One of the vexing frustrations that beginning affiliate marketers encounter when they try to make money online is the slow rate at which money seems to dribble in, if at all. Checks may just be only a few dollars in the beginning, if indeed a check actually shows up in the mail at all. The promised income just seems to come in dribs and drabs, not matter how diligent your effort. Companies that promise millions of dollars, send checks worth only pennies. How do you earn money online? Why can't I make money fast? Why can't I make money now?

Alas, the problem often is apparent at the outset in that many programs are free to sign up for. And there's the problem. The free program that so excited you is not too hard to market to others. It's free and people like free. But, sadly, if no one is paying for product, there isn't going to be any income to generate profits. (Sometimes, the affiliate marketing company may have monetized the proposition some other way—such as membership fees, advertising costs or course materials.)

Everyone loves free stuff. It's a fact of life. And free membership in an affiliate opportunity is a great way to encourage new prospects to have a look around to see the value of your business proposition. And if the affiliates like what they see, they will more than likely consider a product purchase or upgrade.

Well, all of this takes time. Human nature is to procrastinate. And many people like to make their home business decisions slowly and carefully. While your prospects mull things over, your checks continue to be small, and business growth will be slow.. (Would it be better to start a type at home business?)

But isn't that the nature of the affiliate marketing beast? Get rich SLOW? Multilevel pay plans take time to roll out and realize their potential. You have hopefully tried out the product line yourself through product purchases, so that you have by now become absolutely convinced to its value. The greater your faith and conviction in the value of your product (you did select a valuable product to be associated with in the first place, didn't you?), the more your prospect is going to trust you and hopefully decide that you are worthy of more of his time and product purchase.

Affiliate marketing is wonderful in that you usually start with ready-made materials. That means you don't have to hire an expensive design team and technicians in the beginning. You don't need to enlist talented artists to prepare website layout and design. No bookkeepers or accountants to make sure the money goes where it should.

Multiple streams of income are not uncommon in many programs, and expert advice is often available from others who have succeeded with the program. Often there are free e-books and guides at hand, perhaps even some your can brand with your own affiliate ID for distribution.

Eventually, though, you'll find that you want to promote your affiliate opportunity in your own special way with your own unique materials—whether via website or blogging or e-zine, and as you do so, the money will find its way to you. You'll have to stop complaining about HTML and actually learn a few simple codes. You'll do what you need to do to get your site up and running.

After all, if all the affiliate company needed to do was to launch a big advertising campaign using its own ads, it could do that without you and just keep the profits, couldn't it? True, your participation permits them to uncover markets and resources they probably never would have. But, for you to really make big money, though, you must show some additional value and worth to the company. You must show how your unique skills can contribute to the marketing of their product.

You may purchase website visits and e-zine advertisements. You may participate in traffic exchanges and link exchanges. You may get a Wordpress blog up and running. Blog make money online ideas. Develop make money online forums. You'll find that lead capture pages and an autoresponder are invaluable. You may decide that expert SEO and finding a ghostwriting is the way to go. You must somehow develop your own unique online content, though, so the search engines will find your own special corner of the internet and reward you with that key to online success—-TRAFFIC. All of these things can be slow to do in the beginning, especially with limited experience and budget, so naturally dollars trickle in slowly as well.

But then, one day a surprise. Through testing, you have stumbled upon an ad or resource that works! Your check is bigger than you were expecting. Your affiliate program has recognized your worth. Some new prospects have decided that your opportunity does indeed deliver on its promises. You have taught them to succeed with your program and now make money teaching online. In fact, it is just the sort of program that has value for them and will work for them, too, they believe. You have found a source of more new prospects who are interested, too!

It is at that point that you recognize that you are doing something right. You have found out how to make money online free! And that if you continue to do more of the same, the checks have the potential to continue, and yes, to grow fat!

And fat affiliate checks open up a world of opportunity—-more money for more advertisements (why not try offline ads?), more pay-per-click purchases, more co-op participation, and so on. The monster just seems to grow bigger and bigger, with only modest effort. Simple budgeting is the key to it all.

Ever seen a big fat affiliate "cash cow" monster check grow fatter still?