Affiliate Marketing. I am sure you have heard many things about it. Some of the stuff you have heard are true, but others are downright lies. For example, it is a fact that you can make a good living online from affiliate marketing...if you do it right. On the other hand, it is massively untrue to say that you can become a millionaire overnight through affiliate marketing.

Simply put, affiliate marketing requires you to promote the products or services of other persons or groups in exchange for a commission (hopefully a very fat one).

So, how do you go about making, in the long run, some big bucks through affiliate marketing?

First, there are a few home truths you should know about affiliate marketing. One is that it will not make you rich overnight. Another is that you must be ready and willing to work hard it.

Secondly, look for programs that have the potential to earn you reasonably good money regularly in the long run. Let's face it, you don't want to work hard for peanuts, do you?

It helps if the product or service you choose to promote as an affiliate is something you are personally interested in and are comfortable with. That will give you greater incentive to work hard at promoting the program.

How do you find a good affiliate program? If you type 'affiliate programs' into any search engine, you will be presented with many programs. Make sure you check, from independent review sites and relevant forums, whether a program is any good.

Carefully examine the way you will get paid if you join an affiliate program. Will you be paid only a one-time commission when you succeed, through your marketing efforts, to get a buyer/recruit/etc for the merchant whose product or service you are promoting? Or will you get paid some additional money from the efforts of the buyer/recruit you brought to the merchant?

The latter case is much better, for your personal monthly income builds up more quickly and steadily. Your affiliate income grows quickly, through your personal efforts PLUS the efforts of the people you have attracted into the program. You earn what is effectively residual/recurring/passive income. Many of the best programs that give you such fast-growing income requires you to pay some money to join, but the long-term financial rewards usually make it worthwhile to pay to join up.

Once you have found, and joined a good affiliate program from which you have begun receiving money, just repeat the process. Look for other programs and promote them as well. And, providing you work hard at marketing them, it won't be long before you are earning $7,000-plus a month. Power to your elbows!!