This is part 3 of the 10 part eBook "Online Business Bible" which will be sent to you when you join our newsletter at http://www.gbizbuilders.com.

Let's take a deeper look at this area...what is it

Affiliate marketing is a money making concept where a company partners with individuals who will profit when their referral goes to the company's website to perform an action. Most often the action is to buy something, but it can also be to start a free trial, or to fill out a request for information, or to submit information (such as posting a resume at a job site).

You should note that the companies who have these affiliate arrangements can be just about any size. Some very large ones to note are Amazon, eBay, and Yahoo. Also, Sony, Dell and others have these affiliate programs.

The advantages of becoming an affiliate marketer is that it allows you to make money just by sending leads to the company's website to perform the action for which the company will pay you a commission. Also, that company handles all of the inventory, order processing and shipping, and customer service.

With all the benefits of being an affiliate marketer, it is a very interesting money making model and has huge popularity. To investigate further, you may ask: What does it takes to become an affiliate marketer?

Here are points to consider, many are the same as in Chapter 2, with some additional points:

1. Be guided by your areas of interest. What products you are familiar with most and which products could you sell well? Expertise, patience and determination are qualities you will need to draw upon as you progress along your path.

2. Desire and Commitment. You must decide you will make a plan and stick to it. Set milestones and conditions of success. We talk about a business plan in a later article.

3. Be prepared to learn. You will need to learn the ins and outs, and learn what is real and doable. Some helpful ideas will be to get mentoring, sign up for courses, read ebooks and participate in forum discussions.

4. The next step is the first big step or Phase 1 - creating your website. Most companies with an affiliate program will require a website. A website will be your main tool for marketing and promoting your affiliate products. Go here for more discussion about Web design and website hosting.

5. The second big step, or Phase 2, is to learn how to promote your site and your products and services. This will get targeted visitors to your site which can turn into potential buyers and money. Targeted visitors means they are looking for what you have. Go here for more discussion about Internet Marketing.

6. Phase 3 is to develop content on your site and show your expertise. It sometimes takes buyers multiple visits to your site before they buy. At first they will visit your website in order to learn about you or your product and/or service, so you will need to develop some interesting and useful content and information for them to "consume."

7. Another Phase 3 step is to create a relationship with your visitors. As you become a reliable expert in your field, more and more people will buy the affiliate products you recommend. A newsletter or an eBook are some effective ways to establish relationships with your potential customers. When they sign up, you can send more information and offers to them.