AffiliateWeb, in its entirety, is receiving right around 80-100 unique hits every day, which is not really a lot when you consider some websites that are receiving 50,000+ uniques a day. Yet, every single day there is one thing that never fails: I will receive at least one e-mail from a reader asking how they can get started in affiliate marketing.

Yes, online affiliate marketing is easier than offline commissioned sales. For that reason I recommend affiliate marketing to anyone who is aware of how to use a computer and the basics behind web development, but if you don’t know how to put together a basic website (or aren’t willing to learn) you’re in the wrong business, plain and simple. The days of affiliate marketing without websites are over, so the onus is on you to keep up with current trends in the industry.

However, like all businesses that are worth pursuing, affiliate marketing has a learning curve that all new affiliates will need to overcome in order to realize any amount of success. Just as riding a bike requires dedication and patience when you are first learning, affiliate marketing requires dedication and the understanding that your first several campaigns will probably be failed attempts. That’s okay- no one expects you to become a millionaire overnight.

Needs Checklist in Order to Start Online Affiliate Marketing

A new affiliate needs a few things outside of personal resolve and a thick skin:

• Good web hosting - There are thousands of web hosts all over the world. Which one is right for you? Check out the web hosting reviews category for some host suggestions.
• Affiliate accounts - There are hundreds of affiliate networks out there. Find one with quality offers and high payouts. We have some affiliate program reviews online here as well and a listing of some good affiliate networks in our resource center, so feel free to give those a read if you want our perspective.
• Marketing knowlege -Put that stupid eBook down! The marketing information that you need can be found all over the internet, including resources like AffiliateWeb, free of cost. The most important information, however, is what you already know. Bring some creativity to the table and you will profit immensely.
• A bankroll - Affiliate marketing isn’t something that you can get into for free. You need website hosting, money for marketing campaigns, and possibly even things like a website designer or program coder. The more complicated your promotion, the more money you’ll have to throw at it to make it work.
• A desire to learn - Never, ever stop growing and learning. Focus on gaining as much information as you can, and once you’ve become established and are earning some money, continue to learn and expand your horizons. You never know when you might have “the next big thing”.

Your First Steps with Online Affiliate Marketing

If you have literally no experience with affiliate marketing, your first steps should be acquiring a reliable web hosting account and a domain name and then spending the next few days learning about whatever product you want to promote. Start searching for competition, see what’s successful and what isn’t, and then try to put your own stuff online with your own spin on it.

At first, traffic generation will be hard. Many people recommend PPC as it is highly targeted traffic (the user had to read your ad and then click it), but that can get expensive and PPC marketing is highly competitive. Instead, as a new affiliate, I would focus on social networking websites such as digg or technorati. This type of traffic generation is free, targeted, and can be extremely effective so long as your offer is one that is appealing.

Focus on high quality website content (www.communicatebetter.org), a good website design, and get that traffic coming! Where there is traffic, there is money.

Look for this series on online affiliate marketing to be continued.