For those of you who are curious, let me go into Multi-level marketing in another post.  This article will mostly talk about pros and cons of the two. 

Affiliate marketing Pros

• no fees
• no inventory to buy or carry
• earns money as long as the website works

MLM pros

• get commissions for sales of people who sign up “below” you
• commissions continue to pay as long as you are in the program
• does not require a website, can be promoted via a website
• most commissions are 35-50%

Looking for a specific company? Start by googling “company X affiliate”.  If they don’t have an affiliate program, give them a call, pay them a visit, or send them an email.

Believe it or not, this company has managed to make money. Most likely because the children’s shoe is much less expensive than the adult’s shoe.  So, they’re doing a great thing for these kids that don’t even have shoes, and still making money (and feeling good about themselves).  How cool is that.

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I have purchased a lot of these products for review and I can honestly say that most of them are legitimate. And, most of them provide value. It’s important to note, however, that you will not automatically get rich because you buy any of these services. Good affiliate marketers use a lot of different tools and strategies, and could probably all write their own book. However, I believe that if you spend $50 on a book or service and you learn to make even $200 from it – that’s a 150% return on your money. Sure, you didn’t get rich, but you learned something along the way.

However, if you suspect that a product like Rich Jerk is a scam (btw, RIch Jerk is NOT a scam), you can look at a few different things on the website.

Here are some things to look for when evaluating products for scams. Is there some kind of customer service help on the website? Is there a phone number? Does the product have a positive testimonial or review? Can you find the product online by googling it? Can you pay for it by some kind of secured checkout, or can you use paypal that protects you from credit card fraud online?

Also, a lot of people are suspicious of actual advertiser scams. Be wary if someone asks you to pay for a list of advertisers, or pay to join an affiliate program. Also, if you want to be on top of things, join Revenue.com and get their magazine. It will list the top affiliate programs out there.

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The answer is not always as clear cut as it may seem. In the world of stocks the advice is “go with the best of breed”. That is to say that the company that performs best will continue to offer the best performance. Logically, this seems to hold true with affiliate marketing. The companies that offer perceived best value and perceived best brand will tend to out perform a no name brand almost all of the time, even if the no-name store pays 2-3 times the commission.

However, when playing with products that can be purchased at many stores, one always has to be aware that people will price compare and look for the best deal. The bottom line is test / restest and don’t hold on to a single advertiser because it’s your favorite place to shop.