In my entry about how a site could make money, I have discussed a little about affiliate programs. And with the feedback I received from WomenXtra, requesting for some recommended sites on affiliate programs and banners, I thought I should discuss the two further on separate articles.

The first discussion would be on affiliate programs. I have mentioned before that this kind of programs work by recommendation:

1. You send a visitor/buyer from your site to an affiliated site.
2. Then your affiliated site will pay you.
3. And you earn money through commission basis.

All affiliate programs work the same, only that there are some that really pays well. However, you should also take extra precaution because there are also a lot of frauds on these programs.

Even though you do minimal effort on this kind of program, you could lose everything--- money, time, and traffic----- if you have been victimized by a fraud program. To avoid such loss, you should be properly informed about affiliate programs.

Here are the extra information you should know:

1. There are many affiliate programs out there---- some are free and some ask you to pay for membership--- but, just to stay out of risk, choose your affiliate from the roster of free-from-fees affiliates.

2. Join more than one affiliate program. This will enable you to compare one program from the other, and will very much track those who are frauds.

3. Analyze the affiliates system of payment:
- What is the mode of payment?
- When will the payment be issued?
- What is their minimum (traffic/visitor) requirement before they issue the payment?

4. Know the tracking system of the program and how long will your referrals stay on the program.

5. Be able to look for a program that offers a detailed statistics, which should be available for your viewing.

6. Know the people behind the billing system. If it is run by some billing company the better. Often times, if the billing system is handled by a third party, there is no fraud in the system compared to only two people who handle the system.

7. Find out more about the retailer and the products/services they are offering. It is better if you could also look for ways on how credible they really are by looking through their content, awards gained, other sites that link to them, testimonies and news about them, etc.

8. Know the percentage of your commission. Be able to compute all figures first before you sign up for them.

9. Rate your affiliate site from its contents to its navigation. Be able to see if the site is worthy for a visit and if it easy to use.

10. Know the hits per ratio of the program and if they also pay you the hits besides the commission.

Mary Ann Carolyn Dalangin-Tordecilla

Mary Ann Carolyn "Mean" Dalangin-Tordecilla has a natural passion for writing. Since childhood, she spent most of her quiet times writing poetry and short novels. This hobby led her to pursue a writing course in college. During her university years, she has been a Dean?s Lister and has reaped several special awards. These awards include: Best Student Advocacy Award of the Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) of 2003 in the student-group-made commercial titled Beinte Cinco; and Top Ten Notable Thesis in Journalism in her thesis work titled, A Study on the Violence in Disney's Film Adaptations of the Grimms' Tales and its Effect on the Anxiety Level of Children. She also became an active member in various university groups, specifically the media and politics. By 2005, she graduated at the University of Santo Tomas with a degree of AB Journalism.

Aside from being a full-time writer, she also loves beauty and the arts. She appreciates the works of the Impressionist artist Monet and loves to paint landscapes and seascapes. She also loves to do photography of people, where the theme centers on the spirit of realism. Aside from that she simply enjoys life and hangs out mostly on the dance floor or by the beach.