http://www.dreamstime.com/-image23923200When you’re just starting out with affiliate marketing, taking the time to learn proven methods is a key step that will lay the foundation of your business for years to come.

I always recommend that beginners join a good affiliate marketing class when developing their first site.

A full length course will not only point you in the right direction, but make sure that you move step by step through a process that is proven to work.

In this post I’ll talk a little more about what to look for when choosing an affiliate marketing class.

3 Characteristics of a Good Affiliate Marketing Class

Easy to Follow Instructions

While this may seem obvious, finding a course that has easy to follow instructions isn’t something you should take for granted.

Many courses focus heavily on the theory involved behind affiliate marketing and what makes sites rank, without ever getting into the details about the actions required to set your site up for success.

As a beginner, you want a course that has clear, precise, and step by step tasks that will take you from point 0 to success.

Wide Membership Base

In addition to the course itself, a good affiliate marketing class will incorporate you into a community of other marketers.

Not only will this help you solve problems as you go forward, but it’s an indicator that the course is highly regarded and trusted within the affiliate blogosphere.

Read more about why you need a community.

Transparency

Finally, the last thing to consider before signing up for a course is the depth, breadth, and transparency of the owners.

Many of the lower quality training courses sit behind walled-gardens that just have a sales page, a video overview, and a buy it now link. You never even get a glimpse of what you’re buying until after you’ve sign up!

In today’s world, that’s something I find completely unacceptable. The top courses, like Wealthy Affiliate or Affilorama, offer free or low-cost trial options so that you can test-drive the course without needing to pay hundreds of dollars up front.

That level of transparency shows they have nothing to hide, and are proud of the course they offer.

The Best Program

My best advice to you is to sign up for the 10 free classes offered by Wealthy Affiliate.

These classes go way beyond the normal “free trial” offers you’ll find and give you a complete course that will help you get your business started today.  The free basic membership also includes access to the entire system, so you can interact with other members and access hundreds of additional blogs and trainings.

Click here to learn more about this free program.