The second option is to use a third party affiliate tracking company to run your affiliate program for you. These companies will track your affiliate sales, enable your affiliates to check their stats and send out commission checks for you.

Affiliate Tracking Software

My Affiliate Program - A feature-packed, web-based Affiliate Marketing Tracking, Automation & Management Application that "plugs in" to virtually any website. It's powerful, yet user-friendly features will allow you to effortlessly track and manage activities of your Affiliates, partners and other revenue-sharing relationships. http://www.myaffiliateprogram.com

AssocTRAC- Features real time tracking of stats. It tracks both visitors and sales for each associate to determine quality of visitors and effectiveness of your sales copy. It includes an easy sign-up process that instantly creates accounts for associates so they can be up and running within five minutes. An autoresponse email message is instantly sent out with linking instructions and other detailed information. This powerful software tracks through use of cookies and CGI scripts. http://www.marketingtips.com/assoctrac/index.html

Pro-TRACK - Will enable you to keep track of sales and which affiliate sale originated. Although standard version won't compute any sales data (owners manually keep track of sales), it is an excellent way to track and compensate your affiliate sales. The Pro version will not only track where your sales originate, but also provide you with statistics you'll need to track how well your affiliate program is doing. http://www.affiliatesoftware.net/

Affiliate Tracking Companies

ClickBank - This Company will not only enable you to accept credit cards, but they will also run your affiliate program. Over 60,000 affiliates can choose to sell your products for you. ClickBank enables any web seller to automatically pay sales commissions to affiliates. They will bill your customers, pay you, and pay your affiliates a commission. They charge a one-time $49.95 activation fee, and a $1 + 7.5% fee per sale. There are no monthly fees. http://www.clickbank.com

Be Free - Performance Marketing that enables e-businesses to promote their goods and services on tens of thousands of relevant online locations. Paying only when a sale is made or a lead generated. http://www.befree.com

Commission Junction - Creates powerful alliances between online merchants that sell products or services and affiliate content sites that have information or entertainment of interest to businesses and consumers. Commission Junction enables online merchants to place their products and services everywhere online at point-of- interest to their consumers on a pay-for-performance basis. http://www.cj.com/

Take your time and select best affiliate option for your business. If you're just starting out, you may want to use one of third party affiliate companies, as this is easiest route. You won't have to worry about anything, as everything is taken care of for you. This will enable you to concentrate on making more sales and developing new products.

Let's face it, these banner ads enable Amazon.com and their like to use webmasters to strengthen their brand name at zero cost.

They'll slow down your pages and will not benefit your business or your visitors in any way.

If you are an affiliate with Amazon, then only way to effectively make money out of them is by hand-picking a few products that are of direct interest to your visitors.

If your website deals with fast cars, then promote fast car books. If your e-book is all about The Ramones, then promote albums from and books about The Ramones (Gabba Gabba Hey).

Then, promote those products as if they were your own. Nothing short of a rave review or a full-blown sales pitch will do. And place a "Click Here To Order On Amazon.com" link at end.

Your visitors know you and your readers trust you. If you tell them that this product is right for them, then they'll buy it.

One final point.

Amazon's affiliate program, despite its widespread fame, is neither best nor most lucrative one around.

It may be worth your while to look around for websites that promote same products but that have more effective affiliate programs. Programs that pay out more and that use cookies to record your visitors' click-thrus. That way, if your visitors buy product at a later date, you still get commission.