Affiliate marketing means different things to different people today. To some, it is a means of making money, while to some it is another phony program put in place to rob you of your money.

The truth of the matter is that, while there may be some phony affiliate marketing programs which is also common to all offline businesses, it is one of the best way to earn a living today. To be a successful affiliate marketer you need to arm yourself with the right information and get beyond all misconceptions that can lead you astray or discourage you.

Some of these misconceptions are:

1. Affiliate marketing is a way of making money fast: Just like in any other type of business, you will need to work hard at selecting the right program, products, build a site, bring traffic, etc., before you expect to get sales, but if you follow the right steps you can easily make money.

2. These programs are fake: This is not true, although some are, but majority are credible with over 10 years in the business, having many blue chip companies as registered partners or merchants. They have online tools that you can use to check and monitor their activities.

3. Affiliate programs are easy: This will depend on your level of knowledge about it, your planning and strategy you have adopted. There are lots of approaches to it today. If you discover a good program that is working for people and you follow it to the letter, you may find it easy.

4. You need to register for a lot of programs to be successful: You do not need this, because the more ads and banners you put on your site, the more confused your site visitors will be, you need to find a relevant program based on your passion, interest or a solution to a problem and build your business around it, presell your site visitors with good contents, then finish off with suitable ads to click on.

5. Competition is too high: All businesses, either offline or online are definitely competitive, but with affiliate marketing, you have tools that can help you analyze your market and competitors fast, and get a less competitive angle through which you can enter to make money.

You can google stories, tips, and guides from successful marketers online and verify them to further strengthen your mind that affiliate marketing program is a program that is right for you.