Affiliate marketing is a popular way for individuals seeking a secure means of starting an online business.  Affiliate marketing is a safe way to earn income with lower start up fees than many other internet businesses.  While there are some ways of making money online without any start-up costs, typically such opportunities cost money in the long run due to the low returns that are possible through such programs.   Affiliate marketing can be challenging to learn at first, but, with some research and education about affiliate marketing, you can create a constant revenue stream that will outlast and exceed most internet programs.

The benefits of affiliate marketing are clear.  By creating a constant source of income that will come in even when you are not working, you can gain the flexibility to work only as your schedule allows. After putting in the initial effort of starting your business, you can have free time when you want it. 

Before considering the startup costs of an affiliated marketing business, consider the benefits that you will receive through your paid membership.  Starting your business online can be intimidating and difficult without assistance, as well as diminishing your returns.  A paid membership in a top notch paid affiliate marketing site gives you a chance to interact and network with other affiliate marketers in the community, which can help save you a substantial amount of time and money that would otherwise be used for learning by trial and error.  

Many successful affiliate marketers have learned about new lucrative opportunities by networking on a forum community.  Furthermore, you can avoid opportunities that are not worth the effort.  By tapping into the larger community, you can learn from the successes and failures of others.

As an example, one of the best affiliate marketing programs available is Clickbank.  This is an excellent opportunity for beginners, as much of the work is already done for you.  This site creates a sales page for you as well as banner links.  To begin, you can search their database for existing articles and then write new articles based on topics that you are an expert in.  

Writing informational articles creates a feeling of confidence from buyers and gives them a reason to visit your sales site.  From there, you can build on this confidence in order to sell the product that you are trying to promote.  Most affiliate programs pay a percentage, up to 75%, of the sale to you directly.  Once your articles are published and generating sales, that money continues to come in to you even after you have written it, as the content remains available on the Web.