• Promote low quality products
• Inflate prices to cover affiliate commissions
• Generate backlash from inappropriate promotion by affiliates (eg SPAM)
• Change the rules frequently - often just before they are due to write checks
• Are one-hit - once you have handed over a new customer, it belongs to them
• Have problems technically handling the scale of transactions and abuse they generate (often also associated with the check run)

So - what I found happened was that I devalued my site (and my "brand") by littering my pages with banner and text ads for products I had no passion for.
I provided effectively free branding and very low cost first time customers for a few companies.
I invested a great deal of time and effort in setting up banner rotation and random text scripts to promote these companies.

And - I earned a tiny amount of money in the process!

Dumb.

I'm happy to say it's dumb because it was me that did it. If it was you, I'd be much more understanding. Honest.

So serious, that I didn't think my criteria for an affiliate scheme would ever be met. Here they are:

• Products I am happy to have my name linked to
• Products that actually DO something
• Large, global marketplace
• Lifetime (or at least long term) commissions
• Demonstrable honesty and "honour"
• Quality thresholds on affiliates

This proved to be an immense help, and through it I found that Ken was already the publisher of "Make Your Site Sell!" which proved to be my single most valuable (and one of the cheapest) investment in my internet business.

I know this sounds like I'm some kind of impulse buyer, but nothing could be further from the truth - I took full advantage of the free SiteSell training courses, newsletters and samples before parting with any money!

It was only after all this was up and running that I realised they run an affiliate scheme for their products - and doh! - it only turns out to be the program of my dreams.

Remember my ideal criteria? Well, wait 'til you see the "5 Pillars" that Ken's program is based on (it's called the "5 Pillar Affiliate Program" by the way!)

1. A rapidly growing, highly synergistic, in-demand line of high value products.
2. A high first-purchase commission.
3. A lifetime commission on all purchases by customers originally referred by you.
4. A lifetime commission based on the earnings of your entire team of affiliates.
5. A limited number of affiliates - "too many affiliates spoils the program!"

The 224-page Affiliate Manual, free to affiliates was described by Allan Gardyne as "the best manual on the market".

If you haven't followed a link already, please take a look now - download the introduction file and read it this evening.

If you join the program (which is free by the way) after following a link from Practical Selling, you will automatically be enrolled as part of my "team" - and that means I have a keen interest in your success. You can choose never to hear from me again, but if you let me, I'll add a 6th pillar to Ken's 5:

I send out regular newsletters to team members sharing best practice and successful techniques, and am in the process of setting up some resource pages specifically fo their use. These will store the newsletter archives and could be extended to include a discussion forum if team members think it will be useful.

... and of course, remember the basis of all our recommendations.

Please email me if you have any questions at all before following up on this. Remember, you don't need an existing business to take advantage of the 5 Pillar Program - indeed, you can create a business from it alone. In theory, you don't even need a web site!

The REAL Bottom Line: I earned more money in my first week as a 5 Pillar Affiliate than I earned all last year from running ads and affiliate links on my other web site.