You can make a lot of money with an affiliate income, but it is something that you have to work at and it doesn't happen overnight. First you have to check out the many different types of affiliate programs available and choose the one that pays the most money. You don't necessarily need to have an intimate knowledge of the program, product or service when you start, but you do need to do your research.
Basically an affiliate income comes from a program that you can join for free. There are many companies with websites selling products or services and will pay you a percentage when you refer a customer that makes a purchase. This is a percentage of the amount of money that the customer spends. Some affiliate programs have a set amount for each purchase. The company gets free advertising from you and this is the way they pay for it.
To get started in affiliate marketing you have to set up a website related to the product that the company sells. You need to have well-written articles about the product that will lead customers to click on the words or phrase that will lead them to the site where they can find out more information and hopefully buy. Once you have the website set up, then you can apply to the affiliate program and give the address of your site. In most cases, you will be accepted without questions, but there are some programs that have strict rules about what the referring sites should be like.
Do a search for the most common phrases that people search for when they want information about this product. Overture is one of these programs that will tell you how many people searched for a specific phrase in the previous month. The higher the number, the more likelihood there is that when you write an article based on this phrase, visitors will come to your site.
An affiliate income is something that builds over time. You have to keep adding to the site and keep enticing customers to buy. In this case it is the words rather than the graphics that do the selling for you. You will not receive a check from the marketer until your account reaches $100. This is to save money by sending out small checks each month. Depending on the affiliate marketing program and the product, you could be well on your way to having a good second income and you may even be able to quit your regular job.