How To Quickly Get Started With Affiliate Marketing

There are basically two ways to start with affiliate marketing. You could be an affiliate yourself or you can become a merchant promoting other people's products. The 4 steps of getting started as a merchant are: coming up with an idea. Validating that idea with real people by getting them to pre-purchase the product, then creating that product and having affiliates promote it for you.

There are literally thousands of people all over the world who have started affiliate marketing as their primary source of income. There are even more who are starting out part-time as an affiliate marketer for larger companies. Affiliate marketing is definitely one of the easiest jobs to start at home with. I would recommend this to anyone looking to earn some extra money at home.

Once you know what affiliate marketing is and you are set on joining the bandwagon, there are a few things you need to do to get started. The first thing is to decide if you are going to join an online marketplace like ClickBank or PayDotCom. Both of these offer affiliate marketing opportunities. They also offer payouts in real money or they pay out in kind through their affiliate program.

Next, you'll want to join an affiliate network like Commission Junction, LinkShare, ClickBank or PayDotCom. These networks will get you started on your road to becoming an affiliate marketer. There are also other networks available out there like LinkShare Multimedia. But if you're not interested in a network like that, there are many different books on how to get started with affiliate marketing that can teach you how to get started quickly and effectively. It's just a matter of finding the right book and taking action.

After you join a network like these, it's time to actually get started and work for your affiliate marketing career. This is where all the magic happens. You market products or services of a merchant and earn commissions from every sale your customer makes. The products or services can be physical or digital but in today's internet world most people are choosing digital products.

Before you can become an affiliate marketer for a merchant, you must learn about the products or services the merchant has to offer. This can take some doing because it is not as cut and dry as it seems. For instance, many merchants only list a few items on their website and they have hundreds to choose from. You must learn what they offer and how customers will find those items. Fortunately, it's not hard to learn and once you have the knowledge you can move forward quickly in your affiliate marketing career.

Now that you know about the products and services, you are ready to sign up for an affiliate program. Just as you would with any other program, you will need to provide personal information and complete an application form. Depending on the program, some applications may be needed in addition to your completed application. Be sure to read the affiliate marketing guide thoroughly before submitting your personal information so that nothing is missed.

With your merchant's permission, you can now go to their website and begin marketing their product or service. Your job is to drive qualified traffic to the merchant's website. When qualified traffic arrives at the merchant's site, you earn commissions based on the amount of clicks your referrals make. So now you know how to get started in affiliate marketing but don't forget to follow up with your affiliate networks and keep building your relationship with them as well!