The idea sounds great, doesn't it. No worries about creating your own product. Simply promote someone else's product and they'll give you a cut from the sale.

Do affiliate programs work? Yes they do.

Are all affiliate programs created equal? Absolutely not!

So how do you go about choosing the best web master affiliate program for your site?

Partly it depends on the product you're promoting.

Clickbank is an excellent source of downloadable products. Ebooks, audios and even videos. It's easy to join and pays out regular as clockwork so long as you have earned enough to qualify for a check. The downside is that if you're in an internet savvy niche (such as internet marketing) then it's easy for other affiliates to substitute their affiliate code and take the commission. Step outside internet marketing and this is unlikely to be an issue.

Commission Junction is another big affiliate network. Again, it's one check regardless of how many different schemes you promote. Products can be downloadable or real, physical goods. The downside with Commission Junction (CJ) is that you have to apply for each separate merchant individually and if you're not selling the product regularly, they will cull you from the program and you'll need to reapply. But all things considered, CJ are well worth joining.

Finally there is the large group of individual web master affiliate programs. Lots of webmasters either don't have a product that fits the Clickbank model or don't want to pay CJ's fees. So they set up their own affiliate programs.

This last bunch is more difficult but in my experience it's also the most lucrative. You cut out around 90% of the competition immediately - most affiliates don't look further than Clickbank & CJ. Commission theft is more difficult as you need to sign up for each program separately. Quite a few are two tier, so you get the benefit of commission on sales from people you recruited. I highly recommend searching out these lesser known programs for the sake of your wallet.