| So you think you'd like to make a little money online? If you want to get started earning some extra cash on the Web, or even a set up a full time living online, there are lots of opportunities available and you're only limited by your own imagination. One good way to get started is to establish a Web site or blog (short for "web log") that is loaded with interesting content. Creating an interesting online presence with lots of unique content will allow your site or blog to be ranked in the search engines, and will bring lots of visitors to read what you have to say. Once you've established yourself and your content and you start to get visitors, you can join a web affiliate program which will allow you to earn money through clicks from your viewers. So how does a web affiliate program program work? It's really pretty simple: an online seller wants to get as many visitors to their site as possible, because more visitors means more revenue. In order to get more visitors, these online retailers offer to share a portion of each sale with those people who help promote their products, also known as "affiliates". Web site owners who want to earn a portion of these sales simply sign up for the retailer's web affiliate program. The retailer then provides the affiliate a unique identifier that allows the main Web site to track clicks from your site or blog. Once a sale is made, the retailer will then credit your online account with a pre-determined percentage of the sale or flat payment. A web affiliate program is an excellent way for an online seller to increase sales, because all of the affiliates become front line salesmen for the product or service. Sharing a portion of each sale is the incentive that the retailer provides to each of his affiliate salesmen. The more affiliates an online retailer has, the more traffic they will receive to their site, and the more sales they are likely to make. Many of the most successful online sites have thousands and thousands of affiliates. There are many web affiliate programs available for practically any sort of Web site or blog content you can imagine. One of the most widely known is the Amazon affiliate program. Amazon, the world's biggest online retailer, sells a lot more than just books. There are literally thousands of different types of items available through Amazon, and if you sign up for the Amazon web affiliate program, you can link to any of those products that are relevant to your Web site and your visitors. When someone who is reading your site sees a product that they're interested in, they simply click your Amazon web affiliate program link and they'll be instantly able to purchase that product online. If they buy, then you get a cut of the sale. |
