Newbie Affiliates' Guide to Product Payment Procedures

Selling other people's products attracts a wealth of money-making options, from a simple share of profits from visitors to your site who ultimately link and buy a product recommended by you, to a straightforward (usually small) payment every time a visitor to your site clicks through to another site, regardless of whether a sale ensues. Commissions are paid according to varying criteria, typically laid down by the supplying company, and including:

* Payment Per Click. Here you are paid according to visitors following links on your site to a site promoting goods and services belonging to the supplying company. Typically, payment per click ranges from 2 to 20 cents (or non-USA equivalent), for every visitor referred by you. However, thousands of companies offer payment per click programs, so promoting such sites can be an administrative nightmare, not to mention the fact you could spend excessive time, energy and money promoting sites that don't pay at all or simply do not provide earnings commensurate with your efforts.

* Payment Per Lead. Like payment per click schemes you simply find potential enquirers and buyers for the supplying company which can ultimately generate incredible profits for them, and just a few pennies per person for you! Like payment per click, avoid this type of opportunity, unless related energy, time and cost is low and rewards proportionately high.

* Payment Per Sale. Payment per sale programs offer rewards based on actual sales, not mere inquiries or clicks, and are almost certainly the best affiliate option for you to consider. This is the basis on which the world's leading affiliate companies operate, notably ClickBank, Amazon and eBay. Depending on the program, commission you receive can be on a first-time-only sale or based on all sales made to a customer introduced by you for the lifetime of his or her association with the supplying company.

Other programs offer commission on all sales to your lead during a specific period, such as six months or one year after the original sale. TIP: Prefer repeat over one-off commissions in virtually all cases, but especially for products generating repeat and back-end sales perhaps over the lifetime of your customers' association with the seller. Especially take a close look at repeat commission programs available at ClickBank.