In part one of this topic I described some of the basic concepts of affiliate marketing. I hope you've had a chance to research some of the topics presented as I'm going to explain a few of the more ?advanced? concepts associated with affiliate marketing.



At this point you should have already selected a topic of interest, pursued the market opportunities available, and begun thinking about products that you can market. As I mentioned in part one affiliate marketing is a great home business to begin because it requires such a small initial investment. You've probably not spent any money whatsoever and you're already well on your way to opening your own business.

My suggestion is to next begin researching available web hosting sites. Along with this you might also begin thinking about a suitable domain name where your business will reside. When you're just starting out, you may be able to get by with a ?free host?. However, note that many search engines will not list these sites. Do yourself a favor and spend the $10/month it takes to get your own paid hosting account. One suggestion of a reputable company is HostGator. They perform all of my hosting duties and I've had no issues. Another popular choice is GoDaddy; along with their well-known domain name services they also provide hosting accounts.

After you've gotten your hosting account and domain name it's time to begin building your website. Personally, I use Microsoft FrontPage for all of my home business projects. True, it's not very fancy but it does the trick for what I need. If you're not familiar with HTML or more advanced scripting options, FrontPage is a great way to get started. In addition, many hosting accounts provide a fee ?website creator? that will allow you to upload pictures, text, and other graphics to your website. If you're not familiar with FrontPage you may wish to look into this option.

After you've finished building your basic website it's time to begin signing up with affiliate programs. I typically use Commission Junction to find most of my affiliate programs. It's a great service in that it allows you to search for partners using keywords or through a directory structure. After you sign up with CJ, use their search program to find 3-5 affiliate partners you'd like to begin working with. After being accepted by each company you will be able to use approved graphics and banners to promote your website.

Take some time to integrate your new affiliate's information into your website. After all, you don't get paid unless someone decides your website is worthy of a ?click?; the more professional your website, the more likely your success.

That's all for now; in part 3 of this series I will discuss how to market your website to consumers throughout the world. In addition, I will describe how to provide additional income for your home business by partnering with Google.

Good luck!