Like that annoying bunny beating that bass drum, having an income that keeps going and going and going is the dream that every business owner has when they finally go to sleep at night. Finding a way to grow a residual income is better than most retirement plans and can help set the stage for early retirement, if done properly while you are still young enough to plant the right seeds. What you need to do is to figure out exactly how this can be accomplished.

Actors, actresses and professional musicians often receive a residual income based on their works that make it into syndication. Every time a show they were in or a song they recorded is played, they receive a piece of the action. The more shows that they starred in that are picked up for reruns even years after the original went off the air provides them with a residual income. If they were in several different shows or had many different hit songs recorded, the combined residuals can add up to a ton of money.

Believe it or not, the same type of income can be established through an online business if you work your marketing programs correctly. You do not need to be in on the ground floor of a continuing business success, by being aggressive in making sales for many different companies (in case one goes out of business) you could end up with a good residual income long after you decide to retire yourself from the working world.

Affiliate marketing is one method of creating residual income. You can establish a website that is attractive to many different visitors and become affiliated with many reputable companies. As the visitors to your site increase, they will buy more products from your affiliated companies, and you will be paid a commission on sales. Depending on the topic of your site and the initial marketing success used to improve its popularity, the site can gain the status of operating without your influence.

You will probably want to occasionally update the ads on the site, but with a few minutes everyday, your site can become self-sustaining. It is at this point that all the effort you put into building the site and attracting customers that your effort will start paying off. While you are relaxing on a beach somewhere, people are still going to your site, buying from your reputable affiliates and the affiliates are shipping out products and sending you the commission checks.

You may also choose to join a franchise business model, by following the system and by allowing others to use this business's name and franchise business model, you will begin to build your own residual income. Providing you have a good reputation, are honest and fair, your franchisees will begin their own marketing strategy helping to build your business while they are building their businesses and increasing the amount of residual income checks you receive every month.

Residual income through affiliate marketing is one of the methods I use to build my wealth.