When joining an ICO I look at the things like:
Team composition
(Do a background check of team members involved in the project)
Bitcointalk.org Thread
Stage of the project and VC investments
Community and Media
What do they need the token for?
Is the blockchain necessary?
Unlimited / Hard cap (future of crypto)
Find out the amount of market cap
limited cap (investment potential)
Token distribution – when and how?
Evaluating the Whitepaper.
Bounty programs
Affiliate links(Not a fan of)