Running a traditional brick and mortar kind of business with an online presence, is

obviously one very good way to make at least part of your money online. But for

the purposes of this article we are going to assume that you do not have your own

web business. So I am going to discuss two of the biggest online money makers

right now: affiliate marketing and online business opportunities

Network marketing

The typical internet business opportunity is commonly built around some sort of

network marketing concept, inheriting the basic qualities of the offline business

model that has been available for many decades - the basic idea being that you

recruit two or more people, who in their turn recruit two and in this way your

efforts will (at least in theory) be greatly leveraged.

The main difference doing this online is that, utilizing the power of the Internet,

you as a network marketer can literally reach people all over the planet.

The problem with the network marketing, or "multi level marketing", concept is

that it sounds so good on paper - way too good in fact. Most of the people who join

up with a company of this type tend to get a dose of Mr. Reality rather soon.

They discover that recruiting new people, which is what all multi level marketing

is all about - even if they try to tell you differently - is not at all a simple process.

There has been plenty of fraudulent businesses in this niche, and people tend to

stay on their toes as soon as they hear the words multi level marketing or network

marketing.

To further complicate things this business model is also based on you paying a

set amount monthly - wether you make any money or not, which means that many

people who start this kind of web business actually end up loosing money.

It is definitely possible to make a good living in network marketing, but it is

definitely not for everybody. "Getting in on the ground floor" is allegedly not

always as good as it seems.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is similar to network marketing, in the sense that you will be

promoting a product produced by another company or person. This can obviously

make life very simple for you, as the merchant will usually take care of all shipping

and customer support issues. Amazon.com is probably one of the most well

known (an respected) companies utilizing the power of affiliate partnerships.

As an affiliate, your tasks are simply to refer new clients to the merchant and if

these people go ahead and buy something, you get credited with a certain

percentage of the sale.

Contrary to network marketing it is generally free to act as an affiliate marketer.

Although there are certain companies that have sort of a hybrid structure

between network and affiliate marketing - requiring you to pay a start-up and/or

monthly fee to market their products. Most affiliate programs are completely free

to join though, so I'd personally stay away from those using their affiliate

programs as an income generator in it's own right, or "affiliate sharks" as one

marketer aptly named them.

Affiliate programs are thus a great way in which almost anyone can start to make

money online, without having to invest a lot of money, if indeed any at all.

There is however certain strategies and marketing methods you need to be

knowledgeable of, if you are to make anything but peanuts with your online

affiliate marketing.

Choosing the right affiliate program and promoting it to the right people in the

right way is an art form in it's own right. And the people who are really good at

this, generally referred to as "super affiliates", make a very good living doing

nothing else than selling other people's products.

If you are looking to make an additional income from the Internet, or eventually

even replace your current income altogether, affiliate marketing is a great way to

get started. To achieve the success you desire, you should study and learn the

same techniques that super affiliates use every day.