Smells Like Happy

There are several advantages that come from being involved with Affiliate Programs, and they can indeed be very lucrative. I have been involved with Affiliate Marketing for over 12 years. I am only 41 years old and am debt free, and I have Internet Affiliate Marketing to thank for that.

Affiliate programs are abundant on the Internet, and can be know by such names as MLM  (Multi Level Marketing), Network Marketing, and Affiliate Marketing. There are many legitimate Affiliate Marketing programs, however just like anything else, there are many people that have formed programs to take your money and run.

There are several forms of Affiliate Programs on the Internet, but for the sake of simplicity, I am going to stick with the two most popular, which are Multi Level Programs, and Straight Commission Programs. A  Multi Level Marketing program is any business that offers a product that you can market and earn money from sales you refer to the product offered. All Multi Level Programs have some kind of a matrix (usually “forced”) which can be any number of width and depth. The most common being the 2×10 forced matrix. This only allows two referrals on the first level, four on the second, and so on down to ten levels. While this can be confusing (and usually is made to be complicated), one can certainly cash in big with this kind of program. In most cases the company will make it hard to understand the Compensation Plan so that they can make it look easy to make money with the company. While I tend to stay away from the MLM type programs, I have made some money with them. In most cases the company will offer a great product, but will attach a very high price (in many cases overpriced), and then only pay out a couple of dollars on most levels. The big pay out usually comes on the last level which is made to look like you will earn huge money, when in reality, only a select few will ever fill the entire matrix and earn the Big Money. Usually when you show others your MLM they tend to call it a “Pyramid Scheme” because the Compensation plan looks like a Pyramid. Most people will tend to shy away from MLM programs for that main reason, however they also feel they are illegal. In most cases they are NOT illegal because there is a product attached. If here is NO product attached, then it is illegal

Now that we have looked at the MLM program lets look at the Straight Commission Program, which is set up to pay you on a per sale basis as well, however there is no matrix involved. In some programs you can be paid on two levels, but most only pay out on one level. I prefer this style of program because there is much more money to be made in a shorter time frame. Where as the MLM might pay One to Five Percent on the first levels and then up to fifty percent on the final level, the Straight Commission program usually starts out at fifteen, and can end up as high as fifty percent per sale. While earning money on several levels may seem enticing, you could end up purchasing an overpriced product and take months if not years to make any real return on your investment, where as a straight commission program paying up to fifty percent per sale will have you at even with only two sales. Straight Sale programs can offer a “one time” purchase, or a monthly purchase. I tend to look for the monthly programs because you will have an income as long as your referral continues with the product purchase, and trust me, this can really add up.

The product offered can be anything from clothing, to nutritional items, right down to digital products (E Books and instant download items), and the companies range anywhere from Golf Pro shops, to Magazine Companies right down to individual people. Either way you decide to go is fine, however remember to try and find a monthly style program that will pay you every month on your efforts. This is also known as “residual” income, because you work once and get paid over and over on your efforts.

The first thing you will need to do is to find a program that has a good compensation plan (remember try and find a Monthly program), and join that program. You will need to purchase the product or membership, so it is going to cost you some money up front, but usually it’s not a whole lot of out of pocket expense. You should be able to get into a good program for under fifty dollars per month. Then show that program to everyone you know, and get yourself into a positive cash flow quickly. Once you have earned your investment back, you can join another program and do the same thing again. After you have set yourself up in no more than three program to start with, continue to refer sales and before long you will find yourself in a very positive cash flow situation in no time at all. A great Program is located at http://www.earnnetwealth.com.

Donald Lowery
http://www.articlesbase.com/affiliate-programs-articles/cashing-in-on-affiliate-programs-706995.html