The very first question most people ask is "how do I make the most money?"

The best answer is, find a good affiliate program. Sounds simple, but really a "good" program is different for everyone. Some may think it's the highest paid commissions, others may want a network that really supports them and still others may want products that are related to their own websites/blogs (i.e. if you're writing about the enviornment, you may want to only promote "green" products).

So let's break those down.

I started with this one because it's usually the first thing people think of when they think of making money as an affilaite marketer.

Many companies and affiliate networks claim to offer the highest commissions. Unfortunately, there is no short cut to finding out if their claims are true. You'll have to read the terms of every affiliate agreement you're interested in and compare the payouts.

The good news is many companies these days have affiliate programs and are happy to have you onboard promoting for them. The bad news is, many of these companies don't have staff dedicated to these programs so once you're an associate you're sort of on your own.

Don't believe me? Call the headquarters of any major retailer and ask to speak to an Affiliate Marketing Manager. Once the confused receptionist asks you to repeat yourself several times you'll become a believer.

Therefore, I think that affiliate networks are the way to go. A whole industry has sprouted around affiliate marketing and these networks are dedicated to making you successful in this industry.

Networks like CJ and Linkshare have a slew of big name clients with affiliate programs for you to choose from. They also regulary send out new ads and new media for you to use on your sites.

Speaking of new ads, they are also on the cutting edge of affiliate marketing technology. While it may take your Walmarts of the world a long time to embrace new technology, affiliate networks are actively searching out the next best thing in the field.

For example, the Qoof widget, built specifically for affiliate marketing, has been picked up by these and other large affiliate networks. The widget plays product videos, offers product info, comparison pricing and, the best part, has a "buy it now" button. Once someone clicks on it, they are sent to the company's landing page and the affiliate marketer gets the commission when a sale is made. Pretty sweet that all of the associates of these networks have access to it, but I doubt "Best Buy" even knows about it yet.

This, in my humble opinion, is the most important factor in being successful with affiliate marketing.

It boils down to targeting your audience. Promote products that are relevant to what your discussing on your website. It doesn't really make sense to promote cameras on a blog about breast cancer research, but, some drugstore.com products may actually be beneficial to some readers.

So, make sure to pick products that compliment, relate or enhance your topic of discussion.

That little bit of advice leads me to something else you should consider. It's not a good idea to build a website or blog around a product. You'll lose interest quickly and it won't be any fun.

Find something you really like or something you know a lot about and be THE expert. Then, and only then, find products to promote. A lot of really successful affiliates actually write about products they use and know. That's useful to readers. The get reviews and first person recommendations which is more likely to result in a sale.