So you've decided you want to become an Internet Marketer, huh? Will you sell someone else's products or sell your own?

If you choose to sell someone else's products, how will you know what to look for? After all, this is a new venture for you.

Ormaybe it's not. Maybe you have been trying out some affiliate programswhich have not brought you any money, or, worse, have not paid you forthe affiliate traffic you have sent them.

If you are thenew person, or the person who is floundering in Internet Marketing,this article will offer you some simple tips for choosing an affiliateprogram.

This article doesn't cover getting traffic toyour site, which is another huge piece of the puzzle, and will becovered in a later article, but let's just start with choosingaffiliate programs.

#1. You should find affiliate programs that:

a) are relatively easy to set up (code is either created for you or easy to create)

b)will pay you well. This depends on your definition of what being paidwell means, but generally, for most beginners, and some novices, if youcan see yourself being able to make more than $250/month, the programis at least worth looking at

c) give you products whichpeople actually use. There are lots of products in the market whichwill sell, but do you really want to be selling pet rocks? If you do,please don't take offense. Most legitimate affiliate advice sites won'tfeature affiliate programs that are exclusively selling something like8-Track players and tapes. While there are probably collectors outthere who would love an 8-track player and cassettes, the fact is thatthe market is done with 8-tracks. The point is, there should be agenuine need for, or interest in, what you are selling/reselling.

Soyou find a program which meets the above criteria. Now what? Do aGoogle search on the company. Find out what people are saying aboutthem. You may have to dig a bit, but the combined experience of theprofessionals (and not-so-professionals) who develop and contribute tothe Internet on a regular basis is, collectively, the best source ofadvice you will find on making money, or affiliate programs, anywhere.

Ifyou want advice on some great affiliate programs, you can visit siteswhich have already reviewed the information about companies and presentit to you in a straightforward way. If you are ready to find some greataffiliate programs, then you will be able to find categories ofaffiliate programs on these sites, which will generally represent thetype of products you would like to sell.

Search engineslove content, and so do your site visitors. Content is one of the mostimportant aspects of getting people to your web site, and helping themto see the value in what you're selling. You should strive to chooseprograms with products which are related to your web site.

Inother words, if you have a site which features information about theToyota Camry, you're going to be pretty hard pressed to be able to getyour page content matched up so that you could sell, say... babyrattles.

Find affiliate programs which relate to what you already do, and then promote those products.

Finally,see if you can find someone to actually talk to (ok, email would beokay) who has received regular checks or payments from marketingproducts. We think that this is, perhaps, the most important part ofany affiliate program, because the main reason you promote theirproducts is to receive a check for your efforts.

Sothere you have it, some simple tips for choosing great affiliateprograms! Hope this helps you to reach your income goals, and alsohelps you to develop a long-term plan for on and off-line financial andpersonal success.

JonathanKraft has been an online marketer for many years. He is a massagetherapist, web designer, legal services broker, has been a high schoolteacher, and is an all around nice guy. He works with a team of peopleon www.affiliateadvice.us, where you can check out some great affiliate programs that meet all the above criteria.