Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate programs, in one form or another have been around for decades, but they have absolutely exploded in the online world in the past several years. There are affiliate programs for just about any kind of product or service you can imagine. Promoting products via affiliate programs is not only one of the easiest ways to get your business up and running online, but it can also be one of the most lucrative businesses to be in. We've got an entire section in the Barnes Internet Marketers Resource Guide chock full of tools to help you get started.

Affiliate programs are win-wins.

They are great for the merchant because by using affiliates, they suddenly can have hundreds or even thousands of new sales people working on their behalf. This not only increases sales, but their profit as well as they are only paying a commission when a sale is made.

With companies such as Wal Mart, Best Buy, Toys R US and other big time retailers offering affiliate programs, you know that this business model isn't the flash in the pan that many thought as recently as 5 or 6 years ago.  Amazon.com was the first online company with an affiliate company and is currently the largest one in existence.  They have a wide range of tools available to make your job as an affiliate as easy as possible.  In fact, they would be my number one choice in terms of joining a program if I were just starting out.

Affiliate programs are also great for the affiliate as well. These programs provide someone with no experience in sales an opportunity to make a significant income. As with drop shipping, you don't have to handle inventory, or shipping. But unlike drop shipping, you don't have to deal with accepting payment from customers. Your one and only job as an affiliate is to drive traffic to the site of the merchant you are an affiliate for. You do this via a special link that the merchant provides you. Once your customer is at the merchant's site, you job is done.

So, how do you find merchants that have affiliate programs?

There really are three main ways to go about this.

1. Visit Retail Sites

Many don't know that most of the major retailers offer affiliate programs. Of course, these programs are set up to drive traffic to their online sites and not their physical locations. To see if your favorite retailer has an affiliate program, simply visit their web site. If they have a program, they will generally have a link at the bottom of their home page. Look for the term partner, affiliate, online associate, etc. If you don't see a link, don't be afraid to email them and ask them if they have an affiliate program.

2. Online Vendors

You have likely done business with these vendors at some point in time. These are companies that are famous for a huge Internet presence. Companies such as Apple iTunes, Dell and McAffee. Yep, they all have affiliate programs you can earn an income from!

3. PFP (Pay For Performance) Networks

Searching for affiliate programs can be a very time consuming task if you are doing so on a site by site basis. Fortunately, there are some very well respected networks in place that work with hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of various retailers from around the globe. Most of the affiliate programs are set up where you'll get paid after a sale. Others are set up where the merchant will pay for for a particular action, such as applying for a credit card or insurance policy.

A big advantage of aligning yourself with one of these networks is that you can apply for several programs with various vendors all at the same time. It's also nice to be able to manage all of your affiliate dealings in one place. Another advantage is that you'll likely find retailers you've never heard of that offer products that you have an interest in.

Yet another advantage is that many major retailers use these networks to manage their affiliate programs and run affiliate only promotions, making it easier for you to drive traffic to their site.

There are many quality PFP networks in operation today. I've done business with many of them over the years. Based on my dealings over the years, I've settled on doing business with the following five as they have affiliate programs for just about any type of business you can imagine.

1. Affiliate Fuel

2. Clickbank

3. Commission Junction

4. Link Share

5. TheBizOppNetwork

Each of these PFP networks have their own method of signing up to become associated with them. Approval is generally fairly simple, and in some cases immediate. All are free to join. They all have top notch affiliate programs.

Hopefully, you've seen the benefits in joining one of the thousands upon thousands of affiliate programs that are available to you. Affiliate programs make getting a home based online business started a snap!