There are many thousands of affiliate programs you can join. Yet to succeed you must ignore 99% of them. You must select a subject area and stick to it.

The days of taking scattergun approach with affiliate programs are long gone. Once upon a time this was a good method for making money with affiliate programs but now opportunities in this area are all but gone.

Today, you need to be a sniper and sniff out best affiliate programs around. You need to take a shotgun approach. Do some affiliate marketing research by reading as many articles on a subject as possible. Pick an area you are good at and know something about.

Then pick 3 affiliate programs in this area to join. That's right, just 3!

This way you will focus. You will force yourself to concentrate on fewer areas and fewer affiliate programs.

If you focus and find your own niche you will stand a much better chance of making decent money with affiliate programs.

If you're relatively new to Internet marketing, this 5-part course is particularly suited for you. It details one of most simple, yet most effective formulas for making money online that you'll find. Trust me, if this course can work for my dad, a retired naval officer who knows next to nothing about online marketing, it can work for you if you simply put it to use.

...So with that, let's get started! Affiliate programs, most of which are free to join, can be an excellent way to make money online. But they, like anything else, require use of proper tools and resources if you're to expect any kind of significant success.

That's thing. Way too many people hope or even expect to make money online without any type of investment. I can tell you right now, if that is what you're expecting, you might as well call it quits before you even get started. I am only being honest!

What you should expect is a modest investment of your time and (ideally) money. Though you can succeed without investing a dime, it will likely take you significantly longer than if you're willing to set aside a small budget specifically for online advertising.

Now, first step in our 5 part formula is to find one or several good affiliate programs to join. As an affiliate, your job is simply to send visitors to website hosting affiliate programs. For each visitor you send who then decides to order, you are paid a commission.

Affiliate programs are attractive for beginners in particular because you don't have to worry about processing payments, delivering products, & etc. And again, most affiliate programs cost absolutely nothing to participate in. Indeed, these are advantages for most any person looking to make money online, beginner or otherwise.

However... In order to make significant amounts of money through affiliate programs, you'll still need proper tools and resources. We'll cover those later.

Right now it's time to choose your first affiliate program! You can find various affiliate program directories by doing a search for 'affiliate program directory', 'associate program directory', etc., at Google.com.

Here is a good directory to start with:

http://www.associateprograms.com

Now, when choosing affiliate programs, here are 10 keys to look for:

1. Ideally, choose an affiliate program that promotes products or services you enjoy!