The concept of affiliate programs is simple. In the mid 1990’s there was no easy way for most Web Sites to sell advertising space and they had to come up with a way to generate income. Affiliate programs grew out of this need to create a channel for goods and services to be sold. The original affiliate programs were based on banner advertising. Over time the Affiliate programs started to grow beyond banners into context-specific advertising with more companies looking to innovative forms of linking that worked within the context of a particular Web Site. With the dot.com shake out in 2000, investors are now demanding ROI, and affiliate programs are becoming one of the focal points in cost effective Internet advertising. There are several different types of affiliate programs:

• Web Site Affiliation. Web site affiliates earn commissions or payment for actions a visitor takes, based on performance.
  
  
• Webzine Affiliation. Webzines generate traffic and sales, and pay them when they generate results.
  
  
• Free Service Offers. Getting paid per registered user that signs up for a free service,
  
  
• Offline affiliation. Magazines, trade magazines, catalogs, postcard programs, and any kind of offline traffic generator.
  
  

Why do you need to buy advertising when you can get paid for performance? Affiliate Programs are cost effective advertising that can be rapidly tested by thousands of Web Sites to promote a companies products and services. The cost of affiliate programs can be 50% to 75% less than traditional banner advertising. The Internet hype is over! In the New Internet Economy, you earn prime advertising space by designing a program that quickly converts leads to sales, rewarding affiliates for generating revenue. Your site has to have performance almost immediately, and Affiliate Programs are one of the most cost effective ways of doing so.