Make Money Online With Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is one of the most common ways that people start out making a decent living online. The basic idea is that you refer people to a website that sells a product or service, and then if they purchase something, you get a commission on that purchase. The process sounds easy, and it can be easy, but you need to know some basic things before you get started.

First of all, you want to make sure that you are working with a good affiliate program. The most common way to get started with an affiliate program is by applying to affiliate networks.

Here are some of the top networks:

1. Commission Junction - Commission junction has a lot of merchants to choose from, a good track record, and pretty good reporting.
2. Pepperjam - Pepperjam is an upcoming company, but they run a great program and also have a lot of good offers. This network also seems to have a little better support.
3. Clickbank - Clickbank is probably the easiest network to get started with, but they primarily focus on digital products (ebooks, software, etc..)
4. Clickbooth and Neverblue are also good networks for CPA, "Cost Per Acquisition". This type of affiliate marketing usually works better for email marketing and PPC marketing, but SEO and social marketing can be used if done right.

Another way to find affiliate programs is by joining a particular merchant′s in-house program. If you have already determined what niche that you will be marketing in, you can search for keywords within that niche such as... "natural health products, vitamins, fishing", and then add "affiliate program" to the phrase. So if you wanted to go into a fishing niche, you would simply search Google for "fishing affiliate program". If you find programs make sure to check their reputation online. Check them out with the BBB, and also see what people are saying about their program. If it is a really small program and the commission rate seems good, you may want to call the affiliate program manager to ask the more about the program. Many times when working with a smaller affiliate program, you will get extra benefits and better payout based on performance.

The main thing that you want to think about is working with a company that you can trust. It is very easy and tempting for an affiliate program manager to cheat you out of commissions. So go with a program that will treat you right and pay you on time.