They never buy the product themselves nor do they ever plan to. Of course, the commission structure and ease of sale should be considered, but first and foremost, you should always be knowledgeable of the product. Remember, you are representing the company and are expected to be the expert. This is hard to accomplish if you have no familiarity with what you are promoting. These are some important factors you should consider before deciding to join any affiliate program.
Product quality is extremely important.
If you refer someone to an inferior product, they never forget it, and you lose your credibility. This can be very detrimental if you own a web site chuck full of affiliate programs. You can forget about that visitor ordering anything else based upon your recommendations. Of course, all of the above program characteristics mentioned may not hold equal importance. For example, product quality should always be a priority, but real time reporting or secure ordering options may or may not be as big a deal when deciding on whether or not to join.