Offering affiliate programs is growing as a promotional tool for small business owners. A report from Constant Contact shows that 82% of small business owners cited referrals as their main source of new business. Affiliate marketers can do wonders for your business, but you need to be careful when deciding who to allow into your affiliate program. Wrong choices can cost you in terms of negative reputation, fake purchases and reduced profitability – ultimately husting your business credibility and your confidence. Offering affiliate programs makes sense for small businesses as they may not be popular enough in search engines to get organic coverage from websites and media publications.

But how do you choose an affiliate? Here are some common mistake to avoid:

COMMON AFFILIATE PROGRAM MISTAKES

You can always resort to affiliate programs when you’re not looking to spend too much on other forms of marketing, but make sure …