by RoxH

Created on: November 14, 2009

If you are looking for a way to make money online then the chances are you have come across affiliate marketing, in one form or another. Perhaps you have been wondering if it is a genuine money making opportunity and whether it is an idea worth pursuing. Firstly, let's establish exactly what affiliate marketing is: put simply affiliate marketing is the process of recommending and advertising a product or service in return for a commission payment if someone makes a purchase on the basis of your advertising or recommendation. There are many different affiliate schemes out there, you can recommend a particular product, service or information.

When you join an affiliate scheme you are issued an affiliate link and you place your link within your advert and when someone follows the link and makes a purchase you will receive a commission payment, this can vary from as little as a couple of pounds to over a hundred pounds, depending on what you have chosen to recommend. It can also be a one-off commission payment, or a recurring payment for a monthly subscription or ongoing purchases. All forms of payment have their merits, but bear in mind that the more expensive your chosen product, the harder it will be to make a sale. However, if the product is genuinely worth it you can still build a profitable business as an affiliate.

Once you have chosen your affiliate scheme you need to create an advertising strategy. There are many ways you can advertise your chosen product, some even free, however these generally less profitable. The most successful affiliates have their own website, which they build around their chosen affiliate scheme; referred to as a niche website. A website enables you to employ lots of different advertising methods, pay per click, classified, article writing, as well as the website itself.

As with all online money-making systems there are lots of scams out there, which give affiliate marketing a bad name. Often they promise to make you rich overnight just by writing a few adverts and refer to their system as data entry. In reality they are referring to affiliate marketing but are grossly simplifying the process in order to con people into purchasing their so-called "secret formula" for success. They infer that all you need do is set up a few pay per click adverts with your affiliate link and you will start to see money rolling in straight away. Of course, they don't want to tell you the truth; that affiliate marketing requires hard work, because that

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