Intro to Affiliate Marketing

In the previous article titled “Why Haven’t You Started Yet?”, I listed a few reasons why it’s so difficult for so many people to start their online business. Included was one marketer’s ten-step plan on what to do to start. And therein lies the problem. Everyone is selling you the “What”, not the “How-to”!

If you’re truly serious about building an Internet business but don’t know how, then let me show you one of the fastest and easiest strategies you can begin with. Affiliate Marketing!

Leave all your old ebooks sitting on your hard drive for now. Forget about those feelings of information overload you think you have. Over the next several weeks I’ll be taking you step-by-step through everything you need to know to get started with affiliate marketing and building an actual business.

Why affiliate marketing?

Here’s just a few of the reasons why affiliate marketing is particularly suited for beginners:

• You can get started immediately;
• You can start part-time;
• You can get started for under $25;
• You don’t need to stock any inventory;
• You don’t need to worry about customer service; and,
• You can promote an almost unlimited number of products or services.

What You Need to Get Started

Before you can begin there is one key thing you will need and that is the ability to actually take action on what you learn. One of the main reasons why so many people fail to even begin building an online business is the inability to just do something. Instead, they buy ebooks, read forums, chase every new idea to come along and eventually they become completely overwhelmed and confused by information overload.

A recent post on a popular marketing forum illustrates an extreme example of what information overload can do to anyone:

“I have the time and dedication. Im on the computer at least 7 hours every day reading and researching how to make money. I have been doing this since 1997 just reading and reading and reading. I just don’t want to waste all my time on something that doesn’t make money.”

Can you believe that? This person has been reading and reading and reading for more than 10 years! One can only imagine where this person would be today if they had only taken action on something, anything, that was learned.  When I was in college a professor of mine once said, “If you don’t use or apply what you learn here you’ll just end up being an educated idiot!”

Baby Steps First!

Ok, before you can start building your online business with affiliate marketing you first need to know what it is. So, to get you started I have a 2-part video for you that gives a complete overview of the affiliate marketing process.

After you’ve finished watching Part 1, come back here and click on the link for Part 2.

Affiliate Marketing Video:  Part 1

Affiliate Marketing Video:  Part 2

What’s Next?

Over the next several weeks I’ll be covering other ways for you to quickly and easily start an online business.  The next method will cover getting started with eBay.  And no, it’s not what you think.