If you are new to online business, like I used to be, the fastest way to start your Internet online business is by becoming an affiliate to sell some one else's products because it allows you to make money from your website visitors without having to worry about shipping and payment processing.

The products from the affiliate owners are usually information products such as electronic books (eBook) and software that can be delivered as a file that is then downloaded directly to your customers' computers. They could be repeatedly reproduced and downloaded and sold at no cost. There’s no packing, shipping and delivery cost.

The question you've to ask yourself is how can you determine which of the thousands of affiliate programs available in the Internet is suitable?

Many beginners encountered disappointment and frustration after signing up with some affiliate programs only to find out later that they eventually end up having brought in very little money if any, after wasting a lot of time and effort.

Hence the choice of affiliate programs is of utmost importance.

The most important criteria you should look for are:

1) They must offer products that the market is asking for or that are already in demand i.e. the low hanging fruit type of products, rather than creating new ideas hoping that the consumers would be convinced to buy.

2) The affiliate program must offer good commission to their affiliates. Although different people define “good” differently, generally if it could bring in about $500/month as a start, it would be something worth looking into. As mentioned, affiliate programs offer high commission for their information products such as e-books and software. The owners of these affiliate programs can afford to give large commissions (50% or more) because of low cost of “production”.

3) It must be easy to set up with step by step easy to follow instruction. And the website should be simple and yet attractive.

4) They should provide you with banners, images, links, sample ads and articles and emails to help you promote their products. Besides, they should also have a good support system for helping you with any problems you might have.

Do not be satisfied only by the above mentioned points. You should conduct further research to check on the background of the organisations behind the products, their quality, reliability and reputation. Wherever applicable, testimonials must be obtained and verified.

Study the affiliate agreement and assess the organisations you’re dealing with. Check their quality of service by sending them an email or calling them to see how quickly and how effectively they respond - or if they ever respond at all. Assess their affiliate products. If you yourself are not convinced by the quality and effectiveness of the products, drop it and move on to another program.

There are sites which review, compare and recommend some great affiliate programs. You should be able to find some programs with the right categories of products to sell.

Like most search engines, visitors love content of our websites. Content is one of the most important aspects of attracting potential prospects to your web sites and prompting them to become customers based on the “AIDA” logic i.e. Attention, Intention, Desire and Action.

As far as possible, choose affiliate programs which relate to what you are already doing, and then promote those products.

Join relevant online discussion forums and seek information and advice from those who are already successful being an affiliate.

Once you’ve decided, draft a simple business plan, set target of your goals, budget your expenditure, follow the instructions given, be fully committed and go for it!

See you in the Web. Start taking your first step tonight in your pyjamas! Good luck!