Finding Affiliate Programs

For most affiliate marketers, determining what to promote usually depends on what affiliate programs they are signed up with. For both beginner and experienced Internet marketers, Clickbank is one of the most common of these networks.

Clickbank offers tens of thousands of digital downloadable products. Once signed up with them, a marketer can promote any of their products. Clickbank doesn't actually make any products, rather they are the middleman. Essentially, they provide the payment processing, while the actual product creator provides the product, creates the sales page, etc.

Beyond Clickbank, which works only with digital products, one of the most common providers is Commission Junction. CJ aggregates hundreds of manufacturers and provides their affiliate programs, enabling them to promote their products through online marketers. As with Clickbank, anyone who signs up has access to thousands of these product providers, though you have to apply for and in some cases be manually approved for each one.

But there are many, many opportunities beyond what these networks offer. Depending on where your traffic comes from, or what markets you operate in, it's entirely possible that there either aren't any, or any good products available this way.

So how do you go about finding products or services to promote? Easy, do a search! First, search as someone looking for a site like yours. See what companies are advertising on those search pages. Second, search for actual products. Often, these companies will have affiliate programs of their own.

By visiting their websites, you can often find a link at the bottom that will take you to their in-house program. If you stick with the 'usual suspects' in terms of affiliate networks or providers, you limit yourself and what you can offer or promote. You're also doing what every one else is doing.

If you make the effort to search out other programs and products, you will be ahead of the game and gain yourself a competitive edge.

And success in online marketing can often be dictated by where and how you can get a competitive edge. Making money online this way is hugely lucrative, but as with so many other things, by simply going outside the box a little bit, you can enhance your position, improve your revenue and bottom line, and have a more successful, lasting business!