When you are searching for affiliate programs to join, you should read all of their terms and conditions, as lots of important information for you might be in there. However, even before reading the “do’s and dont’s” listed within all that legalese, you should pay special attention to what your cut is. Don’t blindly jump into spending your time evaluating and promoting a product that is going to pay you very very little for your time. Here’s just one example.

I received an email today from an affiliate manager wanting to know why I hadn’t yet signed up for his program. He mentioned the commission structure in this email, in which he said, “Our store pays 1% commission on all products, but with its performance tiers you can easily increase your commission up to 2%.”

My response to him was that their commission payout percentage was exactly why I hadn’t signed up. One to two percent? You’ve got to be kidding me. That is so not worthy my time and effort. It’s not even worth my time to finish reading his email, no matter how good the product is.

For every affiliate program out there, there is probably a competing program for you to consider. That’s not true for every niche, but it is true for most. If you aren’t happy with the commission structure, look for something better. Don’t waste your time on low-paying affiliate programs. Laugh at them instead and move on to something better.