How the heck are you supposed to make your first million (or $3) with affiliate marketing when you can’t even understand the terminology?  Like any business industry, if you want to succeed with affiliate marketing online you need to develop a relationship with the many terms, acronyms and slang you will be exposed to on a daily basis.

To start things off, there are three primary players involved in every affiliate marketing transaction:

• The Merchant – Typically a website owner, the merchant is the person who has the product or service and is interested in gaining more exposure and sales via performance based marketing.  The merchant ultimately calls the shots i.e. they decide on how much affiliates will be paid, as well as payment frequency.
• The Network – The third party within most affiliate transactions is the network i.e. Clickbank.  The merchant agrees to distribute their product via the network for a price The affiliate network  agrees to deliver qualified affiliates as well as provide the technology needed to make the transaction run smooth.
• The Affiliate – Also known as the publisher, the affiliate is you and I.  We are the people who join the networks and promote the products.  We get paid in commission based on our performance and the amount of sales we bring to the merchant via the network tools provided.

Here are some common affiliate and internet marketing acronyms:

• CPA – Cost Per Action
• CPC – Cost Per Click
• CPS – Cost Per Sale
• CTR – Click-Through Rate
• PFI – Pay For Inclusion
• PFP – Pay For Performance
• PPC – Pay Per Click
• PPCSE – Pay Per Click Search Engine
• PPL – Pay Per Lead
• PPS – Pay Per Sale
• PV – Page View
• SEO – Search Engine Optimization
• SEP – Search Engine Positioning

Understanding affiliate marketing terms is one thing – keep up with new terms is a whole other challenge!  Regardless, the more time you spend amongst the industry and it’s players, the more up to date you will be with the latest and greatest happenings.

Beginning your journey into affiliate marketing can seem quite daunting at first.  You need to get a website or blog and decide how you’re going to present – and market – the product you are promoting effectively enough to generate targeted traffic and earn steady commissions.  Many people think these are the first steps towards making money online, but in actuality you need to conduct some research on the potential markets, followed by finding a suitable affiliate program.

A big problem inexperienced affiliates face on a regular basis is putting all of their eggs into one basket, and then suffering loss when that company goes out of business.  Remember, affiliate programs come and go, so it’s vital that you go with a company that is low risk and reliable.  Here are some questions to ask yourself before choosing your next affiliate program:

What’s their track record like?

How many owners has the company had?  How long has their affiliate program been active, and during that time how consistent have their numbers been?  How many affiliates do they currently have?  These are all relevant questions you can ask any affiliate manager or webmaster prior to signing up for their program.  Stability is important.

Do they have adequate affiliate resources?

The last thing you want to do is build a killer website to promote some product, only to find out that their affiliate center consists of 2 banners and a text link.  This is not going to cut it and will only cost you time and money down the road for custom graphics etc… A professional affiliate center will have different sized banners, pre-written text ads, articles and even mini site templates for you to use.  The more resources for you, the better!

How diverse is their program?

Can you link directly to specific product/category pages?  Or are you limited to home page linking only?  Being able to link directly to a product is key if you want to maintain a steady CTR (click through ratio).  What about their payment options?  Are you paid once a month or weekly?  Do they allow payment via Paypal or are you limited to direct deposit or check?  If you’re planning to make a living with affiliate marketing – these questions will save you tons of accounting time down the road.  Researching the points I listed above will insure your ride is smooth into affiliate stardom!

It seems that everyone and their mother is dabbling in affiliate marketing these days.  With computers and the internet readily accessible, what effect does this have on the affiliate marketing industry and the much anticipated affiliate marketing future?  Are we in trouble?  With all these people online is there still legitimate opportunity to make money online as an affiliate?  Well to understand where we’re going, let’s take a look back to where affiliate marketing began.

Now you will find many online publications, blogs and gurus debating this very topic.  A popular pioneer of the affiliate marketing model is Amazon.com and CEO Jeff Bezos.  It is said that in July of 1996 Amazon.com launched their associates program, allowing website and product owners to generate commissions through selling on – and promoting – the Amazon marketplace.  While this sounds correct, many people are still debating the authenticity of this claim.

It’s actually speculated by many high profile internet entrepreneurs that the first affiliate marketing programs started within the adult entertainment industry.  Believe it or not, many terms we use today were first coined from the adult side of e-business.  That segment of the industry is also directly responsible for breakthroughs in streaming audio/video technology – which is crucial to the Web 2.0 world we all live in today.

The future of affiliate marketing is definitely a bright one.  When you consider how far the industry has come and how many people have acheived financial prosperity from the comforts of their home – it’s very engaging.  Though the opportunities are plentiful, do realize that even though affiliate marketing is available to anyone with a dream, one thing that will not change is this:  there are no magic buttons.

Affiliate marketing requires a fundamental understanding of how consumers think, how the internet functions and how you can place yourself and product between the customer and their destination.  These factors will always remain.

It’s no secret that going green and the eco friendly lifestyle is becoming increasingly popular during these tough economical times.  The real question though is how does this – if at all – affect the affiliate marketing and make money online industries?  Well, it would take an idiot not to see the opportunities presented with green affiliate marketing.

As this niche continues to expand and grow, so does affiliate marketing.  With each new green product there is a chance for affiliate income.  As businesses expand, so does the need to reach a broader audience and with progressive “go green” companies sprouting everyday, publishers have more than enough space to make their mark.

One of the more prominent factors affecting the green affiliate marketing boom can be traced directly back to the consumer.  When financial times get difficult the consumer naturally begins to seek out ways in which they can be more economical.

Whether this means eating only local, organic produce or installing solar panels on their roof to subsidize the cost of electricity – the consumer is becoming more aware of their footprint and the different ways they can save time, health and money.

Luckily for us, many of the major affiliate networks are up on the latest consumer trends and spending habits.  This means that finding “green” advertisers wont be difficult as an affiliate.  Clickbank is a great place to start – and though consisting of mainly digital products – it’s still very lucrative to get into promoting digital info products.  After all, most people come online when they are looking for an answer to a question – why not be there to tell them about some of the great communities and companies which can provide them with a solution?