Starting out with affiliate marketing is easy. All you have to do is register and the thing is it’s free. You don’t have to invest or pay for any membership. This is the reason a lot opted to start with affiliate marketing to earn online.
Considering the situation, many affiliate programs have started to sprout. Though we have a variety of programs to choose from, it is important to note that there are also scams in this kind of set up. As a beginner, knowing the different signs of a true and legitimate affiliate program would be of a great advantage.
Herewith are the things and affiliate marketer should know and verify before starting out with any affiliate programs:

An existing website

Though an existing website is not a guarantee of having a legitimate program or product, it would be more unbelievable for an affiliate program to have no website at all. A website is very important since this will be the site where you can see the kind of products that you are going to promote.
Availability of products
What will you promote if there are no products to sell? Remember that affiliate marketing is about getting paid for commissions from the sale of certain items and products. Thus, it is

Check the performance

A good affiliate program would not last long if there is no market for its product. Check the performance of the program and see if has been operating for how many years. The longer that it existed the greater chance that it is performing well and is worthy of your time and effort. If the program is new, just observed it for a couple of months and see how it is doing.

Contact and support

Send an inquiry to the affiliate program and see if they do respond. If they have a toll free number the better. If only and email address is available then, send them an email. A basic inquiry will do. See how long it took them to respond. Although you should not expect them to respond right away, due to the number of emails or inquiries every day. Perhaps 24 hours or 48 hour is reasonable enough. If you have not received any response, in most likelihood it is a scam.
Joining as a member should be free
Remember that you are there to promote. So basically, if I am the seller of the product, why would I ask you to pay when you will be promoting my product and in a way help me to earn? So if the program is asking for any membership fee to join their program, that would be another cause of concern.

One affiliate program that I can recommend is paydot.com. You can choose a variety of products to promote. I have been earning from this program. Why not you? You can check it out by going through this link:

http://paydotcom.net/?affiliate=261651

Read the testimonials and verify

Do not just believe on the testimonials on their face value. Contact the people who have provided testimonies. It would be very easy to come up with a fictitious name.

You may check out my blog and find other opportunities for earning:
http://workathome-jpso.blogspot.com