Affiliate marketing is simply advertising a product or service and receiving a commission for referring people to that product or service. In simplest terms, you are simply the billboard and someone is paying you to rent your space (when a sale is made).
However, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. To learn all the details and receive some great resources along the way, I highly recommend the following resources:
The Affiliate Masters Course ~ This is an unbelievable e-book and it's 100% FREE! Check it out now!
The Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner. This is THE quintessential resource for affiliate marketing. Regardless of whether you're a seasoned affiliate marketer or you're just starting out, The Super Affiliate Handbook is a MUST have! I have read it front to back, numerous times and always keep it handy to reference. I cannot rave enough about this amazing book! As an example, you will learn the importance of using an Affiliate Link Cloaker. Surprisingly enough, there are people out there that after learning about a product or service from you, they will make a purchase and delete your referral number! I'm completely shocked that people would deprive you of your hard earned money but some do. Perhaps they don't realize the work that goes into affiliate marketing. Regardless of the reason, you need to protect yourself from these people and that's what the Affiliate Link Cloaker will do for you! It hides your referral i.d. from those that would consider removing it before a purchase. For the minimal cost, I strongly urge you to protect your financial well-being -- use the Affiliate Link Cloaker.
Now, for my affiliate program resources - while not an exhaustive list, these are the ones I've used and recommend to anyone and everyone:
Site Sell's 5 Pillar Affiliate Program ~ If you want to get into the 5 Pillar Affiliate Program, you need to hurry. Ken Evoy is busy cutting out the dead wood. He stated from the beginning that the affiliate program wouldn't be open to
everyone forever. True to his word, he's getting rid of those that aren't performing. Get signed up now before he closes the doors!
ClickBank ~ I like the way ClickBank rates all of it's over 10,000 products according to popularity! It's definitely one of my favorite affiliate programs!
Shareasale ~ Shareasale is the largest affiliate network with some great merchants on board!
Clickxchange ~ While not in my top three, clickxchange has some good products.
Linkshare ~ This is another good resource with over 500 premier merchants to choose from!
Commission Junction ~ CJ used to be the top dog for affiliates but for whatever reason they've really lost a lot of ground lately. I still use a few of their merchants (and there are definitely some good ones to choose from) however, they're not my personal favorite.
Aside from Site Sell's 5 Pillar Affiliate Program (the absolute best there is), ClickBank definitely blows the others away, in my humble opinion. Both Site Sell and ClickBank offer fabulous customer service to it's affiliates. If I could only choose 2 programs, they'd be the ones I'd go with - no question about it.
If you do decide to sign up with ClickBank, I recommend you take advantage of CBClicks. It's a free service that gets your ClickBank affiliate i.d. in front of thousands of people! You simply can't go wrong!
When choosing affiliate programs do yourself and the readers of your website, newsletter or email a favor - don't choose programs on the basis of how much they pay. Choose the ones that relate to your topic or theme. Your first and foremost priority must remain your readers. Offer them something of value.
In addition, use the products you represent. It's difficult to give rave reviews for something you've never used! If you lose the respect of your readers - you'll lose your readers!