Everything in life is about selling something to somebody else. It doesn't matter if you are trying to sell a product, a service or perhaps an idea.

Even having an argument is all about selling your point of view. The internet is just another tool to use and assist with the selling process. Like newspapers, billboards and TV ads, the internet can help anyone sell their product if they know how to us it correctly.

In fact, the internet is a much easier and cheaper medium to use for advertising. Thanks to online communities people are easily able to connect with their target audiences without them spending thousands of dollars to do this.

What is affiliate marketing?

Ever thought about how it’s possible for a small start-up business to grow into an authority of its niche? It’s all thanks to affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is how these businesses leverage their time and money to let others help and do most of the work for them.

It’s all about multiplying your time and money by giving commission to people that will help sell your product. It’s a brilliant concept really and in a sense it’s also creating thousands of jobs.

A person who is broke and has a hard time finding a good job can now sell someone else’s product and get commission for his efforts. To be an affiliate marketer you don’t need to create a new product, spend any money on hiring staff or even need an office.

Unless you absolutely want to advertise in newspapers, radio or TV it’s unnecessary to advertise the products anywhere else but on the internet. The internet is free to use and free to interact with thousands of other people you normally would never see or get in contact.

The internet is singled out as responsible for creating the most millionaires than any other medium.

Example of affiliate marketing

Let’s use a bookstore as an example. A business owner opens up his brand new little bookstore in a street corner that is not so busy. The owner doesn't have much money so he cannot advertise in all of the newspapers or radio stations.

As a new business owner he knows he needs to sell books to make some sales and get his business making money. If he can’t make money he cannot pay his rent.

From this example it’s clear that this bookstore owner needs to leverage his time and money and essentially multiply his efforts. How will he be able to do this?

Simply by helping other people help him. This business owner understands the concept of leverage and is offering 10% commission for anyone that brings a buying customer to buy one of his books.

Say ten people accept his offer to sell his books for commission. He now has 10 extra people putting effort in to sell his books for him. In the first month of the business the bookstore owner could sell 500 books. In the second month he appointed affiliates and each of them sold 50 books on average, that’s an extra 500 books sold the second month.

I’m sure the concept and power of affiliate marketing is now crystal clear.

Get started with affiliate marketing.

How does a person get started with affiliate marketing? Before diving hand and feet into affiliate marketing, a person needs to find a niche that interests him or something he has knowledge about.

Step 1: Find a niche - Knowledge of the niche being marketed is an absolute requirement. How else will you come to know the target audience and the questions that they might have? If a niche is not well known then read a book about the niche to get a basic understanding. Another good way to find out more about the target audience is to research the niche’s internet forums.

Step 2: Find affiliate products to promote – Finding affiliate products to promote is as easy as doing a search on Google for the niche and the words – affiliate program - in the same search.

Step 3: Promote the products – Promotion does take some work and this is where the knowledge of the niche comes into play. Search Google for some questions about the selected niche and answer them. Also, join online communities like Facebook and niche related forums to interact with the target audience.

Anyone and everyone can do affiliate marketing. There are many misconceptions about affiliate marketing but the truth is, as long as a person does their research on the chosen niche and interacts with communities where their advice will be helpful, then there is money to be made from it.