Affiliate marketing is one of the simplest and most lucrative businesses available online. That's not to say it is without its faults or that it's easy. Building an effective affiliate marketing business requires time, energy and people skills. The ability to network with other people is a key part of the success of your business.

Recruiting Your Affiliate Marketing Downline

A "viral" marketing campaign is one that spreads exponentially and reaches a very wide range of viewers. Like anything else viral, a viral recruiting campaign spreads very quickly across many areas of the Internet. Wide reach skims the surface and catches the attention of several thousand potential affiliate partners. This process will provide you continuous and never ending distribution for your ads and recruitment.

One of the most popular ways to uncover information is on forums and online communities. Visit a variety of forums where members discuss entrepreneurship, work at home opportunities or other aspects of online business. Talk with them openly and honestly about your affiliate marketing business and answer any questions they may have.

Don't sugarcoat anything. Your leads need to understand that you're serious about your business and that you're in it for the long run. The most important thing they need to realize is that you'll be there to answer any questions they may have in a timely manner. When people trust you, they are more inclined to go into a business venture with you.

Make the best use of article marketing by providing informational articles that include an open invitation in your author's resource box. Article marketing is the fastest growing form of online marketing. Article publishers and distributors reach deep and wide to provide continuous and never ending distribution for each article you submit.

Podcast downloads, e-books and videos are great ways to share information with your downline. As often as possible, provide podcasts and videos recorded in your own voice. Your downline will appreciate hearing the confidence in your voice as much as the words you're speaking.

Supporting Your Affiliate Marketing Downline

Don't give your affiliate downline a link and leave them to figure out the rest on their own. Create e-mail newsletters and supportive websites for your downline to learn from you. The more information they have, the better their business will thrive. As their business grows, so does yours. Teach them how to duplicate what you've already proven to be successful.

Any marketing material you create or find beneficial to your affiliate marketing campaign needs to be shared with your downline. Support them by providing them step-by-step information about how you market your business. Sharing your successful methods with them will ensure depth in your business ventures.

Building and Supporting an Affiliate Marketing Business

Proper lead generation, wide reach, deep sponsorship and downline support are four of the key elements of building and supporting a successful affiliate marketing business. Once you learn how to properly turn prospects into recruits, teach the recruits the same techniques. As you polish your techniques, teach your downline by your own example and watch your business grow exponentially.

Support your downline by teaching them and providing them the materials they need to succeed. Zig Ziglar once said, "You can have everything in life you want, if you just help enough other people get what they want." This statement rings true with several online business opportunities including network marketing and affiliate marketing.

Prove to your potential downline that you know what you're doing and you're a successful affiliate marketer. Once the ball is rolling, continue to push ever-so-lightly and nourish your affiliate marketing business. Work hard, work smart and go deep and wide to ensure continuous and never ending distribution for your promotional materials.