So you want to make money from home.  Like millions of others, you want to be self employed. Be your own boss. Those are noble aspirations.  But how is it possible?

Well, it really depends on who you ask.  There are some who will tell you that you need to own a website and sell products. " Buy low and sell high". Using this approach you could also sell on Ebay, Amazon or even Craigslist. There is one catch though; you need inventory. Unless you are using a drop shipper,  you'll need to stock your own inventory and handle shipping too.  You don't necessarily need much money to start, especially if you are selling items you already own, but pretty soon you'll need to begin sourcing inventory.

Becoming an internet auctioneer or an internet retailer is a great way to make money online. They are proven methods that work.  But lets consider one hugely sucessful alternative. Chances are, if you've been surfing the net for a few years now you've noticed that many websites have a link on the bottom  which reads "Affiliates". If you've never clicked one of those links you are missing out on an amazing source of income. 

Affiliates are people who  agree to market a product or service in behalf of another company.  For each customer the affiliate directs to the purchase the product, her receives a commision.  So for example if you have a website about selling on ebay , you would direct your traffic to go to Ebays website to register.  You might use banner ads, graphics or simple text links, but the goal is to direct your traffic to register with ebay. For each person who registers you would earn a percentage.

Now once you've decided to try your hand at affiliate marketing, you'll need a product to promote. Clickbank.com is the Walmart of digital products.  You can register for free and search through a wide variety of products and service to market. You will be provided with affiliate links and in many cases graphics fo use on your website.  The affiliate links are your very own special link that you use to drive traffice to the item you are marketing. Be very certain to  drive traffic through your link so you will get credited for any subsequent sales, registrations or subscriptions.

Sounds simple in theory doesn't it? Well,   In theory , it is. Drive traffic to your website. Sell other peoples products. Earn a commision. Repeat.  The most challenging part is directing traffic to your website in the first place. The next article in this series highlights 9 ways you can get traffic to your website for free!