First is the Merchant or the product owner, sometime known as the retailer
Second is the Network where the handling of payment and other back office work being done
Third is the so called Publisher or the Webmaster who register with the network for the affiliate program and promoting the ads on their websites or blogs.
Fourth is the customers who purchase the products.
There are hundreds of websites and blogs making millions of dollars through Affiliate Marketing. There also hundreds of Affiliate Marketing Programs available on ther internet for the publisher. Here are the top 10 list of the affiliate marketing programs :
- MoreNiche - Large Commission,Free Websites and Support,Excellent Marketing Tools
- Bidvertiser - Easy to display Text Ads
- Chitika - Bloggers favorite, Keyword and Javascript powered
- Google Adsense - Pay-Per-Click.Most popular among bloggers.
- Textlinkads - Increase your traffic considerable using Text-links.They deliver link ads on publisher sites.
- AdBrite - Allows you place your ads on millions of websites around the globe.Best place for start-up business. Also allows you to promote products from networks like clickbank.
- Commision Junction - Best place for Search Engine Marketing
- ClickBank - Best option for beginners. You can Buy, Sell or Advertise any product from their huge database. If you don't have a product or a website to promote, then ClickBank is for you.
- Amazon - Tons of physical products.Once you join, you can simply sell any product that Amazon has to offer.
- Hubpages - If you can write well this is the place for you. Just write article on any niche and publish.