The loss of employment in the USA has averaged roughly 560,000 new claims since the start of the 2009 calender year. Worldwide the figures are even more staggering with entire industries shutting their doors due to the extreme economic recession. That being said there is one industry, off the beaten path, that is thriving in this tough economic climate.

What you ask could possibly be thriving? The answer might surprise you, it’s Affiliate Marketing. It also may surprise you that there is no recession on the Internet.

The trend for many laid off workers has been toward the Internet and their personal computers. Most certainly a search for a home business will turn up many Affiliate marketing opportunities. What is Affiliate Marketing anyway? The Idea is rather simple and has been around for a long time. The Internet has presented Marketers with an excellent platform to ply their wares. Affiliates piggyback on these marketers selling their products and are compensated on a commission basis.

Affiliate marketers have a wide variety of products to choose from and are offered by large and small companies alike. Sales of these products can generate anywhere from 25% to 90% of the profits per sale of an item just by driving customers to the sales page where they buy the product. Many companies utilize these marketing methods to expose their products to a greater audience rather than attempting to drive traffic to a lone company website. It is cost effective in that possibly thousands of marketers will promote these products at no cost to the parent company.

This type of marketing has been proven to be very lucrative for Affiliates especially for those who promote multiple products aggressively. Some Affiliate programs even offer recurring monthly payments creating residual income that pays over and over generating even more income. With so many companies realizing the benefits of offering their products to Affiliate marketers it has created a virtually unlimited source for income.

One type of Affiliate marketing is what is called “CPA” or click per action. Unlike some forms of Affiliate marketing CPA offers might pay a commission for a visitor simply filling out an email address or completing a short form with no purchase necessary. CPA Networks are a trend that has given affiliates a new and exciting industry with a tremendous amount of promise.

The attraction for those entering the Affiliate marketing arena needs little hype. The specific criteria for entering the field are few. Those with a small amount of computer savvy, a fair amount of desire and commitment can easily research and promote good products for maximum profit.