As a newbie you may not even know what affiliate networks are. Let's explain. As an affiliate marketer you now know that you get paid commissions to sell products on behalf of merchants - known as affiliate merchants. What may be harder to find are reputable merchants who have the type of product that you are looking for. Affiliate networks are where the affiliate and the merchant meet.

This article is written mainly for the newbie affiliate marketer but if you are a newbie merchant you might still want to read this.

What good affiliate networks do is organise the best affiliate merchants in one place where it is easier for the affiliate to find them and choose the product(s) that you may wish to promote.

Whether a marketer or a merchant you then have to register with this network. This is relatively easy to complete by following the on site instructions. Slightly more complex for the merchant but not arduously so.

Let's take a look at some of the best of them.

Ok, We'll start with Clickbank.com. They specialise in digital products online and have over 10,000 e-books in an easy to use system. Clickbank are not a true affiliate network, but they are a place where you - as a newbie affiliate - can find virtually anything you need to begin your life as an affiliate marketer. Everything is beautifully categorised, which makes finding digital products of interest a breeze.

As well, each merchant has to agree to providing a minimum guarantee of 56 days. Sorts the scammers from the genuine.

Clickbank handles all the cash transactions for you, which means you or your clients need only go back through them to enforce the guarantee.

One of the earlier networks is Associateprograms.com. So named because in the early days affiliate marketing programs were called associated programs - probably because of the name that the owner, Alan Gardyne, gave to his website.

They have a very easy to use product directory, and provide the number one affiliate marketing discussion forum on the Internet today. You can use this to find programs to join as well as get your questions on how to do affiliate marketing answered for you.

This one is worth mentioning. CJ.com. Short for Commission Junction. They are generally regarded as one of the best, if not THE best, sources for combining affiliate merchants and affiliate marketers on the Internet.

Some of the top businesses in the world have joined Commission Junction because of the outstanding service that they provide for affiliate merchants. As an affiliate this is one place that you definitely need to go to find excellent products to promote.

Another one that is definitely worth checking out is AffiliateScout.com, particularly if you are merchant looking for new affiliates. It is very easy to apply and they have a quick turnaround with their decision making as well.

They have an interesting feature where they offer a link to additional affiliate networks. Here you will find a host of different programs including pay per click, pay per lead and pay per sale.

So that's just four to get you started.

Affiliate marketing is only going to continue to grow as an industry. Merchants are clued in to the fact that this is a great way to get their products into the market place with little upfront cost.

By offering quality products, marketing support, high commissions and customer service - this has turned into a multibillion dollar industry.

And as affiliate marketing grows so will affiliate networks. They are a great way for affiliate marketers and affiliate merchants to get together and service this thriving industry.