What is the best way to select an affiliate program?

The world of affiliate marketing is full of opportunity. There are very few jobs in life that take such little effort that can lead to such big rewards. But as is the case with most jobs, what you put into it will closely reflect what you get out of it.

So, how can you maximize your time as well as your dollars? Here are a few tips to point you in the right direction when it comes to picking out the affiliate marking opportunity for you.

You gotta believe!

One of the golden rules of affiliate marketing is that if you don’t believe in the product, how do you expect the people you’re steering to it to believe in it? You can’t. You should only choose a product that you like, a product you have tried and found to be of good quality and maybe even a product you actually use!

Remember, you have two choices when you set up your affiliate website, you can just toss a bunch of links on a page and hope people click on them, or you can create a cool page full of great and interesting to read content on the product your linking to. If you’re trying to write content about a product you think stinks or isn’t a good buy, it’ll show. The more passionate you are about that product, the better your chances are of making money.

Knowledge is the key!

This one is a bit tougher, but it’s becoming easier by the day. There are, simply, thousands of affiliate marketing opportunities out there for you. And even better, almost all of them are free, so you have a pretty good selection to choose from. The second golden rule of affiliate marketing is to choose a product that you know a lot about, or, at the very least, a product that you can talk a lot about.

Need an example? Say you’re in an affiliate marketing program with Amazon.com. It would probably help your site if you’re an avid reader (if you link to the book section) or if you can do album reviews (if you link to the music section.)

This is good advice even if you aren’t linking to an online superstore. If you are linking to a candy company, provide some content about how candy is made or who invented it. If you’re linking to a company that makes skateboards, talk about Tony Hawk or the X Games. Getting people to read your content and convincing them to click on that link and to buy that product is the whole point of affiliate marketing. You’ll be much, much more effective if you are knowledgeable about what you’re trying to sell!

Affiliate marketing is a gold mine waiting to be picked. The amount of money you can make is staggering, but you can make a lot more if you follow the golden rules. By being passionate about what you sell and being knowledgeable about the field, you’ll convince many more folks to click away and buy.