In the pre-internet days, businesses relied on print ads in newspapers, yellow pages, commissioned salespeople and other types of advertising. Now many use affiliate marketing as their avenue to get your attention so you will purchase their products or services.

It goes like this:

You see something interesting online to purchase. Could be a product, service or subscription. The company you are purchasing from may OR MAY NOT be the direct recipient of your money. An affiliate is a middle-man, but you don't pay more for the items, at least most of the time. The affiliate never touches the product, but receives a percentage of the sale. They have advertised for the business and earn money for doing so. People are making millions by doing this, if done correctly. And the easy part is that they never touch the item they are promoting. They get paid when you purchase it.

If you already own a business it's likely that you could have affiliate products to sell along with your existing ones, and make money doing it! You'll never touch the product, except to check it out before offering it to your customers. Not necessary, but recommended.

Here are some examples:

• Do you have Amazon Prime? Have you signed up for Paramount, Disney or any other channel through your Amazon account? Amazon earns each time you pay for that subscription.
• OR, you see a facebook ad with a link to click. The person/business running that ad will make a percentage (sometimes even just a few cents) if you purchase through that link. A few cents times thousands, equals sustantial money!
• Many of the websites that sell a variety of products are earning affiliate money, and you aren't aware, or need to be aware of it. It typically does not affect the price you are paying. The parent company of that product pays the affiliate for advertising their product through a software program that automatically sends money to the affiliate's bank account. It could be your bank account!