To choose your affiliate program or programs well, you need to consider everything you know about your website visitors. Where do they live? Are they men or women? How old are most of them? What do they need? What do they like?

The questions you ask yourself about your audience, and the answers you come up with, are the keys to your success. Pick the right products the first time and you're off to a great start, so give it your best effort. But, don't be stubborn; if the first products you choose don't sell well after a reasonable trial period, try alternatives.

By the way, be aware that not all affiliate programs pay you only for sales. Some will compensate you very well for producing sales leads.

Because all sorts of companies want to build their mailing lists, you can even earn a commission when someone signs up for a coupon, a free restaurant meal , or other freebies.

Of course, you want to choose affiliate programs which pay you good commissions, but you might be better off taking a lower commission from a program which will pay you a percentage of the earnings of any referrals you can generate.

And, you should look for programs which:

1. provide a website you can log into to track your sales and earnings.

2. attractive banners or well written text ads which will produce results for you.

3. respond to your concerns, answer your questions, and pay you on time.

4. offer value to your visitors.

Finally, follow the great advice I once got from a very successful businessperson. Track and analyze everything that moves.