We all know that the Internet opens up a much wider market for our products which in turn means larger profits for our business. However, some of us are unsure exactly how the internet marketing process works, and are reluctant to get started. One of the best ways to learn how to market your products on the internet is to sell other people's products first and earn while you learn.

Getting started with this kind of marketing strategy is actually quite easy. All that one needs to do is to set up an agreement with an online retailer or merchant, and one can immediately start making money by selling the merchant's or the retailer's products.

Affiliate marketing has become the fastest growing method to selling other people's products online. Simply put, affiliate marketing is a relationship between an online merchant or retailer and his affiliates, who are willing to promote the merchant's product.

Often the online merchant or retailer will provide affiliates with promotional tools in the form of banner ads, sample email marketing ads, as well as classified and solo ads to make it easier and faster.

Most often, affiliates get paid whenever sales result from the traffic they direct to the merchant's website. In some cases, an affiliate will get paid by simply directing traffic to the website. Affiliates are often paid on commission basis, although some online merchants opt to pay a fixed fee as compensation.

Making money online with affiliate marketing is relatively quick and easy. All anyone has to do is to register as an affiliate for an online company that offers affiliate programs. Another method, which is easier, is to register as a member of an affiliate network'a network that hosts a variety of affiliate programs for different online merchants or retailers.

When you register with an affiliate marketing program, you usually fill out a personal profile, similar to the information you would provide to obtain a customer account with an online merchant or retailer. Some affiliate programs will also ask you to provide the URL of your website, (if applicable) and describe its contents.

After becoming an actual affiliate, you are now ready to start making money by selling other people's products online. How do you make money? That depends on the particular affiliate program.

Affiliate marketing programs usually pay their affiliates in either of three ways: pay-per-click (PPC), pay-per-sale (PPS), or pay-per-lead (PPL). In pay-per-click affiliate marketing, the affiliate is paid whenever he directs traffic to the merchant's site. PPS and PPL affiliate marketing programs work rather differently. In PPS, the affiliate only gets paid when his referral converts into an actual sale. In typical PPS affiliate programs, the affiliate would usually get 15 commission for each conversion. PPL affiliate programs work the same way, although affiliates are paid a fixed fee whenever his referral converts into a lead for the company.

Many affiliate programs provide several ways to earn money. As an example, two-tier programs allow affiliates to introduce other affiliates to the program and earn additional residual income from their sales as well.

One highly recommended program is The Global Cash Flow Network. This organization trains its members how to start their own online affiliate marketing businesses through its Certified Media Placement Specialist program.For more information, visit their website at http://tinyurl.com/2l9zk6