Affiliate marketing is a revenue sharing partnership between a product merchandiser and one or more affiliates. The affiliate is a marketer who uses his/her marketing skill in order to drive (refer) potential customers to the merchandiser's web site and is paid a commission for the number of clicks, leads or most often sales to that merchant.

An affiliate's advantage is that he/she can make money in a business where he/she doesn't have the upfront costs of creating his own product. The affiliate also doesn't have to worry about e-commerce, bookkeeping, or even customer support. That's left up to the merchant to take care of.

Do YOU have what it takes to be an affiliate marketer? To find out, you need to ask yourself some questions.

· In what areas do your interests lie?

· Is there a niche market for your area of interest?

· What products/services do you know the most about?

· Do you already have a mailing list to sell to or will you need to create one?

· Do you already have a web site or will you need to start from scratch?

· What goal do you hope to achieve as an affiliate...make more money, have your own business, etc.?

· Do you have the patience, perseverance and determination to be an affiliate marketer?

The answers you give for the above questions will directly affect your efforts toward affiliate marketing. Once you have answered these questions, you will have a better understanding of where your specialty is and whether or not you want to possess the qualities needed to be successful as an affiliate.

Becoming a successful affiliate marketer is not as easy as you may first think. If you don't already have experience selling products/services on the Internet, you will have to learn the techniques, acquire the tools and hone the skills that are needed to sell anything.

Patience and perseverance are extremely important. Many online business prospectors lose out because they become impatient. Success won't happen overnight and you need to understand that trial and error will play a role in your ventures.

You need to know where your strengths are. What are you good at and what are your capabilities and abilities related to your chosen market. But probably the most important quality you MUST have is a strong and almost tireless desire to succeed in affiliate marketing.

Information will be key to your success, not only as an affiliate marketer, but also in any Internet related marketing plan you decide on. You must obtain and absorb as much product information as possible. You REALLY need to know every aspect of what you are trying to sell to the Internet public and how you plan to do it.

You need to know about your merchant. Other than the product/service you are an affiliate for, what else does this merchant sell? If you don't know, find out. You also will want to find out how long this merchant has been in business. You won't want to sell products or services for someone who isn't going to be there.

You also need know how to market your site effectively. This will enable you to get thousands of visitors coming to your site, which will translate into sales. Don't just rely on any sales material the merchant gives you. Be creative in your marketing efforts as well as the material you use to market. Write your own ads in your own words. They will tend to sound more sincere.

Learn as much as you can about affiliate marketing. Don't just jump into it and proclaim yourself an affiliate. Affiliate marketing is VERY competitive and cutthroat. You need to stay on your toes if you want to survive in this business. There are many good publications written on the subject. Many are free and some real good ones are reasonably priced. For more information on affiliate marketing you should look into subscribing to The Net's Profit Today ezine by Rosalind Gardner. She's the "First Name" in affiliate marketing. For more information go to http://www.netprofitstoday.com

Hard work, perseverance, dedication and a little marketing know-how are what it takes to become a successful affiliate marketer. You can do it IF you have what it takes.