Most people who are interested in starting an internet business or work from home business choose to start with affiliate programs.

The advantages are many:

1. You do not need your own product or service
2. You don't need to worry about inventory, inventory mangemant or other administrative duties.
3. You don't need to concern yourself with payment methods, getting a merchant account or shipping
4. You don't need to provide customer service, have a registered business or bother with other supportive staff.

Here's what you do need:

1. Marketing strategies and promotional activities
2. Timely support from the merchant whose product you're promoting
3. Promotional tools like banners, email sales copy, and other marketing aids.

Affiliate marketing involves introducing clients to merchants, who then pay you when the client buys their product or service. In a professionally set up affiliate program, the Merchant provides advertising banners and web links to their affiliates. They provide their affiliates with a tracking code. Each time your visitor clicks on the link to the merchant's website and completes a transaction, that transaction is registered online.

As an affiliate you earn an income through:

* Pay per click. [Page view, but no transaction.]
* Pay per lead. [A payment for each registration or for each qualified registration.]
* Pay per sale. [ Payment for each actual sale.]

Implementing Affiliate Marketing.

* Marketing is usually through online advertising.
* These efforts should be strengthened by quality content
* Pre-selling the product or service increases conversion and sales

As in every activity, there are disadvantages to affiliate marketing, if not done correctly.

* Some affiliate marketers have got into trouble because of spamming accusations. Sending unsolicited bulk, or spamdexing [creating multiple websites with the intent of generating artificial traffic from search engines.]
* Creating websites solely for the purpose of housing affiliate links, and without any useful and original conyent.

Understanding basic Affiliate Terms

*Affiliate Directory
An Affiliate Directory lists a large number of different types of affiliate programs for which you can sign up as an affiliate. It simplifies your search for a good affiliate program to promote.

*Affiliate Network
An affiliate network is a site where merchants can list their affiliate program/s. You can join and promote various merchants' products and services from one location. [It's not a good idea to try and promote too many programs simultaneously, as it dilutes your focus.] The advantage of joining through a network is that you get paid by the network, rather than from individual merchants. Clickbank is probably the best-known affiliate network.

*Banner Programs / advertisements
These are graphics provided for the merchant which you, as an affiliate, can copy and paste in your blog or website to promote the product.

*Direct Referrals
These are people that you directly introduce to an affiliate program.

*Indirect Referrals
These are referred to an affiliate program by your direct referrals.

*Pay Per Click (also known as PPC)
You get paid by the merchant for each click on a text link or banner that takes your visitor to the merchant's website.

*Pay Per Lead / Action
You get paid each referred visitor who completes the merchant's desired action.

*Pay Per Impression or Pay Per View
Every time the merchant's banner or text link gets viewed you get paid. Payment is normally based on per 1000 impressions/page views. These commissions are earned without your visitors having to purchase from the merchant's site.

*Pay Per Click Search Engine (PPC Search Engine, PPCSE, Pay Per Bid)
These are search engines that allow you to earn on a pay per click basis. If a visitor clicks on a link from your blog or website, you'll earn a percentage of the bided amount. A classis example is google adsense, but there are others as well.

*Pay Per Sale
You earn a commission when you refer a visitor to a merchant's site and they buy a product or service from that merchant. The commission is usually a percentage of the selling price of that product or service.

*Raw Visitors
A Raw visitor is counted every time a page is viewed. This is different from unique visitors, where only the first view by that visitor is counted.

*Text Links
Text links are links that points to a merchant's product or service.

*Unique Visitors
A Unique visitor is a new visitor, as opposed to a return visitor.

*2-Tier
These are affiliate programs that pays you a commission on different referral levels. You are the first tier. Your referral, if she becomes an affiliate by signing up through your link, is the second tier. There are some affiliate programs that pay a commission up to 9 levels deep.

Copyright: Dan Jeremiah. This article may be reproduced provided there is no editing of its entire content.