The great strides made in the development of the Internet inthe recent past has enabled information to be transmittedthousands of miles away with such ease and clarity thattime and space are hardly of any consequence to the InternetMarketer today.

Marketing Programs have literally taken over the Internetand riding high, is Affiliate Marketing.

According to the Computer Industry Almanac "The world-wideInternet population for 2004 was 934 million and theprojection for 2006 is 1.21 billion."

Sean Michael Kerner in an article in Click Z News quoting aspokesman for eBay states "According to eBay their largestaffiliate earned over $1.3 million dollars in Januarycommission, the largest amount yet in their affiliateprogram's history. Their top 25 affiliates averaged over$100,000 per month each and the top 100 affiliates earnalmost $25,000 each per month."

With this sort of statistics around, is it any surprise thatthousands of entrepreneurs especially those Home BasedBusiness entrepreneurs with very small marketing budgets arejumping on to the Affiliate Marketing band-wagon!

Given below are some of the Popular reasons for this desireand urge to do Affiliate Marketing:

1. Cost Factor:Most Entrepreneurs refrain from starting a brick and mortarbusiness or for that matter a Home Based Business (noninternet) because of the investment required. In AffiliateMarketing the set-up cost is negligible with most programsbeing free to join and the merchant even providing you withthe tools, tips and websites.

2. Pick and Choose Products:With dozens of Affiliate Program providers and thousands ofmerchants having their own affiliate programs, there areseveral thousands of products to choose from. You name itthey have it! In fact there are even Fortune 500 companiesto choose from. The idea is to pick and choose your nicheproducts and promote them.

3. No need for an Inventory.The hassle of purchasing, stocking of items and storing offinished items (in a production unit) and dispatching themare not there. There is no need to maintain an inventory. Itis all handled by the merchant.

4. No need for Employees.In any business the wages of the employees is one of themajor expenditures to contend with. Here the problem doesnot arise since the marketer himself will operate his homebusiness and probably get the assistance of a family memberto help him.

5. Necessity for Customer Service does not arise.Customer service plays a major role in the success orfailure of a business. The advantage here is that there isno direct dealing with the customers. The website willautomatically direct the customers to the merchants.

6. Two Tier Affiliate Marketing:An attractive feature of certain affiliate programs is thatthey have a Two tier system, whereby affiliates can sign upas sub-affiliates below them. When the sub-affiliate earns acommission, the affiliate above him too earns a commission.

7. Income without a limit.In a paid job the salary structure has a vice-like grip overyour monthly income. Here the possibilities are limitless.Though it is not every marketer who earns a big income, thefact remains that avenues are all there for the enterprisingmarketer to make it to the big time.

8. Global Market Place.You no longer need to restrict your market to your home townor country. With your well chosen niche product you can sitin the comfort of your home and target the Global Market.

9. Low Risk Factor.The risk factor in Affiliate Marketing is so small that ithas become one of the major attractions for many Home BasedBusiness entrepreneurs especially for those with lowmarketing budgets.

10. Business works Right Round the Clock.One major asset of Internet marketing is that your Website,or in other words, your Home Based Business never sleeps. Itworks right round the clock (24/7) making money from homefor you.

Having indicated the above reasons for the popularity ofAffiliate Marketing, it has to be mentioned that statisticsindicate that only 5% of the marketers do make big money. Itis presumed that there are of course several thousands ofmarketers who make some money, thus giving them anadditional income.

As long as the top marketers in the 5% slab, continue tomake their millions and the latter continue to makereasonable amounts of money and have the urge to emulate thetop marketers, Affiliate Marketing will continue to draw theattention and be popular with Home Based BusinessEntrepreneurs.


About Kanaga: Kanaga Siva has been a Marketing Manager andBusiness Manager and has a wealth of experience inMarketing. He now operates his own Home Based Business. ForArticles, Resources, Tips and Ideas to start a Home BasedBusiness from anywhere in the World and for otherrecommended Programs to make money from home, visit hiswebsite, http://www.business-fromhome.com