Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing? What are you looking for in an affiliate program?

Do you have experience with internet marketing?

How much time can I dedicate to internet marketing?

These are just a few questions I didn’t ask myself!

As inexperienced as I was I thought great, I love their product/service, I want to work from home so I can be with my children, I need a low cost business – I’ll be an affiliate!

I was fortunate to receive an email from a friend introducing me to Wealthy Affiliate. Good timing as I was getting so frustrated with the saturation of information on internet marketing yet there were no easy to understand directions on where to start or how to set yourself up.

What are you looking for in an affiliate program?

This to me is the most important area. When you align yourself with another person/company their reputation reflects on you and vice versa. Research them!

Do you believe in the products you would be promoting?

What are their commissions?

What are their training and support standards?

What do they include to assist you in promoting them?

Do they deliver on payments?

I read review upon review before using the products and then deciding to promote them to ensure I was happy enough to jump into a relationship.

Another area that I have been aware of lately is watching how many people they are in Joint Venture with. That might worry you, especially if it is promoted by someone well known. Don’t be, the more people talking about your product the better, awareness is good for you.

Do you have experience with internet marketing?

You do not need prior experience; I certainly had none. After making the decision to pursue internet marketing more seriously I became overwhelmed with the information out there. I also found a lot of reviews highlighting scams (at this time I have not been scammed but will be honest if that does happen). I found I was impressed with Wealthy Affiliate’s step by step system on how to get started with either your own product or you can promote theirs.

A one stop shop, Wealthy Affiliate offers training, free websites / hosting and the support of a community willing to answer questions and give encouraging and constructive feedback (so refreshing in this competitive world!).

You can join up for free and for 7 days you will get access to their Premium membership benefits.

If after the 7 days you like it but want to stay at the free level, you still get the two free websites / hosting and access to training and you can still enjoy the benefits of Affiliate Marketing (yes they offer that as well as training you how to do it). If you want to leverage your knowledge and make more money in your internet marketing career, you can upgrade to Premium and get access to all their services.

How much time can you dedicate to online marketing?

We all lead busy lives. What are the demands on your time? Do you have a job, are you a stay-at-home mum/dad or are you master/mistress of one? The key is time management.

Take the time to identify the hours you can commit to your business, look at your work style (what time of day do you work well, do you have distractions such as children’s activities, housework etc) and then compare those to your financial goal.

Initially, like anything new, you will put more time in learning and understanding your new business; and building a client list if new to the industry. You financial goals will most likely dictate the amount of time and effort.

Check Wealthy Affiliate out for yourself and make your own assessment. If you have any questions, be sure to use the comment box. Talk to you soon.