However, if there are more than two tiers it, in effect, becomes a multi-level marketing program. There are some guidelines, however, for generating more income from two-tier affiliate programs. The first is choosing your affiliate merchant. It is important to focus on merchants who have range of high quality products for affiliates to promote.

It is also a good to choose high commission products that offer real time stats and that also don't leave you in the lurch but provide you affiliate promotions to help you get underway. It is also advisable when choosing the best program to ensure that you can get real time access 24 hours a day to your website stats relating to that program.

When choosing the best free online affiliate program you know that you will be able to build a rapport with your visitors and build a relationship of trust. It is also best to stick with programs that give more importance on the income generated from every sale rather than earning more with more sub-affiliates under you. The Benefits Of Two-Tier Affiliate Programs Explained

1. You have the chance to substantially increase your commissions as a result of having customers in your second tier.

2. Your customer base will be much broader.

3. You have ready made affiliates that you can refer to other two-tier programs that you are promoting and earn more money as a result.

As an affiliate marketer, there are limitations on how many people you can actually get in front of to buy your products. That is why two tier affiliate programs are such winners. It is one thing to get commission checks for work that you have done, but it is another thing altogether to get commission checks for work that you haven't done at all.