Some people swear it’s a cash cow. Others enjoy watching the money trickle in 24 hours a day and don’t expect more than a little extra income generated in their spare time to supplement weekly pay checks. There is no travel time involved going to and from the job, no gas to buy, no parking fees and you can come as you are. And, where else can you work as many or as few hours as you wish without a boss to answer to?

There is only one correct answer to this question and it is the exploding field of affiliate marketing. Although most people have heard of it, few can really define it.

What worked for me is the comparison with amazon.com. It’s said that years ago, the founder of amazon.com met a charming and prolific author at a cocktail party. She ranted and raved about the new book she just had published and he bit the bullet. When you offer to sell a product on your web site that you do not own, have not purchased, do not stock, ship or invoice, you are performing affiliate marketing. Amazon.com simply pointed the prospective customer (via a click of a button) to the author’s web site where the order was taken, invoiced and shipped. Amazon.com received a commission for the sale and the rest is history.

When you sell other peoples or companies products or services on a web site that you own, you generate commissions from the sale. Or, when people visit your web site and sign in with their email address, you generate a commission for yourself. Or when you put up banners on your web site advertising other people’s companies, you are paid a fee. Or, if someone comes to your site and clicks through it to view a certain product, you also get paid.

Is it for real and how much easier can it get?

Yes, it’s for real because professional software tracks your hits and calculates the money owed to you. It’s all done electronically and money is deposited into an account of your choosing such as Pay Pal. Since people all over the world use the Internet day and night, you have the ability to keep earning money 24/7 just by setting up a site. If you are acting as your own agent and signing up company’s to market, you also have the ability to negotiate your own fees.

Don’t know how to set up a web site or need a little support and guidance to get you going? Fine. There are several successful Internet affiliate network management companies (think of them as your agents – they find you work) that will connect you to companies that need your marketing services. It fact, you can choose who you want to represent and start making money the same day. Your clicks will be automatically tracked by the company (your agent’s) software and most offer 24/7 technical support to keep you up and running. Go ahead, give it a click and see what happens!