Why Most Internet Marketers Start Out as Affiliates

If you've just started out with the intention of making money online, one of the first things any Internet marketing eBook will tell you to do is sell affiliate products - but what are they and why would you want to sell them?

An affiliate is a marketer who has chosen to promote somebody else's product for a commission. Commissions can range from a very modest 1% up to a very respectable 80% of the sale price, depending which affiliate program you find to represent.

However, the percentage shouldn't be the main thing you look for when deciding on a product to promote - after all, a small commission on a high ticket product can make you just as much money as a high commission on a much cheaper product.

Why choose to represent affiliate products in the first place? Why not just go the product owner route and have complete control over every aspect of your business?

Well, the most important reasons for you are time and cost - it's more convenient! The majority of people just starting online won't have a product of their own to sell, and it will take them time to research the market for something appropriate to sell and money to develop the product once they've decided on one.

With affiliate marketing, you can jump straight in and get your first taste of selling online quickly and easily - with no money in your start-up coffers. All you do is find a product to promote via ClickBank, PayDotCom, or another marketplace.

Then grab your unique affiliate ID, start generating targeted traffic to the product owner's site, and collect your commissions! Being an affiliate marketer is one of the easiest ways to begin building an online business