Does the above statement ring a bell somewhere in the recesses of your mind? Yes? No? Well, it doesn't really matter. Truth be told, thousands upon thousands of new and old affiliate marketers worldwide have uttered or are uttering those exact same words...as we "speak".

For the purposes of this discuss, we will assume that you are one of them...So how can you earn those affiliate marketing commissions? Well, we need to define affiliate marketing as a premise:

"Affiliate Marketing is a system of revenue sharing between one site (the affiliate merchant) which features an ad or content designed to drive traffic to another site (the advertiser). The affiliate will receive a fee based on the amount of traffic generated."

From the above definition, you will agree with me that as an affiliate marketer, you are holding the longer "stick" - by that I mean that you have the better deal! Analyze this: You don't need to bother yourself about shipping, handling, customer service, hosting, order taking, etc., etc. And in case you didn't notice, this leaves you ample time to FOCUS on your ONLY assignment as an affiliate marketer...MARKETING! Driving targeted traffic to the sales page of the product you are promoting is your PRIMARY ASSIGNMENT!

Since we have now decoded what our job is, we must now count the cost of setting up shop...You may or may not know this, but when it comes to affiliate marketing, setting up is cheap. This is one business that won't break your bank account to start. You can start for FREE in fact...even though it will cost you a lot in terms of manual labour. My advice? Get a good guide (preferably an eBook) that will show you EXACTLY what to do, when to do it and HOW to do it.

When I started affiliate marketing, I didn't know how to verify the authenticity of affiliate programs. Will they pay? Are they genuine? Will they last? Will I get residual income? Will they train me? Will they respond to my enquiries even if it sounds stupid? Etc., etc. But now, all I do is go to google and enter in the following search criteria: "Name of affiliate program" Review. A host of reviews come out and I try and decide based on how I feel about what is being said. I write this because not all reviews are "unbiased"! Some folks are just plain lazy. They buy an eBook, or register as affiliates for a program, and are unwilling to put in the effort needed to succeed at that program. Get this: AFFILIATE MARKETING IS NOT FOR LAZY LAY ABOUTS! This is serious business and should be treated thus! But I guess it's to be expected because it's cheap to start. Maybe if you paid $25,000 to enrol and set up an affiliate program, you'd take it a little more seriously...hmm?

Let me pause here to tell you this: "You cannot afford to develop a phobia or fear of spending your money online...that is the only way you can become a "guru" yourself. Else you will be reduced to following "gurus" around all the days of you affiliate marketing life!

What else would you be needing? Well, a website would be a great plus but may not be entirely necessary if you are just starting out! Why? BLOGS! You can do almost anything with a blog that you can with a website. Blogs are free. See blogger dot com for more information.

** Guess what? The earlier you begin to invest in your affiliate business, the earlier your dreams of getting those affiliate marketing commissions will materialize!

As you are well aware, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step! So also the earning of an affiliate marketing commission of $1,000/day begins with earning $1/day. Your desire to earn large commission checks will take some time to materialize - and depending on whom you choose to mentor you this can be from 30 - 90 days! If on the other hand you decide to go solo, well it just might never come - the affiliate commission check that is :( But all in all, just remember to never give up in your quest - one step ate a time and before you know it folks from far and wide will be coming to you to get your sage advice!

Okay, today I have showed you how to take yet another step in the direction of those affiliate marketing commissions. Apply the nuggets that you have learnt here and watch those affiliate commissions pour in! Cheers!