I recently started my own ?money-making, home business? which I signed up to with the understanding that I was going to earn money for doing nothing. Others (affiliates) were going to pay me commission for referring new sign-ups to their sites. This sounded like a fantastic opportunity to make lots of money without really selling anything. No stocks holding, postage etc.

My signup included (among other items) a guide which covers 30 days. I also had to sign-up to 5 online marketing sites (you receive the enrolment fee back in no time) and join a web-hosting company.

Massive amounts of information are fed to you but in an absorbable manner. It was very exiting. I would liken this information to reading a suspense novel?can't wait to see what happens next!

Anyway this article is not meant to be about that'it?s meant to cover some of the terminology and their definitions, some of which I had never heard before.

AdSense

AdSense is a fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant ads on their website's content pages and earn money. Because the ads are related to what your visitors are looking for on your site ? or matched to the characteristics and interests of the visitors your content attracts ? you'll finally have a way to both monetise and enhance your content pages.

It's also a way for website publishers to provide web and site search to their visitors, and to earn money by displaying ads on the search results pages.

Adwords

With AdWords you create your own ads, choose keywords to help us match your ads to your audience and pay only when someone clicks on them.

Affiliate

a person, organization, or establishment associated with another as a subordinate, subsidiary, or member: network affiliates.

Auto-Responder

this is a clever marketing tool. It automates your emails and follows-up on potential clients after they have signed up to your newsletter etc.

Blog

An online diary or personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called Weblog, Web log. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author. It is a shortened form of Weblog.

Ezine

A magazine that is published electronically, especially on the Internet.

Keyword

a word used as a reference point for finding other words or information. See Adwords.

Off-line Marketing

As an example, advertising in newspapers, radio and television. Using the phone as an off-line marketing tool has also become very popular.

On-line Marketing

Advertising using the internet, examples may include?email, banners, popup etc.

Opt-In/Opt-out Subscribers

this is when you choose you receive newsletters etc. via email. Example:

By doing this you opt-in to an email mailing list. These lists are sold over the internet by various marketing companies. Most emails sent via the opt-in method also have an opt-out choice. Use this when you no longer wish to receive email from the marketer. When you have no choice it is referred to as SPAM.

Ping

A protocol that sends a message to another computer and waits for acknowledgment, often used to check if another computer on a network is reachable.

You need to use ping your blog to get it online. (Easy as pie)

Sag File

a block of text at the end of a message identifying the sender and providing additional information for instance, web/e-mail address.

Solo Ad

this is advertising via email attached to an ezine. This is only one ad (as apposed to many small ads from various companies), thus giving you maximum exposure.

Viral marketing

this works similar to a virus but instead of being destructive it encourages people to pass along a marketing message.