Before advent of Internet, a business required a massive investment to get started. People would think in terms of at least 3-5 years before they recovered what they had paid out, and were making a profit.

Nowadays you can start an online 'business' for next to nothing, but for some reason people expect to make a profit from it immediately, and are then disappointed when it doesn't happen.

If only people could put in same level of commitment, as they would if they had spent tens of thousands of dollars setting up an offline business, then far more people would be successful.

If only people could stop thinking of their online business as if it were a lottery ticket. There are no instant winnings, and instant gratification.

And don't forget fact that most people with a lottery ticket are losers!

Success is not easy. It takes time, but rewards you eventually receive are worth far more than any lottery win!

No one successful ever said it was easy. And if people do say it is easy then they are lying!

As you probably know, most people start off trying to make money online, by signing up with an affiliate program.

An affiliate program allows anyone at all to start up a business for virtually nothing.

But just because it is so easy, and free, to sign up for an affiliate program, it is easy to make mistake of thinking that there is no work involved either, or to believe that you will never experience problems like you do with any other business.

Most people also think that because they have a great looking affiliate website, then that is all they need.

Yet 95% of people fail with their affiliate sites. Why do you think that is?

I would say that fact that it cost them nothing to get started accounts for a lot of it!

Yet for many affiliate programs, banner ad is simply a poor form of advertising. It encourages a limited response, is stuck on top or bottom of screen, and does little if anything for affiliate, or your network.

If you are going to use banner ads, be sure to drive them to one product page, or even better, to a sign up form where you can email them. These are best methods to put banner ads into action.

Okay, so what works better than banner ads for affiliate network? Here are some ideas:

Email/ezine promotions to a qualified list:

One of funniest, common realizations at a recent conference was that customers do not buy until third or fourth visit to a Web Site. Direct response marketing has been built on this fact for years, following up initial contacts with repeated messages inviting people to visit. Email is best means to conduct this and to keep up with volumes of email that come with a new affiliate program.

Yet real power of email comes in endorsed mailing.

When an ezine or list has been developed, with a trust between writer and audience, endorsement is gold. It moves people from being strangers to being introduced to you personally. The unfamiliar is replaced by a recommendation from someone they trust. Response rates to email offerings are much greater; a recent article about December Internet retail push claimed a 300% increase in sales via email than via other methods. This is hottest, unknown affiliate promotion available.

Text Links/Endorsement With Banner:

PC World does an excellent job of increasing response to their affiliate programs. PC World has an audience who buys online; over 90% of their audience have bought online. They are extremely selective with who they make their affiliate partners, for a good reason; they are good at selling advertising space, so little of this space is dead.