Most people tend to rush into things or, on the other hand, they sometimes complicate their lives by not knowing what they truly need and want. Choosing an affiliate program doesn't need to be difficult. You just have to know what questions should be asked and what are the preferable answers. These are the 5 simple questions a future online marketer and affiliate should ask:

1. Does the program provide true value?

This should be important (unfortunately, there are a lot of marketers who find this unimportant) because a good product reflects good on the affiliate, gives more leverage to the marketing efforts and ultimately, a product with true value is easier to sell, we feel good about offering it and we sleep like babies with a loaded bank account.

2. Can the program become automated?

In short, after a certain period of development and growth, which includes marketing and building a downline, the affiliate program should offer a level of, or complete automation. Automation of a business can give you a chance for duplication and provides you with a lot of free time to do other things besides work. Imagine having an automated business that earns you a monthly income of $3000 and having a chance to duplicate it five times. It becomes a $15000/per month business. That's an annual six figure income. Not too bad.

3. Can I earn a residual income with this particular affiliate program?

Residual income (also called passive income) is income earned on an ongoing basis for effort done once in the past. That means that you get paid over and over again for something that you did only once. This is a great reason to become an online affiliate. Residual profits provide you with security and financial advancement and with it you can only move forward. I have seen many people become millionaires thanks to this kind of a payment plan.

4. Is it something I could relate to and promote passionately?

Knowledge and understanding of the products you promote is essential to your online success because it provides you with the arguments you need to fall in love with the product and promote it passionately. The best affiliate programs contact you on a regular basis and give you access to all the resources you need to get to know and love your product.

5. Will I receive support and help?

This is a question you don't need to ask directly. To ensure that you are not joining a program that will enroll you and then leave you to figure out everything on your own, you must be assured that your upline in the program can become successful and can continue to be successful only if they help you to do the same. The affiliate newbie should be looked after and provided with as much knowledge and resources as possible. If your success depended on the success of the people that you enrolled in the program, wouldn't you do everything in your power to help them with any obstacle they might come across? Off course you would. In such a program, all your problems should be adressed and solved in a very short period.

These are the five simple questions future affiliates need to ask before they begin their journey on the world wide web. Affiliate marketing isn't rocket science, although some will try to portray it so. There are rules and there are things that are good for the affiliate and there are those that are bad. Getting a positive answer on these five questions will certainly help you in becoming a success online. And I assure you, you can find affiliate programs which will answer all five questions with a yes. Better yet, they are right behind the corner. Good luck and enjoy the ride.

There is much to be said about compensation plans that you can find online. This type of matrix, that type of matrix, binary systems or just the simple one-time commissions; none of them can even barely compare with the power of a simple residual compensation plan.

Residual income, also called passive income, is income earned on an ongoing basis for effort done once in the past. Simply put, this means that if you generate 10 sales each month and each sale brings in around 100$, you start in January with your income being around 1000$. By the end of the year, your commissions for each month ad up, meaning that December will be an excellent month for you considering that you are earning an income of 12.000$ as each month ads up another thousand to your ongoing commissions.

For someone involved in affiliate marketing, multi level marketing or any kind of home based business, there are many opportunities to be found online that give such a compensation plan, as the one explained above. Some of the options could be membership sites, online training courses or magazines and newsletters that offer subscriptions to their monthly content. Web hosting services are another option. Web hosting is something that everyone online needs and it's a product with which you can earn a residual income for as long as the hosting account is active. Autoresponder service is one more, as autoresponders are also a necessity for someone who is trying to build a list of subscribers and many of them come with an affiliate program that pays ongoing commissions for generated sales.

This type of compensation plan has created many millionaires. Such a system keeps people motivated and inspired, and motivated and inspired people achieve the best results. One specific thing about programs that offer such a compensation plan is that you truly need to promote a good product, one that the costumer can be satisfied with and can choose to invest in it month after month. That's a good thing, off course. It means that you are providing quality and your commissions are just proof of what a great job and service you are doing. Personally, I find that one of the best things about earning residual income is that it provides you with a certain sense of security, giving you more free time and enabling you to grow in your business as your income grows, month after month.

The aspect of growth is an important issue for those who decide to work from home, because a home based business such as affiliate marketing is a wise choice for people seeking financial freedom and security, which are attainable by a person's continuous effort and, above all, a good compensation plan. Growth can be acquired, prepared and manifested only in a system that rewards our labor with a fair compensation that increases our income with each month.

For those of you who feel that working from home could be your way to financial freedom, I urge you to scrutinize every business opportunity that you encounter and consider carefully those opportunities that enable you to earn an ongoing and residual income. Believe me when I say that it will make a difference.

About the author:
Josip Barbaric is a passionate affiliate marketing explorer and adventurer that loves to help affiliate marketing newbies to make money online!

One of the great aspects of affiliate marketing is the possibility and opportunity to have multiple streams of income.

Why is it important to have multiple streams of income?

First, it provides you with the necessary security.
By having more than one stream of income, you can prevent the unfortunate situation of having a "bad month" or even of losing are whole income if a business venture or your 9-5 job is terminated.

Multiple streams of income can mean an enormous difference to you and your family, especially if combined with residual income!

One of the most important aspects of my online career has been the ability to earn multiple streams of income that continue to pay month after month.
I am not in a situation where I have to worry that something will go wrong with one of my ventures nor does it paralyze my finances when one of does streams "dries up a bit":-)

You need to have leverage and you need more security while you pursue other business opportunities or experiment with the old ones.

The best online marketing technique is surely article marketing.
This is true for a number of reason:

1. You fulfill your first duty as a marketer, which is providing people with content. And you do it for free!

2. You gain credibility as an expert on a certain subject. This can benefit you in more than one way.

3. If you use a quality article submitter, you can gain extreme exposure online with backlinks to your site coming from thousands of websites online. Talk about exposure!

For these and many more reasons, I have based most of my advertising and promotion on article marketing.
Visit my Article Marketing Explained! Squidoo lens to learn more about the most powerful online marketing strategy!

1. Blogging

Blogging is the king of content, if done right.

The best platforms for hosting a blog are Wordpress and MyBlog. Blogging certainly deserves a separate lens just to show all sides of this marketing strategy:-)

2. Forums

Participating in forums is another great way of
getting exposure, building backlinks and making
sales by using a signature file while posting.
The signature file can contain links to your website, blog and even affiliate links.

By participating in forums, you can build relationships, gain repeated visitors to your website and blog, and even your Squidoo lenses:-)

3. Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking became very popular over the last year. The ability to share interesting sites with other people soon turned into one of the best, and most used marketing methods online.

Affiliate marketers bookmark their blog posts, articles, Squidoo lenses, websites and anything else that could gain them exposure and produce sales!

The most popular social bookmarking sites are Stumble Upon, Digg and Del.Icio.Us.

4. Squidoo

Promoting your business site with Squidoo is one of the most effective affiliate marketing methods, right beside article marketing and blogging. It has become one of the most popular online marketing trends for a good reason....

You can read more about how to promote your site with Squidoo...

Newbies that are starting an online business through affiliate marketing require a period of learning and persistent action...so I really hope that you will find this information helpful.

As I've mentioned above, newbie affiliates require KNOWLEDGE and PERSISTENT ACTION to succeed!

My site and the Free Affiliate Marketing Guide are designed to help you with both!

And remember, always, and I mean always, EMPOWER YOURSELF, EMPOWER OTHERS and I'm sure you'll do just fine!

Good luck, everyone!

Affiliate Guide For Newbies!