The Pros And Cons Of Making Money Online With Affiliate Marketing

If you have been using the internet at all in recent times

, you may have seen ads on websites, or received promotional email talking about "making money with affiliate marketing". If you're not familiar with the whole internet marketing scene, you may not really understand what affiliate marketing is all about.

Well, in a nutshell, affiliate marketing consists of promoting a merchant's product or service on the internet, and getting paid every time a sale is generated or another action is completed by the user who was referred by you (such as downloading a piece of software, signing up for a trial of a website, creating a profile on a dating site, etc).

Traditionally, the compensation model has been a percentage of each sale generated. However, many affiliate programs nowadays have a "cost per action" model, where you are paid a fixed amount whenever a certain action is taken by the user (like simply entering their email address), whether or not it results in an immediate sale for the merchant.

While affiliate marketing is touted by some as being the best way to earn money online, just like anything else, it does have some advantages and disadvantages.

The main advantage is that YOU are in control. As an affiliate marketer, you work for yourself. This means that YOU are free to work your own hours, YOU set your objectives and goals, and YOU choose the companies that you will promote.

Also, you have pretty much unlimited earning potential. Unlike a job that pays you a fixed salary whether you were an excellent or just an "acceptable" employee, the results of your affiliate marketing work will vary depending on the quality of your work, and other factors such as dedication to choosing and promoting offers, your knowledge and your skills.

It's also pretty quick to get started. You don't have to create or find your own product or website, as there are literally thousands of offers and products you can start promoting very quickly.

However, many of affiliate marketing's strengths are also its weaknesses. In order to succeed, you need to be a very self disciplined and goal oriented person. With no boss around to constantly remind you what to do, it takes a certain amount of dedication to be able to give your best at the work you do.

And while affiliate marketing can be very profitable, there is no way to determine in advance how much money you will be making next month. It's probably going to vary every month.

With constantly changing offers, products and promotional methods, you must be able to face the fact that your income will be unpredictable and also be able to quickly react to changes in the internet marketing world. "You need to be fast on your feet."

by: Mike Miles

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