How to be an Affilate:
Do you have a website, and desire to make money on the internet? Do you not have a website but have heard of affiliate marketing and would like to try your hand at it and find out what it is all about? MadHatter Consulting would like to help you get on the right track. There are a couple extremely important things that you need to know before starting:

DO NOT fall into the scams that it cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars to become an affiliate.

The truth is, in order to be a successful affiliate, it cost very little: a time investment, the purchasing of a domain which average about $9 and hosting, which will vary in cost. If you want to try things out before committing to a long term hosting agreement, visit HostGator.com, which has a month to month hosting plan.

The second thing that you need to know is when I say time investment I don't just mean the time that it takes you to put a site together. If you are focusing your efforts on naturally coming up in Google, Yahoo, or MSN searches, please be aware that getting good placement with proper SEO on your site can take anywhere from 6 months to 1 year, and sometimes longer. Don't let that scared you; of course, this is not the only way to market your site. Below I have a great set of tools to get you started on the right track.

The SEO Book - This book is truly a great read for both beginners at SEO and those that are more experienced. At MadHatter Consulting, we have a copy of this book, and it is updated frequently as well as an RSS Feed of all the latest news, and tips that Aaron, the author has to offer.

W3Schools - For those of you who are new to building websites, W3Schools is a great place to start. They offer tutorials and short lessons to lead you through some of the basics of various programming languages. If you are just starting, check out the HTML, and CSS sections. If you have worked with HTML and CSS before, and looking to further your sites ability, check out PHP. This is a free language that you do not need to buy any special programs to use. The Apache server (which you will need on your server and your computer to test) is a free download and not too difficult to install.

ABestWeb.com - This forum is a definite must. It is the most populated and educated forum in affiliate marketing and is great for new affiliates, veterans, merchants, and anyone that wants to learn more about the industry.

The Networks - Majority of merchants have affiliate programs with a particular network, or multiple networks (not advised). There are quite a number of them available, but MadHatter Consultings top choices are as follows, in no particular order: ShareASale, Commission Junction, Linkshare, Performics, and AvantLink.

Of course these are not the only tools that you will need, but it is a good start. If you have any questions about how to get started or where to go from where you are now, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will do our best to guide you in the right direction.