What is an affiliate program?

An affiliate program is offered by merchants to webmasters (web site owners). With affiliate programs, merchants pay webmasters for any sales generated from links placed on the webmaster's site. For example, I visit a site called mybaseballsite.com, while at the site, I click on an affiliate link (a link with a code that identifies the referring webmaster) that takes me to BaseballBats.com where I purchase a bat. The webmaster is then paid a commission based on the amount of my purchase. Sometimes the amount paid is a flat amount, a percentage, pay-per-lead, pay-per-click and so on.

What is the cost of joining an Affiliate Program?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Most, if not all affiliate programs are free to join. It does not cost you a penny to sign up on a program and try it on your web site.

Do I need a web site?

Yes, it will be hard promoting programs online without having a web site. For more information on registering a domain name and hosting, click here.

Which is the best affiliate program?

The success of any affiliate program is directly related to the type and amount of traffic you get to your web site.

When will I start to make real money?

Potentially as soon as you get your web site online. Often though it takes time to build traffic to your web site, time to learn which programs will work best for your site and time to understand and get an overall feel of affiliate marketing and how it works.

How much money can I make?

There is no limit to the amount of money you can make! Some people have made as high as $98,000 or more their first year working with affiliate marketing. You are the CEO of your success in affiliate marketing. In being successful, you need to provide a nice clean web site, a web site with value (content), affiliate programs that offer products and services that target your audience and that pay well. All of things and a little time can surely make your affiliate marketing career a success.