Okay, so enough about us and our trials and tribulations. Let’s talk about what makes a good program. It is simple; bottom line is closing ratio. Look, if someone is offering you $200.00 per referral, you have to consider a couple of things:

1. Will they pay me on each and every completed application? 2. How many applications do I have to send their way in order to receive my commission (what is closing ratio)?

Then there are those programs offering just $50.00. Consider this: If they are only paying $50.00, how are they competing? The answer: they pay!

If program is paying high commissions, customer is going to lose in end and if you referred him, guess what? You are not good guy but bad guy who helped gouge him.

Let’s face it. We walk a fine line. How do you win? You focus on program that makes it a win/win/win for you, customer and company.

The first thing to do when signing up for an affiliate program is to find out what is closing ratio. Naturally this will depend on type of leads you send to company, but it should have a general idea. Once you have that information, calculate what each lead is worth, then make your decision.

Also, if you are willing to send a substantial amount of business their way, find out what other benefits you may receive as an affiliate. A good idea is to submit a news release or article for publication in their ezine and trade links periodically. Publicity for both companies leads to more revenue. Keep in mind, it should be a partnership if you are going to heavily promote their business.

Because they are giving so much away to their affiliates with high commissions it shows they are supremely confident in worth of their product or service and its ability to sell itself. Their product or service is that good.

The affiliates are doing all pre-selling, all hard work, getting eyeballs at their web sites. You want to get paid for it. Do not accept 10% commission rates. Set yourself a standard of nothing less than 20% and make sure that 20% is more than just a couple of dollars.

It is with big-percentage payers where you can make some decent commissions. The 40%-plus hitters. These BIG affiliate program commissions are ones that will see your bank balance explode each and every month.