In most cases, when you sign up to be an Affiliate, you are given access to those company’s promotional materials. Not only that but you do not hold on to any stock, you do not need a merchant account, handle credit card transactions or do any of the shipping.

So why do companies want Affiliates? Well, nobody can afford to constantly advertise there products. Actually the really big companies do, but most cannot contact everyone; it’s just not possible.

What they can do is to allow other people to promote their products

and share the profit. In short, the Owner has the Product; the Affiliate helps to sell it. (For a fee)

But the best thing about affiliate marketing is that it is an easy business to set up. You fill in an application form which is pretty basic and in return you are given a reference or ID link to use in all of your marketing efforts.

Most sites also have an Affiliate area, which is password protected where you can check on your stats and pick up the latest sales details, free for you to use.

In addition to that, some web sites offer a two-tier affiliation. That means that you get an agreed fee for each sale made plus a smaller fee for anyone you introduce to that company’s Affiliate Program For as long as they are a member!

Also many companies have in place a ‘cookie’ in which tracks any visitor who comes to the site through your link. Any time that person buys a product, you will benefit by way of commission. This could be on the first visit or the tenth. Not just one sale either but includes every purchase made by that person.

So where do you find these companies that are looking for Affiliates?

This is pretty easy. Go to any search engine and type in Affiliate Programs and as you will see from the results, there are millions of them. It would be in your interest to look to promote a product or products that you have an interest in. Maybe Animals and Pets, Sailing or maybe Internet Marketing, my favourite. The choice for you is massive.

Perhaps an easier way of choosing is to go to http://clickbank.com

It is free to sign up and once a member you have a choice of thousands of products to advertise. This really is a site worth visiting. They break down the products into several categories, which will be of great help to you.

They also list the commission payable for each product. As a guide you should be looking for at least 50% bearing in mind that you have the cost of your advertising to come out of your commission.

Clickbank pay twice a month so you are only ever two weeks away from being paid. While some web sites will pay immediately, many individual companies pay once a month, your choice. Just click for details