So, you are thinking about marketing on line, good idea. The easiest and most profitable way to start is Affiliate Programs. If you are willing to put a good bit of easy work into affiliate programs you can make a comfortable living. You will not need a college degree or anything like that. All you need is a willing mind. The main road to success are focused dedication and a lot of enthusiasm. . 1. Affiliate programs may be the easiest online business to start running. although it doesn't�t hurt to do some study so that you can learn from other people's mistakes rather than go through them yourself. In addition, you are likely to pick up ideas that you wouldn't have come up with yourself. There are numerous training products with great strategies to adopt. One of the best ways to do this is look at what people who have used the courses are saying in some of the popular Internet marketing forums. 2. These programs are a great way to get started in an online business. There are some 'Super Affiliates' who are making fabulous incomes from these programs. Affiliate programs allow you to sell another company's service or product and make a commission on every sale or lead. You don't even need to build a web site or handle the transaction. Your job is to drive traffic to your affiliate link. 3. An affiliate link is a special URL code that will identify customers coming to the company's site from your advertising. It will be the web site address with a code attached to the end. Some programs also have tiers. That means if someone who is interested in selling the product comes through your link and signs up you will also get a small percentage of their earnings. 4. To choose a program You should research the popularity of some of your interests. Try to determine if people are buying that product or service online. There are many sources for finding that information including free ones, such as the Overture keyword tool. When you have found an area that is popular then type the subject along with 'affiliate program' into your search engine and see which programs have services or products for that area. You can also use an affiliate program directory. 5. After founding a program that looks good you should check the terms of the program. Make sure that pay outs are not based on a high commission earning or you may never see your money. Also try to choose programs with high commission rates. Often you will find ebooks and downloadable software has the highest rates as there is no physical product to make or ship. If you are satisfied with the terms then you need to sign up. 6. The reason affiliate programs are so great for beginners is that you only need to focus on marketing. Many affiliate programs have information on how to market and give you tools such as banners, product feeds and more. You can also look for other information on marketing including writing articles, creating pay-per-click campaigns, commenting in online forums etc. As you gain experience marketing you will make adjustments to your selling and start creating a wonderful income! Why a large number of would-be online marketers are either unsuccessful or only partially successful is because they lack focus. They jump from one strategy to the next without mastering any. In affiliate marketing, the key to success is planning and focus. Take one strategy and concentrate on it for a set period of time, maybe a month. If it isn't�t returning enough then look for an alternative and spend time developing it. If it is working, then look at ways of making it even better. Most people want to 'get rich quick' on the Internet and fail. To make real riches you need to have a strategy, look to the longer terms and stay focused.