by: Chet BrzezinskiAffiliate programs are a great way to earn extra money or even a good living if you do things right. But unfortunately, there are alot of people out there that know this and will do everything they can to swindle you into selling their products while not having to pay you a dime. There are some merchants that view affiliates as a source of free traffic and free marketing.

Here are a few things that should draw up a red flag when you come accross an affiliate program:

No Contact Information
If they don't post their contact information on their site then you should not bother with them. To me this tells me they are trying to hide something.

Commission To High
Yes, it is great when we find affiliate programs that pay high commissions. But you also have to be careful that they are not just trying to draw you into their affiliate program by using big numbers. It wouldn't be good to earn alot of money just to get scammed. If it is to good to be true then most likely it is. A merchant will never pay more on a commission then they would get for the sale. It is just not business smart.

No Replies To Your Emails
If they do have their email address on their site and you send them an email but they never reply then you should drop them like a hot rock. If you can't trust them to take one minute to give you a reply then you shouldn't trust them to spend a few more minutes cutting and mailing you a check.

Returned Affiliate Payment Checks
If they do send you a check and your bank returns it then this would be another reason to draw up the red flag of being scammed. Of course you should always contact the merchant to try to resolve the issue, it could be an honest mistake. But if it happens in conjuction with no email replies and lousy affiliate support then I wouldn't waste anymore of my time with them.

The bottom line is that you should always use your gut feeling when dealing with affiliate programs. If you are not sure about an affiliate program then search the search engines for the merchants name. If they are known for scamming affiliates you are sure to find it in the search engines and affiliate forums.

About the Author

Chet Brzezinski has been in the affiliate marketing and affiliate management industry since 1997. View more affiliate program related articles at any of Chet's sites below:
http://www.affiliate-program-review.com
http://www.proudmedia.com