Affiliate marketing in its simplest form is this:

People selling other peoples products for a commission. "So how does this work" you ask. Well let's apply this to the real world. Let's say company ABC has a new widget they are selling. But the ABC Company would like to boost their sales volume. So, they start an affiliate program and offer a commission to anyone who sells one of their widgets. You being the enterprising individual that you are discover company ABC's affiliate program while surfing the web.

You Sign up with company ABC as an affiliate because you know the company has a good reputation you have an interest in the product and the compensation is generous. Poof you are now in business with a large company who has a great product and offers a handsome commission for selling their product. So you setup a sales page on your website which is focused on this widget that ABC Company makes and sells.

A customer comes across your site and clicks on a link that takes them to company ABC's shopping cart and you are credited with making the sale.

That is how affiliate marketing works in its simplest form. There are many affiliate marketing programs available on the web and most are free to join while others require a nominal fee. When looking for an affiliate program to join ask yourself these questions:

Is this something I would buy?

Is the company reputable?

Do they offer a good compensation plan?

If you can say yes to all of these questions this might be the program for you. If not keep looking there is a program out there that will fit your goals and meet your requirements.

Now another question you may ask is "is the affiliate monetization model for me?"

This one is a bit harder to answer because it depends on what your business model is all about. In most cases affiliate programs provide an additional source of income if you are adding it to a site that offers similar products. Or it can be your sole source of income if you are an affiliate of multiple programs.

Affiliate programs are a great way for someone to cut their teeth with an online business. You receive many of the benefits of being able to work from home without all the headaches of having to handle the storing and shipping of products to customers.

Affiliate marketing is a nonintrusive way for you to generate extra income from your website or blog. If you have a site that is currently visited regularly by readers or customers, you are now providing them the added benefit of being able to shop or read reviews of products that you are offering from a site they already visit on a regular basis.

You can either do this in an aggressive manner to create instant sales, or can be done in a subtle way to make extra income to support your site.

Affiliate marketing is a win-win situation for both you and the company of whose affiliate program you joined. Working together, can be an advantage to both. Affiliate marketing has given many people who run an information site that would normally be an out of pocket expense into a site that is now producing a profit.