1) Does the affiliate network contain original offers or just the same old garbage, the garbage that gives you dubious percent commissions? I usually do not work for affiliate programs that pay percentages. (But I do like Adland, because its percent commissions do pay off and they pay you on time every time.) 2) Does the network contain mostly affiliate programs that promise you flat-rate payments (that is, $1 per lead, $5 per lead, etc.) for obtaining customers that provide email addresses in order to participate in lotteries and contests? These "Join to Win" offerings are usually poorly converting programs. 3) Does the network's website look unprofessional? Does it load slow? Stay away from it. The affiliate banners and links might cause your web pages to load slowly. (But check the site in question at different times on different days. You might find that the site is reasonably fast most of the time and that occasional slowness is often caused by your own Internet connection or by the weather.)

• I join networks that pay per lead or pay per click (PPC) or impression (CPM), networks that look downright professional and that offer affiliate programs that I cannot find anywhere else. I usually promote legitimate Web services that pay flat rates for leads/joins/referrals, rates like $1 per lead or maybe $10 per sign-up.

I do not usually work for percent commissions. (Although I will work for big names like Amazon.com and for big networks that prove to pay well and on time.) Note: On your side of the equation, you should strive to create clean-cut websites that contain interesting and original (easily readable) content. Learn to write. Learn to design. Use free platforms like Wordpress and Drupal. Practice. (Get a great free cPanel web hosting account - click here or Click here for a short list of reliable free web hosts. And subscribe to costfreehost.com.) Then promote your sites on social networks and as trusted links and in web directories and business networks. No matter what you are selling, getting traffic to your sites is very important.
Affiliate programs and networks