This article presents 12 steps to help you succeed in affiliate marketing and earn lots of commissions.

1. Take the initial time to choose a niche that you are interested in and that you would like to promote as an affiliate. Do not try to be a jack of all trades and sign up for too many programs on different topics. At first keep your affiliate marketing targeted to a single market, and then promote products that relate to that market.

2. Research and select the best affiliate programs for your niche. You must choose the most rewarding, reliable and successful affiliate programs either directly from the merchant or through an affiliate network. The merchant or affiliate manager must also supply you with plenty of marketing tools that you can use to promote the products.

3. Make sure the affiliate program and products are of the highest quality and a good deal. This will make it much easier for you to sell these products or programs with conviction. Stay away from the quick buck and gimmicks.

4. Build a web site focused on your niche, and have high quality and unique content that is rich with your key words and phrases. If this is a niche that you are passionate about then you will have no problem updating your site regularly.

5. Use pay per click advertising but have a clear budget for promoting your website. If you stay away from the gimmicks and focus on good content you should have no problem with google slapping you. (banning or raising your cost per click through the roof)

6. Drive traffic to your website. Your website will need traffic for you to earn affiliate commissions. Write articles, submit online press releases related to your niche and submit your website to search engines. You can also exchange links with higher ranking websites related to your niche.

7. Review your affiliate programs or products on a blog, and include your affiliate links. This is very important and the wave of the future.

8. Build an email list with an auto-responder and offer free e-courses, articles or e-books. When you have a list, you can keep in regular contact with your prospects and recommend your affiliate products to them.

9. Be available to answer any questions from your prospects and customers. Customer relationship management is very important in online business. Make sure that you provide your real name and an email address on your website so that potential customers can contact you with questions, and know there is a real person behind that website. This is important for your credibility.

10. Always include a privacy statement on your site. Look at the statements on successful sites and adapt one for your specific purpose. Do not copy it verbatim.

11. Once you are consistently making money as an affiliate consider building your own network of sub-affiliates. Keep in touch with your sub-affiliates and motivate them to succeed because their success is your success too. Your job as a super affiliate is to manage those under you. Do not allow the tag “super affiliate” to go to your head.

12. Work hard consistently in promoting and adding content to your website and have patience. Have clear vision and work your plan.

These 12 steps can help anyone succeed in affiliate marketing, achieve success, and earn lots of affiliate commissions!