You have decided to start an internet business. Affiliate marketing is a good choice for the beginner because you do not have to carry stock or have a product. It is cheap to set up and easy to learn.

You need to build a list and you need a website, a hosting service and an auto responder. At first, you will be sending your customers to a sales page after they opt-in to your email or newsletter list.

I would suggest starting with a Clickbank product because they do most of the work for you and collect your payments. They have plenty of statistics for you to find the best selling products. It is a good idea to start with the most popular products until you learn the system.

When you have a viable topic, a list of keywords, and a customer profile, you can start to plan your opt-in page and your newsletter.

You need to have some reason for people to give you their email address. A free gift, report or eBook is the usual incentive. It has to be something of value. You are trying to establish your reputation for quality and service, so some old eBook that has been around the net for years is not suitable. It is best if you have your own report but a good quality report from an expert is good.

You need to plan where you will send your new subscriber, how often you will send newsletters and how often you will send a sales pitch. It is important to establish a rapport with your potential customer. Make your newsletter full of quality information and do not have a blatant sales pitch in every one. It takes time to establish trust but it will be worth a lot of money to you.

You need to remember whom you are talking to, in your newsletter and on your opt-in page. Personalise your copy so your potential customer feels as if you are talking to them personally, not to the general public. The best approach is to solve a problem for them. Tell them how you understand the problem and then give them the solution. Do not sell the product here that is why you have a separate sales page. You should try to create interest or curiosity and leave it to the sales page to sell the products for you.

Once you have a loyal following you will be able to offer more quality products at a higher price point and your list will begin to support you. That is what internet marketing is all about.