As a beginner you may make some horrible decisions by choosing the wrong merchants for your affiliate marketing ventures. However with time you will learn that there are merchants who are genuine and will provide you with the right compensation for your efforts. However you need to sieve the offers you get and be very careful when you choose a merchant who you are going to work for, for at least a week or two.

Here are a few things you should pay attention to when you choose a merchant you wish to create communication for:

1. Established Category: Ideally you should choose a category that is established in the marketplace instead of choosing a product or service that is relatively new. Creating a desire for a service or product that is unheard is going to be difficult on an online platform and therefore you should choose products and services people are already familiar with.

2. Familiarity: Ideally you should choose a niche that you are familiar with. Merchants who can offer you programs that belong to categories that you may be familiar with should be given priority. However you may come across a number of merchants that may not offer you good compensation for the offers, therefore be patient and only take up offers that you are comfortable with and those that give you value for your time.

3. Compensation: You are in the realm on online marketing, primarily because you want to make money. Therefore it is important that you choose merchants who can offer you your time’s worth. The effort you put into affiliate marketing is quiet substantial and if you constantly pick the wrong merchants you will realise that you are putting in more time and effort without being compensated accordingly. So, choose according to compensation within your niche.

4. Credibility: The one thing you need to be particularly careful about is the credibility of the merchant you are picking. More often than not, if you pick the wrong merchants you may spend days waiting for your check. You need to pick merchants who can offer you good offers and also pay you in time as apposed to those that cannot be trusted.

5. Lifetime income programs: A few merchants exist offering lifetime income programs. For example poker programs often pay a rev share of the rakes generated by a referred player for all his playing life. Generally these programs will give you less income in the short term, but on the other hand they will ensure a more steady income for your business. When you pick a program of this nature you can focus some amount of your energy on this one and the rest of your time can be invested in finding programs offering higher returns.

When looking for a merchant be sure to pay attention to the tips mentioned above. Be careful and keep your eyes open at all times. Don’t invest all your time in marketing a certain product or service, always search and look for better merchants who can give a better reward for your time.