If you have been reading any of my articles, you are by now aware of the amazing opportunity of Affiliate Marketing. The ability to work from home and earn a substantial monthly salary is a realistic goal to start achieving today.

Like anything we do in life, the more effort we put into making affiliate marketing a success for us, will directly affect how high our profits will be. Its not a question of does affiliate marketing work, there is a reason why there are 1000's of affiliate marketers already working to promote products. It works and its very profitable!

Through much research, long hours, trial and error and wasted cash, I have learned the key steps that are important to laying the foundation to start an affiliate business.

Keep reading to find out the first step I recommend to start an affiliate business. Whether you have your own website or not step one is essential. The first step is key to your success.

STEP ONE: You must find popular companies selling popular products that people are buying. It helps if you are passionate about the products you find and promote. This will go a long way in the longevity of your success.

If you believe in the products you promote your customers will believe in them in return thereby lending legitimacy to your sales pitch. This is Sales 101.

There are many ways to find top quality products to promote. Maybe you recently purchased a product online or have friends who have purchased the same products. Check
the website where you purchased products and see if they have an affiliate program. Usually at the very bottom of the home page you will see a link "Affiliates."

Another way to find quality products is to sign up at ClickBank. ClickBank is the premiere Internet resource to find top quality affiliate products.

Either approach is great. The catch is to find top selling products that offer a high commission. ClickBank has search filters to assist you to find the best products to meet your criteria.

I also recommend choosing subscription or recurring revenue products to promote. You will make much more money from a single customer than you would selling for example an e-book to one customer.

Confused? Here is an example: You are promoting a monthly subscription to a "stock market website" that a potential new customer can subscribe to to learn about stock tips. The new customer will pay $30 a month to subscribe. This means you will earn a commission each and every month from that ONE customer. GENIUS! (be sure the affiliate offers "recurring monthly commission")

OK, now its time to sign up with affiliates to promote their products. I recommend picking only one product if it is your first time out. I don't believe in spreading yourself thin. Concentrate on one product and learn everything you need to know, then begin to add to your affiliate inventory as you become confident with your skills.

It won't be long to begin earning affiliate dollars. Just follow the step-by-step instructions from people who already know how to make thousands of dollars promoting other peoples products.