More People Learn How to Start a Home Based Internet Business to Make Money in Tough Economy

With unemployment at record highs in parts of the country, and pay and benefits being reduced, many people are looking for ways to make money from home. For many the idea of starting a home-based internet business is becoming an alternative.

While the idea of working from home, and now the concept of an internet based business sounds appealing, many are afraid that they do not have the capital required to get a business started or the knowledge required to start an online business.

While the internet is full of “get rich quick” scams, there are some legitimate successful internet marketing experts willing to share their knowledge making it relatively straight forward for the average person to generate a second income from an online business. Like any business, for some, there is the opportunity to grow the business into a primary income generator.

“The truth of the matter is that you can start your home business with no money at all. Ask yourself this, do you have a spare room or space in your house. Do you have a computer with an internet connection? Do you have a phone line? If you have these three things you have the essentials of an office from which your home business can be made,” according to Steve Clayton one of the most successful internet marketing millionaires.

Clayton left his regular marketing ‘day’ job after discovering the power of what is known as “Affiliate marketing” using the internet. This type of marketing refers is essentially the process of promoting someone else’s products and receiving a commission for doing so.

The advantages are many including, no inventory, customer support, payment processing, etc. In affiliate marketing, the individual simply gets paid for referring someone to the website of a company which sells a product. Using the internet, the company is able to track where the referral came from, and then send a commission to the person who made the referral.

If you go to most any large e-commerce retailer like Amazon.com and scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see a link for “Affiliates” or something similar. This is a program where Amazon.com will pay you for referrals to their site.

While some large e-tailers like Amazon have an in house program, many rely on third party companies like Commission Junction to manage their affiliate programs for them. These companies act as a middle man between major corporations who sell products and services which we all use every day, and the individuals and companies who promote (or advertise) their products and services.

Obviously, the biggest question becomes how to make the referrals and send people to the sites willing to pay you a commission. There are a number of ways to generate this “internet traffic.” Some are expensive and some techniques require only time, effort and knowledge.

Over the years, Steve Clayton has release a few “how to” videos and programs to teach the average person how to create an online business and make money from home using both affiliate marketing as well as a traditional e-commerce web site selling products directly.

Recently Clayton and his partners have combined some of their video and tutorials into a new program which they call the “Internet Marketing Advantage” or IMA. The program is designed to show individuals at all levels of expertise, from complete novice to relative experts, how to enter the internet marketing arena and succeed, with step-by-step videos, tutorials, and even online help and forums to get assistance every step of the way.

As with any business, it appears that with the internet, you get out of it what you put into it. There is no magic bullet, and no short cuts for earning a sustained income. However, with the right training and some consistent effort, it does appear very realistic to create and run a very real online business from home.

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