In this article I will be focusing on affiliates, better known as your down line, your team, your partners, your network.

There are several different types of affiliates, elusive Super Affiliate, Active Affiliates from Direct Sales, Active Affiliates who On-Sell and inactive affiliates.

The Active Affiliate from Direct Sales are ones who join up under you and maintain their subscription to program/service but don’t on-sell to others. Giving you Direct Sale Commission.

The Active Affiliate who On-Sell’s are ones that provide you passive income giving you a percentage of their sales, this is known as TIER income. It is estimated that less than 5% of your Active Affiliates from Direct Sales will become On-Sellers. However, in saying that, higher commission on product/service higher percentage rate for Active Affiliate from Direct Sales to become On-Sellers.

a) TYPE OF BUSINESS

The first thing you need to consider is exactly what kind of business you want to build. There are generally two types of internet businesses out there: a full-fledged online store selling a product or service, or an informational website earning income from affiliate commissions and advertisements.

i) You might want to consider setting up an online store if you fall under one of following categories:

- You have a product that you are already selling offline, and want to use internet to increase your market.

- You provide a service (such as consulting or web design) and want to use internet to sell your services and increase your clientele.

- You do not have a product or service, but want to start an online store by partnering with a product manufacturer or wholesaler.

ii) On other hand, you might want to set up an informational website and earn from affiliate commissions and advertisements. This is possible if you fall under one of following:

- You want to create a website about something that you really like or are interested in.

- You want to promote an affiliate program or product that you like and want to tell world about.

- You want to provide information or compile advice from various sources regarding something that you are good at.

b) INTEREST

Another very important factor is your interest in topic or industry in which you want to do your internet business. It is not advisable to start an internet business relating to a lucrative industry such as online casinos, but you have no interest whatsoever in casinos, and worse if you have moral issues with running of casinos.

I just want you to be aware of some of common pitfalls you might encounter if you get involved in something that you are not quite interested in:

- If you have not much interest in a topic or industry, it will show in content and quality of your website. It takes someone with considerable interest to perform good research on topic, and to create a website full of relevant and personal information and content.

- Without continued interest, you will slowly start to find excuses not to work on your website. And internet business is a continuous love affair. It requires constant updates and internet marketing effort to enjoy good success. If you've lost interest and start to ignore business, your profits will also start to decline.

In short, internet business (like any other business) requires genuine effort and interest in order to succeed. And it is a lifelong love affair, not a one night stand!

c) INCOME OPPORTUNITY