Avoid Affiliate Scams

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 29th, 2010

Everyone hates scams and scammers, so here are some tips to avoid them.

Affiliate marketing can be a fun way to make money, but it can also be a nightmare if you fall into the traps of the internet. The key to successful affiliate marketing is to find the right program. You might find a decent affiliate program, but then find out that they don?t pay you on time, or at all! After all your hard work of promoting, you fin that the company won?t pay you. Now that will raise your blood pressure in a heart beat! So, how do you find the programs that do not just take your money and run?

How to avoid scams: One of the main factors is to do your research well. Take a look at these questions before joining:

1. Does the company have good support? Do they answer emails and have good contact information?

2. Do they have a real offline address?

3. Do they pay a good commission %. Shoot for 40% - 50%. (I know of a program where you can sell an item for about 400 dollars, and you get 180 dollars for every sale. Now tell me that isn?t a great commission!!)

4. Make sure they have a very good, accurate tracking system. It needs to be in real time (so you can see how much you are making every hour you check it : D ).

5. The products need to be of good quality and they also need to be well targeted and specific.

So, now that you know what to look for, where do you do research?

1. Find a forum related to your industry. There are many savvy people who use the forums for references. You can ask advice of anyone in there and they will most likely be happy to help you.

2. Look into the program very carefully. Inspect every aspect.

3. Put the company name and the word ?scam?, into the search engines and see what pops up. Use your own judgment, because sometimes these reviews may not be all true. Some fake scam sites have been made just so they can promote their own product! Amazing what some people will do.

There is one GOLDEN RULE to these programs. Look before you join. Ask about it online. Ask other people's opinions. Do not rush yourself into an obligation. Choose a good and reliable program that is of high quality. You want one that you can build off of and build into the future so your profits will increase for many years to come. You need a program that can help you expand. The truth is, affiliate marketing is always changing and you need a flexible program.