1. For the affiliate: Don't need to have their own product



A lot of people don't have the time, money or expertise to create their own product, so affiliate marketing is a great way to make money off other peoples hard work. This also means an affiliate doesn't have to worry about researching the market to find what people want. Instead they only have to find which products are selling well.

2. For the affiliate: No customer support required

Anyone who has ever had their own product will tell you that customer support is one of the worst parts of running a business. Affiliates get to keep their share of the profits without ever having to worry about being in contact with the customers. All the problems are dealt with by the publishers customer support department.

3. For the affiliate: Only a small investment required

There aren't many business models which allow you to start up with virtually no investment, but affiliate marketing can be one of them. When using free traffic the only investment is time. Of course, there are paid methods of traffic generation also, but in general becoming an affiliate marketer is a low cost business with the potential of being very profitable.

4. For the affiliate: Working from home

It's many people's dream to work from home and only when they feel like it. Affiliate marketing isn't paid on an hourly rate so you can choose the hours you want to work. Some people do affiliate marketing as a hobby, others as a full time job. The beauty is it's completely up to the individual. It is important to remember though that the more effort you put into affiliate marketing the greater the rewards in most cases.

5. For the publisher: A much greater audience will be exposed to the product

One of the main advantages for a publisher who has an affiliate program is that the affiliates have the potential to reach a much wider audience then he or she ever could on their own. This means there can be many more sales than there would have been if the publisher was the only person promoting the product, for a relatively small amount of extra effort.

6. For the publisher: Less effort needed to drive traffic

Getting traffic to a website can be a time consuming process, so to have a large amount of affiliates doing this for you is a huge advantage for any publisher. By using affiliates the publisher has to spend less time worrying about getting people to the sales page leaving more time for other areas of the business. Leveraging other people's effort for your own business is a great way to make a lot of money.

There are many advantages of internet marketing for both the affiliate and the publisher which is why it has proven to be such a successful business model. Affiliate marketing has generated many people a healthy income, and will do so for the foreseeable future.