I'm always amazed at the amount of people who just jump in to affiliate marketing head first without learning the basics and then wonder why they are not seeing any commissions coming their way.

There are a few things that you absolutely MUST do if you want to be successful in this type of marketing and that's what we are going to look at here.

Affiliate marketing is a business and, like with any other type of business you need to learn how to do it correctly.

I know it's exciting because it costs very little to get set up and start promoting, but if you don't have a plan, and you don't take it as seriously as if you were investing thousands of dollars in a franchise, then you are going to fail. End of story!

Much has been written about affiliate marketing and many different spins have been put on similar articles to create a new, fresh buzz. But essentially the basics remain the same.

Here are 3 great learning tools I have personally used to get ahead in this industry.

1. Discussion forums

The absolute best way to get your questions answered by others who have been there and made a success of it.

You can join an affiliate marketing forum for free and participate in various discussions. It's a great place to meet others and find out what they are doing to be successful.

Be sure to participate as much as possible and ask lots of questions of your own and get opinions from other members.

2. Free affiliate marketing training courses

There are two that I personally learnt from and that I wholeheartedly recommend to newbies looking to get a grasp on how affiliate marketing works - Plug In Profits and Site Build It.

3. The Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner.

This really is the ABC of affiliate marketing and everyone, whether a beginner or an experienced Internet marketer, can gain something from this fantastic book.

Rosalind Gardner currently earns almost a seven-figure income with affiliate marketing so she knows what she is talking about. And here is a little secret tip, if you sign up as a Clickbank affiliate you can buy the book through your affiliate link and earn a commission back on it.

There are obviously many other fantastic courses available on the Internet and I urge anyone new to the industry to read up as much as possible before looking at programs to promote.

If you don't take the time to really learn affiliate marketing you will waste a lot of money through trial and error, and if you keep losing money you will end up quitting (or going bankrupt!).

It's a known fact that this particular method of marketing suffers a very high attrition rate because of it's competitive nature and people making basic mistakes they can't overcome.

Take the time to look over the resources mentioned in this article and make sure you are comfortable with what you need to do and how everything works before you actually start picking out products to promote.

Lee Scutchings invites you to get a complete money making affiliate website set up for free by visiting Online Money Swarm today. There you will also find step by step instructions about starting up a home business on a shoestring budget. Take back your life and go here now: http://www.OnlineMoneySwarm.com

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