You have finally decided that the 9-5 day job isn't for you. Your tired of your work being undervalues and underappreciated. You would like to work when you feel you are most productive, not when some boss or manager feels it is so. You are also tired of working hard with no incentive or reward scheme in place.

Affiliate marketing is a great opportunity for those who want to venture out on their own. The minimal risk and zero start up costs make it an attractive option to many. Affiliate marketing programs are perfect for those people who are motivated and self starters. They are also great for those who want to set their own working hours.

The internet has helped up change so many aspects of our lives. We can study and work from home with the help of a computer and high speed internet access. However, there are unfortunately lots of scammers out there ready to take either your money or your work to use for their benefit. Many of these email scam programs and work at home schemes have little hope of amounting to any kind of living.

Unfortunately, these scammers have made their way into the world of affiliate marketing as well. There are some excellent affiliate marketing programs to get involved with; the trick is how to spot the scammers.

The face and manner of the internet and affiliate marketing is constantly changing. This makes it very difficult to produce a definitive list of do's and don'ts. However, there are some signs that one can look for. If your company displays any of these signs it does not mean for sure that they are con artists. However, it should warrant further investigation.

An affiliate marketing program should always provide you with some support. This can include an agent that you can contact with questions or problems. A legitimate company should want you to do well. The better you do the better they do. It should at very least contain a toll free phone number, email address and fixed street address.

If your company is an online affiliate marketing program, the lack of an email or web page should definitely raise some red flags. Other things such as no phone or address do not mean necessarily that they are trying to scam you. However, you need to investigate them with a fine tooth comb.

A good test is to send the company an email with some basic questions. If it takes them weeks to get back to you then you need to give this venture careful consideration. Again, they may not be out to con you but if they are poor at communication, this could be a sign of other internal problems.

If the company has no website then you should consider something else. Legitimate affiliate marketing programs generally have a detailed website with all the information you need. One should be suspicious of companies that operate only by email. A website is fairly easy to create so why hasn't this company invested the time to do so? Also, a website leaves a bit more of a trail to a company. If they do end up scamming you, the chances of tracing the people via a website are much better then tracing them through masses of email addresses.

Many of us would love the opportunity to work for ourselves. We would love to chuck in the day job and start our own businesses. However, the costs of starting a business combined with the risk involved stop most of us before we even get started. Affiliate marketing is a great way to make some money by working for yourself. The costs are none and the risk minimal. One needs to use some caution when signing onto a program.

Make sure there is adequate support available to you. Make sure the company is contactable and that they answer queries in a timely fashion. Be incredibly cautious of companies that have no website. These factors do not always mean that the company is out to scam you; however they should be looked at carefully.