. Do you have to purchase the product or service for yourself in order to qualify for commissions? If so, proceed with caution. You should not have to purchase anything outside of your advertising and your affiliate fee if you so choose. Investigate the product or service. Every affiliate program is marketing some sort of product or service. They have to, otherwise it’s a pyramid scheme and it’s illegal. Thoroughly understand the product or service and make sure it’s something you feel good about marketing. Making money on the internet is easier to do it if you feel good about what you are promoting. Web based business are exactly that, business that use the internet for promotion and sales. Just like any other home based business, there are good ones and there are bad ones. Do your homework when making the decision to be a part of an affiliate based program. Referral programs have been making people a lot of money out there. It is possible for you to get in on the referral program action, but make sure that you proceed as a knowledgeable and savvy marketer. Just because a referral program is selling like hot cakes at the moment doesn’t mean it will still be around in a year or two. Stable companies do exist, and it’s important to align yourself with something that can lift you up right into the middle of the trend for a long and healthy ride. Referral programs that promise overnight success or seem too good to be true typically are. Making money on the internet takes work, nothing will happen by itself. More Guidance “Cutting Through the Information and Finding the Right Program for You” Whether you have already decided on which affiliate network marketing program you are going to use to make money on the internet or you are still looking for more answers to your questions there is place where you can go to receive more help than you will from any actual program out there. “Affiliatepit” website has a large range of topics and information, links and advice to help get you started. Beyond that they can help keep you going along the way. Affiliate network internet marketing has its pitfalls to go right along with all its benefits. Unbiased information is always the best and finding more secrets to making money on the internet is just a few mouse clicks away. This is a phenomenal website that will literally take you by the hand through the decision making process as well as the profit process to help you make the most of your money making internet experience.