: BeFree 

: Linkshare 

: Commission Junction

: AdReporting  

: PrimaryAds

: Share a Sale  

: iCommissions 

: ClickBank

: Affiliate Network 

: WebSponsors  

: DirectLeads

: FloppyBank  

: FineClicks  

: ClickXchange

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Browse through our tips (below) on what to look for in an affiliate program. Some of the areas we cover here would not initially occur to you upon signing up. 

Don't devote months of your time into a program that will never pay off.

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There is more to an affiliate program than the commission it pays. Some programs bend over backwards to help you set up your site easily and attractively, by providing banners, buttons and other graphics, search engine forms, audio or video clips, cover art and more. Other affiliate programs leave everything up to you and you must decide if you can devote the extra time it takes to develop an attractive site with the limited tools they give you.

Gear the affiliate programs you choose, to the content and focus of your website. When shopping for affiliates, ask yourself:  how will this program benefit my visitors?  If you can't come up with a good answer - skip over it and review the next one. Some affiliate programs might pay a very high commission, whereas one related to your site's topic may pay much less. But, your visitors are much more likely to buy goods or services that fit the content of your site, then something totally non-related to their interests. Find an affiliate program that complements your own site!

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Tips

Make sure you read all the fine print on the Terms and Conditions (or Affiliate Agreement or whatever) which you normally will have to agree to before being accepted into an affiliate program. It's usually a tightly woven mass of legalese but you need to make the effort if you're serious about making your affiliation a success.

Check whether the program demands exclusivity: one condition may be that you only feature one bookseller (or one music vendor or one candle manufacturer) on your site. If you go ahead and link to two or more, then the site running the affiliate program with the offending clause in the contract, is perfectly justified in denying you payment.

Check also whether you're obligated to use the links (graphical or text) provided, or whether you can "Make your own". Again, you don't want to leave the door open for your revenue to be denied.

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Offer Value-Added Links

If you're going to link to an affiliate program, you'll have much more success if you put a bit of thought and effort into the way you link to it.

For example, if you're going to partner with a site that sells books, you could start including short reviews of specific books on your site, along with the other content already there. That way, your visitors know what to expect - they'll trust you to pick good books for them based on the trust you have already gained from the rest of your site.

Don't trick your visitors. Don't let them suddenly find themselves confronted with a form asking for credit card details and their life history! They'll lose faith in you and may not visit your site again.

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