So you want to make money on the web with a site of your own. Alright. One of the best ways to do this has always been with affiliate marketing. Here’s everything you need to know to get you started…

What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is, well, marketing by affiliation, let’s say. The way it works is actually a lot simpler than some people will make it out to be: You write a blog or something and you host links to places where folks can buy stuff. When people buy that stuff, you get five percent, ten percent, fifteen percent, or some other cut of the dough. Simple, right?

What Makes a Good Affiliate Marketing Site?
Some people just throw lousy content at a blog and hope it sticks. It usually doesn’t. In fact, someone who has a loyal readership almost always makes more money on affiliate marketing than someone who’s just trying to turn a quick dollar. In short: learn to create good content. The more readers you have, the more likely you are to make some money from them. That said, what you write about is important, too.

Making Money
The content, who you write for, is important. If you want to make money, clearly you’re going to be making a lot more of it reviewing pricey video games and cell phones and so on and getting people to buy them than, say, reviewing budget priced trucker caps or something. You can add a lot of variety, though. An article advising people on gifts to buy might net you fifty bucks for a Playstation, a hundred for a piece of jewelry and several instances of a few bucks each for some gourmet food items. It doesn’t all have to be pricey, but you should at least be earning a couple bucks a sale.

So really, being an affiliate marketer is just an incredibly easy, modern day version of the traveling salesman, except you don’t have to buy any demo pieces, you don’t need a car, and you can cover hundreds of miles in a single blog post.