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Take this seriously. This isn't a joke.

You're going to start a business in the next 10 minutes! What's more, you don't have to deal with customers, make products or even offer money back guarantees.

Does that sound too good to be true? Welcome to the world of affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing holds interesting possibilities for entrepreneurs like you who want to try a new business option. Almost anyone who sells online has an affiliate marketing program to help expand their business. This article will give you a few tips on how to improve your chances of success as an affiliate.

What is affiliate marketing?

In simple words it's what you get paid (also called 'referral fee') for directing visitors to your website to other merchants' sites. Compensation is based on the value of each visit, and could take the form of a pay per click or a commission for each sale.

This might shake you up, but according to a study by research firm Forrester, affiliate marketing earnings were worth over US$ 50 billion in 2005. We see we've got your attention. Read on to find out how you can get a share of those billions.

1. Test the waters: You must know a program and its underlying products inside out before signing up. Start by listing out the top selling items which will fetch profits quickly. Select programs that have a bighearted commission structure and products that cater well to your own website's audience. Also make sure they have a solid track record of paying their affiliates on time. There are a zillion affiliate programs available on the web, so you can afford to be choosy. Take your time while selecting.

2. Rediscover the writer in you: C'mon, don't worry about not having any writing skills. It's simple! You can write free reports or short e-books related to the product you want to promote. This will set you apart from the others who promote the same products. The report should provide valuable information and a recommendation for the product. Your audience will trust you more.

3. Publish online: Your own newsletter can do the trick for you! This will help you build a subscriber base and develop a relationship with them. That might give you an opportunity to recommend products to them. Remember, it's easier to recommend to a friend than selling to a stranger.

4. Collecting helps: Collect contact information of the visitors who download your report. Research proves that over 60% of sales of any product are made after the 5th exposure to the sales message. A regular, but not too aggressive follow up schedule might fetch good results. Try and offer real value at each contact ' for example, an alert about the launch of a new book in the customer's specific area of interest.

5. Design to impress: This is often a point of neglect. It's very important that you design your website so that it makes a positive impression on visitors. People must be willing to believe what you say, before they can be enticed into visiting an affiliate website.

6. Stay away from banner ads: This is not the best strategy as visitors tend to avoid them. But if you must have them, use sparingly. Avoid placing the merchant's banner on the same page as your report or any other reference to the product you wish to promote. Otherwise, it might make your article look like a well written advertisement, and negatively affect the visitor.

Remember that your role in any affiliate marketing program is only to pre-sell. Once you've done your job correctly, it's the merchant's job to close the deal.