Vendors and affiliate managers are going to work hard to get you on their virtual team of sales people. The sales copy on some of the affiliate pages will be nearly irresistible, promising big commissions and loads of sales. They’ll have you thinking about buying a new sports car or going on an exotic vacation with all your commissions… and this before you even join the affiliate program!

What you need to do is cut through the hype

to find the very best offers to promote.

Doing so will not only put more money in your pocket, it will also lighten your workload and protect your reputation.

Here’s what to look for:

• Good support. Send an email to the affiliate manager (or call them if they have phone support). Is there someone on the other end promptly and courteously answering inquiries? If so, that’s a good sign.

• Proven track record. Spend a few minutes with your friend Google to dig up everything you can on the product and the vendor. You’re looking for someone who has a good history and a solid reputation.

• Training materials. Even if you’re an expert affiliate marketer, take a peek inside the affiliate program area to see if they provide training materials for affiliates. If so, that’s a sign that they care about their affiliates and your success.

• Pre-sell content. Look for affiliate programs that provide emails, solo ads, classified ads, banner ads, articles, reports and other pre-sell content you can use.

• High conversion rate. You can ask the vendor for the conversion rate. But the only way to know for sure is to test it for yourself.

Tip: A PPC campaign is a fast and easy way to test a new product’s conversion rate.

• High commissions. If you’re selling physical products or services, you can’t expect commission rates much over 10% or so. But if you’re selling digital products, then look for commission rates of at least 50%.

• Backend commissions. Some products offer one-time-offers or other upsells. Check to see that you get credit for those, too.

• No sales leaks. Finally, make sure the sales page and the vendor’s sales process doesn’t have any sales leaks. For example, make sure the sales page doesn’t have an alternative payment method (such as phone or through a different payment processor) that would cut out your commission if the customer uses it.

Drop by Google.com and do a little research. Ask around at your favorite forum for recommendations on top affiliate program offers.