InsaneJournal

So You Want To Be A Residual Income Affiliate? Beware!

You are smart; you know that getting ongoing payments for referring a buyer is the way to go. But not all programs that offer you a seemingly attractive deal as a residual income affiliate are a good place to spend your resources.

The first red flag is when the commission is really high. Sure everyone is tuned into higher commission structures. But sometimes this is just a sign that the product is hard to sell, and the vendor knows it. These are not necessarily bad products, but unless you have the ability to drive an enormous amount of traffic to a program, do not do this. It will drain you fast.
Another type of residual program you might question has to do what the quality of the vendor’s website.  Take the time to look at their sales page. If it does not look like it will convert visitors to customers, pass on it, and go to another merchant. Or, contact the merchant and ask them if you create your own site promoting their product that directs the buyer to their shopping cart, whether they will honor that arrangement.

Take a look at the competition you might have in any affiliate program. Check out the number of pay per click ads and see how effective they look. Your goal is to find a saleable product that does not have an overwhelming number of competing affiliates.
When you think you have found a good program, check out their affiliate tools. If they have a lot of creative ideas, that is something you want to take advantage of. If they are seemingly inexperienced with offering affiliates good resources, then you have to decide if you can overcome their deficiency.

In the end it pays to listen to your intuition on these type of situations. And, referrals are even better if you have friends making money from a program. Don’t find yourself having spent a lot of time and money, and not getting paid.