Generally everyone who discusses the qualities of an affiliate marketing network likely focuses on the pay-per-click versus pay-for-performance aspects of this advertising tool, and rightfully so! Online these two programs alone have revealed themselves to be the work horses of a successful and diversified affiliate marketing network while at the same time not challenging an undue strain on a company's promotions budget. Thus, start up companies in general and home based small business entrepreneurs in particular settle to this form of self-promotion like bugs to a strong light source in the dark of night. Yet just like the bugs, many of the smaller businesses get burned not because the product was ineffective or the presentation less than professional but instead because the attention simply could not be generated by the participants in the affiliate marketing network who chose to sign up.

In general, those signing up to post links and banners or search boxes onto their sites are looking for the heavy hitters which will lend integrity to the webmaster and her or his site, while smaller merchants are usually avoided because they simply do not present that air of mainstream approval to a site. In the same vein, many of the webmaster who do sign up for the smaller business affiliate marketing network will most likely be startups themselves, thus in a way countermanding the business? efforts of reaching a large number of potential customers. Even though the cash spent on this kind of advertising is low, it hardly merits the results that are being yielded.

Interestingly, a new trend is developing which is finding great recognition with smaller businesses and which is proving to be a gold mine to such an extent that it threatens to leave the tried and true pay-per-click or pay-for-performance affiliate marketing network in the dust for home based entrepreneurs: classified ads. Building an affiliate marketing network via the classifieds may sound odd but the more careful consideration you pay to this trend, the more sense it makes.

With a few terms you have the chance to advertise your network and produce a far-reaching interest in the business. Although not each and every online or print publication will authorize you to post your ads, in general you will find that you can start getting out the word about your network by posting in a few free, online publications. Explore the high traffic sites and post your ads in agreement with their submission guidelines ? a much overlooked fact that may get your ad buried if not carefully observed! Use strong marketing words that require a response by the reader, such as ?clicking? or ?visiting? and rely on heavy hitters like ?proven? or ?guaranteed? ? only if you can back up the claims, of course. Add a considerable and real benefit to the action, and the odds are good that you will have a visitor for your site. Turning the visitor into a qualified lead, of course, is up to the quality of your site and actual network.