In my search for a presence on internet, I searched many avenues, but was finding more scams and dead ends than I would care to speak about.

It was one last scam and six months of my presence on internet that I realized that only way I could possibly make a living on internet -- and gain any amount of satisfaction --was to work for myself. Duh! But how? Affiliate Marketing seemed to be answer.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is promotion of another person's or company's product, in which you get a percentage of profit if a sale is made. That doesn't sound so hard, does it? Well -- it's doeable if you have information you need to get you started in this field -- and it is work. So let me begin enlightenment.

First and foremost, you need passion?

What is Passion?

Passion is a feeling that you have -- a feeling that is so strong that it is your driving force in doing it.

As you can see, passion is needed in any venture if you want to succeed. With passion, it will drive you forward through hard times, bad times, and good times when developing your business.

This passion thing, I must admit, was my first stumbling block. I believed I didn't have a passion for anything -- and feared that maybe, just maybe, corporate world and it 70 hour work weeks may have consumed my passion.

First of all, let's define what we mean by an affiliate program. An affiliate program is basically an internet business set up by someone else. They could be selling physical goods, education, information or any other products that can be sold online. By signing up as their affiliate, you are helping them promote their business or store. In return, they will pay you a commission for each sale you bring them. The amount of commission varies between different affiliate programs. Examples of affiliate programs include Amazon.com and Wordtracker, which you can visit at:

http://www.onlinebiz-help.com/links/wordtracker.html

1) EARNINGS

So how does an affiliate program differ from starting your own online store? Let's start by looking at potential earnings. (After all, main reason everyone wants to start an internet business is for money). When you sign up for an affiliate program, you will be paid a commission for each sale you refer to online store. This commission can range from 5% to 15% for physical products, and possibly up to 50% or more for virtual products such as subscriptions and ebooks.

On other hand, if you start your own store, your profit can be much higher. For virtual products, your profit can be 100% of your selling price. After all, once newsletter or ebook is created, you do not need to spend any more effort. When someone buys your ebook, they just download it from your website. If you are selling a physical product, your profit depends on whether you are manufacturing product yourself, or buying from a wholesaler or dropshipping company. Your profit in this case could easily be more than 40% or 50%.

So, if you only consider potential earnings, starting your own business is more lucrative than joining an affiliate program.

2) LOGISTICS

However, money isn't everything (Or so they say). When you are starting your own internet business, there are a number of logistic issues you need to look at. Here are a few things you would need to take care of: