Think of Internet Affiliate Programs: Creating the Fundamentals

Affiliate programs use a simple concept for you to create an income online: Earn commissions when you make a sale. You do not need to worry about the costs for setting up the business nor advertising. It costs zero when we think of successful online businesses, websites such as: Amazon.com biggest online bookstore, eBay.com largest auction web site, Yahoo.com most well known search engine usually spring into mind. On the contrary, you probably have heard of dot com companies turned dot bombs. So you think, How do I make money on the internet when I do not have money to advertise like those big guys such as Amazon.com or Yahoo.com
… Well, you do not need money to make money There are several ways to make money through the internet, and one of them is through affiliate programs. Best of all, it costs nothing to sign up
What are affiliate programs Is not it just another get rich quick plot or some hocus pocus that s all a scam
Affiliate programs also known as referral associate programs are legitimate and not get rich quick scams. It is a simple concept: Earn commission for each sale you make. As a matter of fact, even big guys like Amazon.com launched affiliate programs to fuel their sales and to increase their brand, hence that further proves my point that affiliate programs are not scams.
How Affiliate Programs Work…
Using Amazon.com as an example, heres an illustration on how affiliate programs work…
An affiliate lets call her Lily owns a web site about movie making, so she chose a few books related to her web site including the best seller How to Write a Hollywood Movie Script in 5 minutes
Lily then puts unique links to each of these books on her web site that enables Amazon to identify the visitor she sends. One of Lilys visitors was so impressed by Lilys review on the book How to Write a Hollywood Movie Script in 5 minutes that she wanted to buy it immediately, the visitor then saw Buy it now on Amazon.com…. CLICK
The visitor enters the Amazon site, Amazon identifies this visitor is from Lily. The visitor then checks out with the book and pays using credit card. Lily is paid a commission on that sale
Affiliate Programs vs. Selling Your Own Products on the Web
Sure enough as a web merchant, you get 100% of the profits made. But you will have to fuss with start up costs, advertising, marketing, shipping, credit card processing, products services to maintain, customer services, customer complaints, web hosting, accounting, staff training…
Phew Thats a lot work But…
As an affiliate, you do not need your own products to sell; you do not need to incur the costs: Your start up cost is zero; and you do not have to deal with the customers’ orders or accounting or all the above because the merchant will handle all these for you. In some affiliate programs, you can also recruit and train sub affiliates under you. Your training pays off when your sub affiliate gets a sale, because you earn training commission too. I will get more in depth about this later in the article.
But I am not a computer or internet savvy person I do not have a website too
Do not worry An effective affiliate finds thousands of ideas to sell online, or offline You can advertise locally in newspapers, in articles you write, recommend it to friends, notice boards, etc… There are no limits.
Great! How do I start
As easy as it sounds, I am sad to say that it is not a piece of cake if you plan to sit there and wait for the cash to come to you. In the affiliate business, it follows the 80 20 rule 80% of the benefit is only achieved by 20% of the affiliates. So if you want to get rich quick, affiliate program is not for you… but if you want to be one of the 20% affiliates who get 80% of the benefit… read on.
First of all, ask yourself why you want to start an affiliate business on the internet…
Um… to earn some cash and buy things I want
No, I want you to be as specific as possible…
For example, I want to increase my income so that I can afford a sports car and have the ultimate sense of pride when I drive into the yard of my friends who said that I will never succeed in making money on the internet! I want my friends to be envious; I want to prove them wrong
When you know what you want and the more specific you get, the stronger your commitment, determination and persistence to succeed will be.
I know it sounds really corny, but it is a simple rule that the 80% affiliates do not follow
Secondly, you must…
Choose a Good Affiliate Program
There are many affiliate programs out there but you need to focus on the ones that work for you. I suggest a few good criteria to look for in affiliate programs:
1 High value products services
When I said value, I do not mean the price tag. Lets say, you are an affiliate for 2 companies which are in similar industries, both offering 30% commission. One sells its product for $50 and the other for $150. So you think,
Hmmm… When I make a sale, I get more commission from company no.2 $45 than company no.1 $15. Wow
Although it is simple logic, ask yourself this question first, will I buy this $150 product when I know there are cheaper ones out there
Think like your customer, question yourself Am I paying my moneys worth on this product, Does the company offer great value for a dollar
If you answer no for both these questions, you will know that the company will eventually die.
2 High Affiliate and Customer Support
One of the key areas to look for when choosing a good affiliate program is their support system. A company that values its customers and affiliates is a company that grows. The company must be able to provide as many resources for their affiliates to promote their products, e.g. training, newsletters, banners, free stuff, etc.
Furthermore, it should also listen to its customers’ suggestions, complaints and be able to keep their customers happy. Remember, happy customers mean long lasting company as happy customers will spread the good word of the company and its products, which means there will be more business opportunities for you
3 Team Sales
There are some affiliate programs that allow you to recruit sub affiliates under you. When your sub affiliates perform well, you are also rewarded with a coaching commission for their sales because it is your duty as a team leader to coach your sub affiliates. Although most affiliate programs on the internet does not support team building, it is preferable that you choose one that does. The reason is simply:
T.E.A.M Together Everyone Achieves More
Sure enough, you can do the whole affiliate business by being a lone ranger, but you are limiting your own capacity to earn more. Moreover, the results are two fold: you will enjoy a second stream of income unless you plan to do it full-time AND the satisfactions of helping others to earn another source of income too
4 Repeat Sales Potential
Other than achieving one time sales, it is recommended if the affiliate program entitles you to lifetime customers, which means once your customer, always your customer
A company with a good sales structure will retain their customers and encourage repeat sales. Thus, you get commissions for repeat sales too.
5 Reputable and Reliable Company
Check the companys history on the newsgroup or http:www.allhottips.com and find out whether it is well established. Are their customers satisfied Are the affiliates happy Does the company keep changing the affiliate policy I am sure no one wants their affiliate business suddenly gone because the merchant company failed
An Ideal Affiliate Program
A great example of a company that meets all the criteria listed above is:
Site sell Company  http://www.bookstoretoday.com


Their affiliate program, 5 Pillar Club, was named The best affiliate program on the net by affiliatesdirectory.com, a web directory that tracks thousands of affiliate programs on the net.
Furthermore the top affiliate guru, Allan Gardyne, ranked it as one of the top affiliate program in his web site, associateprograms.com
Lastly, Open Your Mind to Creative Ideas
Read as many articles books as possible on the subject of selling or marketing to expand your mind to accept more ideas and concepts on how to sell There are a lot of information on the internet to help you in your affiliate business, it costs zero to invest in your greatest asset… you. Note: It is not your brain because you need your arms and legs to put your thoughts into action; D
To help you get started on the technical aspect, heres a great starter pack: a free e mail course on affiliate business building.
Just send a blank e mail to:
The Affiliate Masters Course by Ken Evoy: http://www.allhottips.com
I hope you enjoy building your own affiliate business as much as I do. I wish you success in your journey