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There are millions upon millions of dollars being earned in affiliate marketing with every year that goes by. It’s one of the best ways to get started making money online – you don’t need a website, you don’t need a blog, you don’t even need any cash to get started, since there are plenty of ways to reach your perfect audience and start selling to them.

But if you really want to achieve some success with affiliate marketing you need a plan that will get you the level of income you want. Read on to find out how to do just that.

Every time someone buys something online, the chances are that someone else is making a commission on it. That’s how affiliate marketing works.

But how do you get involved?

The best place to start is by going to a website that houses a wide range of affiliate products. This keeps everything together in one easy to access place and gives you plenty to explore. You can also get an idea of which particular areas you would like to concentrate on. The worst thing you can do in affiliate marketing is to use the scattergun approach.

This is when you try and promote a wide range of products that aren’t connected with each other, all from a single website. In essence it isn’t aimed at anyone – and you’ll make fewer sales as a result.

Instead, do some research and come up with a specific group of people that you can find a wide range of products for. Not only do you stand a much better chance of making a sale, you’ll probably make more to each person since they will automatically like what you are offering.

But if you don’t have a website, how can you promote your products?

There are several ways of doing this. One of the best is to use sites like Squidoo, which allow you to build web pages for free on pretty much any subject you like. Once these get indexed by Google you’ll start getting a steady stream of traffic – if you’ve picked a popular subject.

You can also write articles and distribute them to a number of article directories – but make sure you use ones which allow you to link to affiliate links. Not all of them do.

At the beginning I mentioned the need to have a plan to reach the level of income you want. Not many affiliates actually do this and it’s one of the main reasons why more people aren’t making a lot of money with affiliate marketing. It’s certainly not because the potential isn’t there – it’s because they don’t plan to take advantage of it in the right way.

You should always look at how much you will get by way of commission for each product. Obviously the less the commission, the more units you will need to sell to achieve your desired income. You’ll achieve this through a balance of products obviously, but it’s worth bearing in mind.

You also need to think about the type of people you are marketing to. What kind of income do they bring in? How much are they likely to want to spend on the products you’ll be offering? If you don’t match these two aspects up properly you will struggle to make any real sales.

It’s also helpful to set short, medium and long term goals to help keep things in perspective. A short term goal might be to sell five products a week continually, for example. A long term goal could be to make $100,000 a year from affiliate marketing. Goals will help you to decide where you want to go with your fledgling affiliate marketing business.

Another important point to be aware of is that it’s wise to protect your income wherever you can. What I mean by this is that affiliate links can be rather obvious at times, and some people will actually delete your link and go into the site and buy something while denying you the commission.

The easy way to prevent this is to use a link cloaking service. There are plenty of free versions of this online, and it’s really the safest way to protect your interests. It also changes a long ugly link into a nice short one – much nicer for the article directories!

In short, start slowly and keep those visions of a huge income in perspective to begin with. You’ll soon get to know your way around the business and with each new experience you can build your knowledge and earn even more in the months and years to come.

Written by: 101WaysToMakeMoney.com

Work Study
By far, work study jobs are the some of the best options for college students. These positions are typically figured into your financial aid package by your school’s admissions office. You can work in food service, in a certain department office or in groundskeeping. Work assignments are normally on (or close to) campus and are built around your school and study schedules. Employers are much more lenient with your hours in general, because they know you are attending school and are participating in work study.

High School Tutor
Find a local high school near your college campus to earn extra money as a tutor. You can help students with just about anything, and can often earn upwards of $20 to $30 an hour or more in large cities. Some universities also have peer tutoring programs designed for upperclassmen to work with underclassmen within the same school. You can also contact your school’s athletics department to inquire about athlete tutoring programs.

Resident Assistant
An RA position is ideal for students who are in their sophomore year or above. You will be responsible for the safety of students on your floor in your dorm, enforcing dorm rules and organizing social events. Your duties are often performed in exchange for free room and board, in addition to a small stipend at many schools. Perhaps the best perk, though, is the larger room you’ll likely get in your dorm, as well as a budget for social gatherings and monthly meetings.

Focus Groups / Research Studies
For an hour or two of your time, you can earn quick cash (typically $20 to $100 or more) by participating in product focus groups or research studies. Sites like CollegeHelpers.com often post local opportunities near universities. You can also earn money participating in medical research studies.

Internships
Although they often don’t pay as well (if at all!) internships are superb jobs for college students interested in specific industries such as business, journalism, fashion, cooking and finance. In these positions, you can earn college credit as well as obtain valuable experience in your chosen career path. In some cases, internships can often lead to full-time positions with companies post-graduation, particularly if you return to summer internships year after year. These jobs can be very impressive on resumes and can help you stand out among other recent graduates during the job hunt after school. You can also apply for fast-track internship programs from companies like Proctor & Gamble that look to invest in young college students to help groom them into long-term employees.

Written by: MainStreet.com Staff Writers