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In some of my previous posts I have written about how you can use affiliate programs to generate money from your website. However, I never elaborated on what things you should be looking for before you join an affiliate program. So today I give you ‘What to Look For In a Good Affiliate Program.’

An affiliate programs can take may shapes and forms. At their most basic level they simply offer a percentage of the purchase price of a certain product. For example, Amazon.com currently runs one of the largest and oldest affiliate programs on the Internet. They simply pay you a small percentage (10% or less) for every book, movie, computer game, etc. that someone buys as a result of coming through your link.

Other affiliate programs will pay you just for a lead, which means you don’t have to sell anything at all to make money. This can include programs for loan applications, newsletter subscriptions or anything else where a sale is not made right away. Finally, some affiliate programs will even pay per click (similar to Google AdSesne) but this has become quite rare due to click-fraud.

Now that you have a basic idea of the different commission types available, lets look at what features a good affiliate program should have. Most affiliate programs will not have all of these things but you can judge how good an affiliate program is by how many of them it does have.

1. Fits With Your Site

The first thing you need to look for in an affiliate program is one that is appropriate for your site. For example if I have a site on the topic of traveling to Japan, I might want to include affiliate programs for hotels, airlines and Japanese language products. Other products like web hosting, Internet marking or financial services probably won’t work.

So, pick programs that fit your sites theme.

2. High Commissions

The next thing you want to look for are programs that pay you a high percentage of the sale price or a large amount per sale or lead. Remember these should fit with the theme of your site, but if you have multiple programs to choose from, it is usually better to pick the one that pays you more (kinda of a no-brainer there).

Some examples of these types of programs include ClickBank and PayDotCom products, some Commission Junction programs, Site Build It, Joe Bucks Health Supplements, Forex Affiliate and many dating sites.

Making sales can be difficult so you want to make sure that each one brings you a maximum amount of revenue.

3. Merchant Site Converts Well

This is just as important as a high commission rate. There is no point sending your visitors to a merchant’s affiliate site if you can’t make any sales. Overall, you want to find affiliate programs that have high commissions and convert well. Your sites theme will determine how well a given affiliate program works for you.

Generally, I only choose programs from merchants whose affiliate sites are ones I would personally buy from.

4. Lifetime Commissions

This is something I love to find in an affiliate program. With these types of programs all you have to do is sell once, and then you keep earning in the future. When you send someone to the merchant’s affiliate site they become your customer for life. So, if they come back in 10 years and buy something you would still be credited.

Life commission programs work best with programs that have monthly or yearly recurring commissions. These are some that I personally have had had some success with: Site Build It, DealDotCom, Joe Bucks, Forex Affiliate, Dating Sites, PayDotCom and ClickBank.

Selling once and getting paid over and over again makes earning a living online that much easier.

5. 2-Tier or Multi-tier

Many programs offer to give you a small amount of the earning of other affiliates you refer. When it is simply off people you refer directly, it is called a 2-tier program and when you earn money of people your affiliates refer, it is called multi-tier. To me this is far less important that the other factors I listed above, but is still a nice bonus.

I have found that many of the affiliates who join these types of programs focus more on signing up other affiliates rather than selling the product. If the product/service does not fit your site then there is no point signing up for it. That being said, if an affiliate program does fit your site, it is nice to earn a little bit extra off other people who may join. Some good affiliate programs that are also two tier are: Site Build It, DealDotCom, Joe Bucks, Dating Sites and Forex Affiliate.

Remember, 2-Tier only makes sense if the actual product being sold fits with your site.

6. Support

This is something else that can very important to people new to affiliate programs. Ideally you want an affiliate program that offers you ongoing support to help you make sales. This varies greatly from program to program and most times I find you have to join the program (almost always free) before you know for sure. Overall, I have found that affiliate program mangers are realizing that it is in their best interest to offer ongoing support.

Probably the affiliate program with the best affiliate support I have found so far is Site Build It. Many smaller run programs also offer good support, because their affiliate relationships are so important to their business.

However, one affiliate network that I strongly advise you to stay away from is rocket profit. A few months ago they banned my account without warning and refused to reopen it. This is despite the fact that it was a tiny infraction, which could have been solved very easily on my end. I got paid in the end but this is a perfect example of the wrong kind of support.

If you have questions make sure you ask. If they are not answered promptly you should ask yourself, if this is a company I want to do business with.

7. Payment

Finally, you want to join affiliate programs that pay you on time, every time. Occasionally, you will find yourself in a situation where a merchant fails to pay but this is exceedingly rare. I would guess that over 99% of merchants pay when they are supposed to. If you are worried about this, then I urge you to join a big affiliate network like ClickBank or Commission Junction because they handle all payment issues. Every affiliate program I have mentioned today has also paid me on time.

Keep these things in mind when you look at affiliate programs and you will make more money with less hassle than most new website owners. To find affiliate programs specifically for your niche I recommend the following resources:

AssociatePrograms.com – The biggest directory of affiliate programs on the internet.
LifeTimeCommissions.com – The largest directory of affiliate programs that pay you for life.

Last week I posted an article about ‘How To Start An Internet Business From Home‘. In it, I talked about some of the easiest and most common types of online businesses you could start from home. However, most of the ideas I presented cost more than $100 to start. So, today I decided that I would present two Internet business ideas for the extremely fiscally challenged.

Now it is possible to start an Internet business for free. Yet, I do not recommend always looking to use free resources for your online business. I have found that you often get what you pay for, so “free” often ends up being a false economy. That being said, there is one type of business that you can start free that works well.

Starting an eBay Auction Business

Now I have already explained what you need to start an eBay business so I won’t repeat it here. (If you missed it please check out the link to last week’s article above). It’s free to get an eBay account and the only real start-up cost is paying for the things you are going to sell. eBay even gives you tons of free advice at their eBay University Learning Center.

Still, to be successful in this type of business you need to have something to sell, that people want to buy. Personally, I have never had much success from eBay mainly because I don’t really know what people want to buy. Nevertheless, many people have been extremely successful from it, so if you are looking at starting an Internet business for free it is hard to beat eBay.

However, there is one type of online business I have been successful with, that can also be started for free. This is setting up content blogs. But, if you want to be really successful with them I don’t recommend using the free options. Instead, I recommend a solution that costs just under $100.

The reason I recommend blogs and not building an actual website is that blogs are much more user friendly. For a beginner you pretty much just have to write and post and the blog software does everything else for you. This gives you more time to focus on your business instead of wasting it learning HTML, PHP, CGI etc.

Starting Your Own Content Blog

There are many popular places where you can start a blog for free. Two of the most popular are blogger and wordpress. These resources are fine if all you want to do is set up a hobby or personal blog, but in my opinion they don’t quite cut it for starting a business. If you have absolutely no money though these can be a good option.

If you have about $100 to spend though I have an option I think is a million times better. First you need to get a basic web hosting account (My favorite by far is BlueHost). Then you set-up your own custom wordpress blogs with your own domain. So instead of myblog.blogger.com you get www.myblog.com. The reason why I like bluehost so much is that they give you your first domain name ‘free’ (well it is included with hosting cost) and they make it really easy to install your first blog. The cost for a full year of hosting is about $95, but I think well worth it.

Before you start though you should pick a niche for your blog. I highly recommend niche inspector but this does cost over $100 just on its own. The good news is that Myleena Phan has a free guide on the site that allows you to do everything the software does just not nearly as quickly.

Finally, if you are setting up a blog you will want to make money from it. The easiest way is to just put up Google AdSense ads on it (like the ones on this blog). Other options included using affiliate programs (I recommend Associateprograms.com to find them) and getting paid to write content, such as payperpost.com. My recommendation is to use some combination of these methods as you will make more money that way.

So there you have it, two very different types of online businesses you can start for less than $100. You own personality and goals will determine which one you choose. Now who ever said starting an Internet business had to be expensive?

How do I start an Internet business? This is a very common, yet difficult question to answer, since there are so many different kinds of Internet businesses out there. These range from huge Internet companies like Google, eBay and Amazon to small hobby sites and blogs. For the sake of this article I will focus on the smaller types of online businesses that you can easily start from your own home.

A Warning About Scams Targeting People Starting New Internet Businesses

Now I assume you are reading this because you want to start your own Internet business, but don’t know where to start. No problem with that; everyone has to start somewhere. The problem is that many unscrupulous Internet marketers prey on potential new Internet business owners with promises of quick riches. For some of the worst examples see: Get Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free, The 12 Month Internet Millionaire, or Project Black Mask.

Now, I have to admit when I first started thinking about starting an Internet business, that I fell for more than my fair share of these products. I bought eBooks, software programs and pretty much anything that I thought would make me a million bucks in a month. Pretty stupid, eh?

The fact is that most of these guides are total BS and include information that can be found for free all over the Internet. I personally guarantee that if you read this free blog regularly you will get more out of it than 98% of eBooks sold on the subject of starting an Internet business. This not to say that starting a business online is free, just that you should only pay for things that will really grow your business.

Now that you have been suitably warned on what not to waste your money on, lets look at a few simple Internet business ideas.

The Easiest and Cheapest Internet Businesses You Can Start From Home

There a probably hundreds, if not thousands of different Internet businesses you could potentially start from home. However, I have chosen to examine 4 different types of businesses that are relatively cheap, easy to start and have a proven track record. Obviously, this is by no means exhaustive list, instead it is designed to get your creative online business juices flowing.

1. Sell Your Own Products and/or Services Online

Summary: This is probably the most straightforward online business. You make money by selling your own products and/or services online, usually through a website.

Pros:The most tried and true method of making money online. A great way to expand your offline business, if you have one. Allows you to have more control over your sales process than some other types of Internet businesses listed below.

Cons: You have to already have or need to create a product or service people want. Depending on the product and/or service lots of competition may already exist. Generally speaking, higher start-up costs than the other types of Internet businesses listed below.

What You’ll Need: At a bare minimum a website and a way of processing online transactions. If you are new to building websites I recommend looking at Site Build It. I have used it for creating websites in the past and I can honestly say that it is one of the easiest ways to build a website.

If you already have a website or are going to have someone design one for you I also recommend looking at using bluehost.com for your web hosting needs. This is not nearly as simple to use as Site Build It but it allows far more control and customization. Again I have been a happy customer of theirs for over 2 years now.

Finally, the cheapest and easiest ways to process online transactions is either through Paypal or Google Checkout. I have personally used Paypal successfully for many years but I have yet to try Google checkout.

2. Start An eBay/Auction Business

Summary: This another very common way of making money online. You make money by selling products through an auction website, most commonly eBay. These products can either be your own or someone else’s. Also, you could do a something similar through selling things on craigslist.

Pros: Very easy to set-up. You don’t need to own or make your own products, or even own your own website to get started. If you do own your own products, eBay can be another potential sales channel.

Cons: Depending on the type of products you wish to sell, eBay can be very competitive. Also, if you are reselling products through eBay you may have to pay for storage costs. Risk of eBay scams so you have to be a bit careful.

What You’ll Need: Obviously the first things you will need, if you don’t already have them, is an eBay and Paypal account. Almost everyone pays for their eBay purchases through Paypal so it is a must.

Second, if you don’t already have your own products or place to buy things to resell, you should consider a drop shipping company. These companies will ship products on your behalf and you get to keep the profit. My personal favorite is Doba, which you can visit for more information on these types of products.

3. Create Your Own Content Website

Summary: This is becoming one of if not the most popular type of online business. Basically, you create a website on any subject and you can make money by putting paid links on it. The most popular way of doing is through Google AdSense but you can try other things such as affiliate programs.

Pros: Relatively easy to create and set-up. You can create a website on just about anything and make some money from it. You don’t need to “sell” to still make money.

Cons: Certain website topic niches are so competitive that it almost impossible for a new site to break in. Earnings may not be as high selling your own product. Depending on your topic area you may find it difficult to diversify your income.

What You’ll Need: The first thing you will need, obviously enough, is a website. If you have no idea how to create and monetize a website then I highly recommend Site Build It. It will take you step by step through the process of building a profitable website.

If you are a bit more knowledgeable about building websites and want a good web host I recommend bluehost.com. They are cheaper than Site Build It and offer more flexibility but you need to know what you are doing to make money using this method. If you do opt to host your website instead of using Site Built It I recommend you look at Niche Inspector to figure out what kind of website to build.

Finally, you should get a Google AdSense account so you make money of your website content. Also, if you want to find a good list of affiliate programs I recommend Allan Gardyne’s site associateprograms.com.

4. Create Your Own Blog

Summary: This is very similar online business idea to the one mentioned above. Instead of creating a website you can create a blog and still make money from it. Again the most common ways are through AdSense, affiliate programs and Payperpost.

Pros: Very cheap and easy to set-up. Like a website you can create it on almost any topic and still make some money. Also, does not need to sales oriented to still be profitable.

Cons: Needs to be updated regularly to ensure steady income stream. An increasingly competitive field, making it difficult to stand out. Less tolerance of marketing or attempting to sell things than websites.

What You’ll Need: You will need to create a blog. Free options include blogger (owned by Google) and WordPress. However, if you want to start a serious blogging business I suggest getting your own hosted blog account on your own domain. Instead of having myblog.blogspot.com you will have myblog.com. This looks much more professional and in the long term will result in higher profits. My favorite solution for hosting blogs is through bluehost.com. You can create as many blogs as you would like and only pay $10 per domain name.

Finally, if you want to start making money from your blog you differently need to sign up for AdSense (see link above) since this is the easiest way to earn money from it. Other good options are Adbrite (An AdSense clone, with looser quality controls), pay-per-post and affiliate programs.

So there you have it 4 different Internet business ideas that you could start from home today. But don’t limit yourself just to the ideas I have listed. Think of creative ways of combining two or three of these ideas together and add your own touches. Remember the sooner you start the sooner you can succeed.

Is there anything you would like more information on? If so please ask for it in the comments section below. I will use your ideas to create new content here in the future.