Introduction

The business of affiliate marketing has become very popular and with good reason. It comes very nearly to the ideal or "perfect" business. You usually have no need for employees or overhead or carry any physical inventory. Additionally you don't ever have to deal with customers. Handling customer issues is the job of the merchant you are promoting. Finally It is truly a business where you are your own boss. For those who haven't heard the term before affiliate marketing is basically where you promote someone elses product or services and recieve commissions when you refer someone who makes a purchase. Commissions are usually a percentage of the sale. Some programs will pay affiliates for leads instead of sales. There are some affiliate marketing techniques that are free and some that require a investment of money. Affiliate marketing is in my opinion the best way to make money online. It is also an evolving business which means there are always new ways to advertise and new opportunities that open up. A good book I've read that explains comprehensively how to build an affiliate marketing business is The Superaffiliate Handbook.