Affiliate programs have become an invaluable part of marketing success for online merchants and are reshapinghow business is being done over the internet.  Affiliate programs are the great synergizer, combining marketing, advertising, and branding, and resulting in a company being seen and remembered by a host of potential customers.  The more people who see a company's brand the better their marketing strategy.

The bottom line - an affiliate program is a win/win situation.  Merchants gain consumer sales and affiliates earn money.  With few marketing dollars a merchant can still establish a presence and earn a profit, as long as he or she recruits the right affiliates.  In addition, an affiliate program is very scalable, and it allows you to be in control of your marketing budget by giving you total accountability and allowing you to control your marketing costs.

A good affiliate network is www.cj.com.  Alternatively, www.linkshare.com is also a popular one but is seen as somewhat more pricey.