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Choosing which merchants you would like to represent is easy, at least on the surface. Once you have been accepted by one or more networks, just look at their index of merchants and selct ones that have products you would like to sell. Simple Huh? But there's more. Some merchants will not accept you as an affiliate, especially at first. Some want to see that you have a website that meets a particular standard first, and some want to see that you already have some type of connection to the type of product they sell. Don't be discouraged if you are not accepted by every merchant you apply to- there are plenty more to choose from. You can always apply again later, after you have a website or blog built. Also, resist the temptation to join every merchant you see (there are thousands) because you will not be able to manage them all at once. Start with a few and then add to them, building new sites as you go.
You can get started immediately with a lot of merchants because they auto-approve affiliates on the spot, so the next question is: What next? The answer to that depends entirely upon whether or not you are willing to put in the time and effort required to succeed. One of the dirty little secrets about affiliate marketing is that, just like any other business on the web most people are unsuccessful at it. The answer is the same as it usually is too- they don't work hard enough and stick to it long enough to be successful. If you think that a page full of banners selling every product under the sun is going to cut it for you, there is a little bad news. It won't. You will have to learn to make a site or blog that invites people to stick around and shop, and also have the confidence to buy products from. You may now be thinking that this is harder than you thought, but I promise it is something you can accomplish with some dedication. We will be talking more about site building later on; for now familiarize yourself with all of the creatives (that's what the banners, links, and other advertising tools the merchant offers are called) and try to imagine how they might be used on your site.
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