There are many factors which influence amount of money earned by an affiliate. The most important is quality of affiliate program. So if you want to make lots of money, you must know how to choose an affiliate program.

First of all you should look for a web site that has been on net for some time. That's how you know that you can trust them and you will receive money you make. There are many untrustworthy programs that fooled a lot of webmasters with promises but they never sent money.

Next step is to check quality of products site is promoting. Don't advertise a product if you wouldn't use it for your self. You shouldn't be blinded by high commissions an affiliate program is offering. If you join a program with bad products you will damage your image and you won't be able to advertise other products ever because people won't value your opinion.

How do you know which program is going to bring best profit?

Well, I personally believe that a lot of income is created from effort an affiliate marketer puts into a program. But I do have a few pointers as to picking best one.

1. Commission. You need a program that will pay you a good commission rate. It should pay you at least 20% of each sale. A good rate is 50% and anything above that is ideal. You should also look for how often they pay. Some programs pay you twice a month and some only once a month. Most programs also only pay you when you have earned a base amount.

2. Attraction. Is website attractive? Or will your customers leave your site without even reading. The site needs to easy to read, but not boring. Also you don’t want to pick a site that is full of garbage, advertising an array of different subjects. Your site needs to filled with common ground. Also make sure sight doesn’t seem to be screaming for attention (lots of large, bold lettering).

3. Support. What is support for your program like? Do they have a good list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), a contact email address with a quick response (24 - 72 hours is good)? Any more than 3 days for a response is too long. Some programs even offer live chat. Now that is good!