If you are looking for a home based internet business that is simple to start and requires minimal start-up capital, Affiliate Marketing can be a great choice.

Affiliate Marketing is essentially like being a sales rep for someone else, selling their products in exchange for a commission. The typical commission paid per sale is between 30% and 70%.

Practically anyone can start an affiliate marketing business with little or no experience. The following outlines why it has become so popular.

1. No need to create your own product line. You will be promoting and selling other people’s products and earning a commission for doing so.

2. No products to purchase, stock, handle or ship. As an affiliate, all you have to do is to direct potential customers to the merchant’s website. Also, you don’t have to deal with payment processors or product delivery.

3. There is no requirement to create your own website or write a sales page, both of which can be quite expensive. If you have a website, you can add your affiliate information to your site. If you don’t have a website, it doesn’t matter, you can still promote your affiliate link and make money. One idea is to add your affiliate link to articles that you write. The viewers of the article can then click on the link and they’ll be taken to your affiliate sales page.

4. No need for domain and hosting costs. Most people who are starting an online business have limited cash. Some affiliate marketers do own their own websites for the purpose of promoting their affiliate products, but it is certainly not necessary. Almost all affiliate programs offer a replicated website for you to use in your marketing so no domain or hosting costs are incurred.

5. Affiliate marketers never have to deal with customer refunds. The product owner is responsible for dealing directly with the customers. As an affiliate, your role is to promote and sell the affiliate products but you will never have to deal with customer issues such as complaints or refunds.

6. Affiliate marketers are free to pick and choose which products they want to market and sell. There are so many products to choose from and it is typically wise to choose the “hot” products that are popular and in demand. You’ll want to choose a product that is going to sell easily.

I personally believe that affiliate marketing is the best and easiest way to start making money online. Anyone can do it, and you can do it too! Kim Newport is a seasoned online marketing specialist, who enjoys sharing her favorite online marketing tips and information with other internet marketers. You can check out more of her tips for home based work here. Also, be sure to check out her favorite work from home online review.