I guess many of us have experienced information overloading before, but have you experienced affiliate programs overloading before? Do you know which one you should choose?

Don’t fret! I have compiled 7 most important questions which you should ask yourself before you join any programs.

• Will it cost you to join their programs?

Most affliliate programs allow you to join for free. But some requires you to pay a fee before you can join their program. With so many programs out there, you can just choose one which is free to join.

• Is the online retailer reliable?

Know who you are doing business with. The retailer you choose to work with should be an established company like Clickbank. Do check on the products they are sellng. You will not want to promote a product with low sales rate. The more you know about them put you in a more favourable position to evaluate whether their product are worth promoting at all.

• Is it a one or two tier affiliate program?

A one tier program pays you only when you make a sale and nothing more. On the other hand. A two tier program pays you an extra commission when the affiliates you sponsored make a sale. Always look out for two tier programs so that you can leverage on your sub-affiliates to do the work and earn recurring commission.

• When do you receive your affiliate checks?

Depending on the program you join, the payout may vary from one week to a quarter. Choose the one which you are comfortable with. Do keep a look out on the minimum payment amount as some only pay out the commission when you exceed that amount.

• What is the commision payout?

The commission payout may varies from a small 5% to 75%. Do make use of these figures before you start your promotion. If the commission payout is too low, you got to make sure that the amount of time you spent on that program is worth it. However if the commission is very high, this mean that your customer may be paying more than he should on a product. So use the commission payout as a guage to adjust your promotion strategy.

• How long are the referrals tracked?

Most affiliate programs track the referrals by placing a cookie in their system. The most important thing to check is how long these referrals are being keep tracked as most people usually won’t buy on a first impression. If the system only tracks the referrals for a day, then you will not get any commission if they decided to buy on the second day.

• Are there any affiliate stats which you can analyse?

Affiliate stats are extremely important to your business. The most common stats availiable are the number of impressions, hits and sales. You should always choose a program which give you real time or near real time detailed stats to tweak your advertising method. You won’t want to continue with an advertising method which doesn’t even generate an impression.

Finally, be reminded to consider these questions seriously before you jump into any affiliate program. With so many affiliate programs around, you can surely find one which suits you and your site.

Tags: affiliate marketing, affiliate programs