Some individuals prefer to simply sign up, and market on their own - they're not adverse to pounding the pavement, calling friends, or placing ads on their own. Some folks don't feel they need marketing assistance or advice. And that's fine.

Others, however, feel a little "lost at sea" when contemplating not only where and how to begin marketing their new opportunity, but what methods of marketing might be effective to begin with. Perhaps this describes you.

This is where the best affiliate marketing programs come in. Let's look at what the best affiliate marketing systems and programs have in common. These are things that give the new affiliate marketer a leg up. Perhaps they will help you.

Aversion to Prospecting: It is no secret that many individuals who are looking for a way to earn money from home are seeking a 100% internet home based business because they have an aversion to prospecting. People who join an affiliate marketing opportunity want to share the product, service or even the entire opportunity with others, but the idea of actually speaking to a recruit or a sales prospect stops them in their tracks. Fear of prospecting is very real. How many individuals give up on their dream of a home based business for this very reason? Anyone who has ever been in this position, raise your hand. Ahh. I thought so! You are not alone.

Some of the best affiliate marketing programs teach online methods of marketing where you can draw others to you and your website without speaking a word in person to your sales prospect or recruit.

But there's something even better these days.

What if you didn't have to worry about calling your prospects and closing the sale once they opt in to your system? What if you could choose an option that brings in seasoned, highly experienced individuals whose job it was to bring your prospect or customer to the order page, and have him or her make the decision to buy, or not to buy? Well, this is an option that the best affiliate marketing programs offer. This is good news to those for whom the thought of talking on the phone is downright scary. Perhaps, in time, their confidence will build, and they will feel comfortable calling their prospects; however, if this is not that time, then an affiliate marketing system that offers assistance in following up with sales prospects or recruits is a very valuable tool to have in the belt.

If you know that you have a qualified individual in your corner, ready to help you close your sales, then you can stop worrying about that potentially scary part of the job, and concentrate on what's most important: getting people to your website.

There's one more very valuable thing about having that prospect follow up service: You can honestly tell your prospects, if they have an aversion to talking to prospects themselves, that closing the sale really IS easily duplicated - and you can tell them that they were, in fact, products of the same system that they could be using. This, in its own right, is an excellent benefit that adds enormous value to the program or system.

Internet Marketing Blog: Web copywriting is not limited to writing for your website's home page. In most affiliate marketing programs, the websites you will use are already in place, so providing fresh website content is not where you will be concerning yourself. In today's market, if an affiliate marketing program or system is worth its salt, it will offer an internet marketing blog for you to develop. You will likely find tutorials or trainings that repeatedly tell you how important it is to participate in business blogging every day if possible.

It is imperative that you consistently - very consistently - provide fresh content on your affiliate marketing blog. And it's equally important that you promote it. The importance of this cannot be understated. Any affiliate marketing program that tells you differently is one that you might want to avoid.

While the best affiliate marketing programs are still going to teach advertising techniques such as email marketing, banner ads, pay per click, etc., they will also be emphasizing the importance of your internet marketing blog. There is no way around it today. Blogging is important, so you might as well embrace it!

So, there we have two important things to consider in today's ever-changing internet and affiliate marketing strategies. Keep them in mind as you move forward into your home based business, and seek out the best affiliate marketing program you can find.

Copyright (c) 2009 Kathleen Tremblay