For the new comer to Affiliate Marketing there is some research to do and some decisions to make.
One of these decisions is what product to promote in order to make money.
Perhaps he or she may be surprised to know that this should not be the first decision.
They should begin by researching their market.
The first choice would probably be something they are interested in or which they are passionate about.
It may be care of pets, (cats, dogs, ferrets), or something associated with making money.
Start off by researching whether there is sufficient interest in that market and if so would those people be willing to spend money on it.
Next the affiliate must find out what competition he or she is likely to encounter and if they could compete successfully.
Ideally it should be a niche market; a small section of the market where there will be less competition and fewer browsers or 'tire-kickers'.
Having established which market they wish to deal in, there is the choice of product to promote.
This product should fulfill some basic requirements:-

• The quality of the product.
  The product should satisfy the potential customer's requirements.
  It would be a waste of time and effort to promote something which had a high return rate.
  
• Is it a product the affiliate is comfortable promoting? If you are uncomfortable with a product it is difficult to maintain enthusiasm in the advertising.
  
• Is the commission likely to provide a satisfactory return for the effort put in to promoting it? If it is something that will sell in large numbers, then a lower commission may be acceptable.
  Most times it is recommended that the affiliate should choose a product which has a commission of $20 or more in order to make money.
  
• Is the vendor's sales page interesting and would a visitor be likely to buy the product? The affiliate should ask himself whether he would be likely to respond to the sales page.
  
• Does the vendor provide support for his affiliate in the way of tools to help with promoting the product? There should be sample text ads, emails, banners etc.
  available for the affiliate to use.
  Some vendors are very helpful to their affiliate marketer in this respect.
  

This short article will give the new affiliate some idea of what is required when choosing a product to promote, but there is a lot to learn in order to be a successful internet marketer.
A first class course in affiliate marketing is well worth investing in and will save a newbie and even more advanced marketers a lot of time and frustration.