WHAT IS AN AFFILIATE?

An affiliate is equivalent to a shopkeeper in as much that both the shopkeeper and the affiliate sell goods that they did not themselves produce.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?

The shopkeeper has a lot of expenses that do not apply to the affiliate. The most expensive being the premises. The lease for a high street shop will cost many thousands of pounds - dollars - euros or whatever. The affiliate can operate from anywhere that is warm, dry and has a power point and a telephone link.

The shopkeeper purchases goods from a manufacturer or secondary warehouse.
He then adjusts the retail price so to cover his overheads such as:
Rent. 'Several thousands per year'.
Rates or local taxes. 'Several more thousands per year.
Power, water, staff, insurance and other legal costs. Even more thousands per year.
He then has the worry that he must sell enough to cover all those fixed costs and enough left over to pay his own living expenses.

The affiliate has an agreement with his supplier that he will provide leads and/or customers and that the supplier takes it from there to complete the sale, dispatch the goods and pay the affiliate for his/her trouble.
The costs to the affiliate are: A spare room or space in the house to accommodate a computer and printer/fax machine. Total start-up cost, a few hundred pounds.
Ongoing costs: An internet connection, a little extra on the phone and electricity bill and the main cost, advertising.

Is there any wonder that small high street businesses are going bust in such large numbers and more and more people are setting up in business on the internet?

Don't let any-one try to tell you that working as an affiliate is second best to someone who provides and sells his/her own products. They are as different as a manufacturer of goods who sells from the factory door and the shopkeeper who sells those goods on his behalf. They are both perfectly legitimate ways of earning a living, they need one-another.

If you aspire to be eventually selling your own products, running a few affiliate programs while you gain experience in working on the internet is probably the best way to start.
Few shops sell just one product. There is no reason why you should not run any number of affiliate programs. It just takes a little extra work on your part, most of it can be automated leaving you with more free time.
About the author:

Robert is no stranger to affiliate programs. He earns a very good living from some of the best ones out there. This is one of his favourites. Take a look. http://www.bz9.com/robjfar