Did you begin your affiliate marketing business like this? You surf the internet looking for an internet marketing product you can affiliate with and sell (even though you know nothing about internet marketing), sign up for the program and get your link, and then visit traffic exchanges and safelists, advertising your affiliate site. At the end of the day, week, or month, you wonder why you didn't sell one product.

That is not the way to run an affiliate business. You need to treat it like a business. This is what you should have done: 1) Get your own website and autoresponder; 2) Build an opt-in list that sells your first affiliate product via an email course; 3) Continue marketing more affiliate programs to your list; 4) Drive traffic to your site (which is nothing but a lead-capture page).

1. Get your own website and autoresponder.

It looks cheap and unprofessional to post a long affiliate link in your ads. With domain names as inexpensive as they are now you can purchase your own domain name and web hosting. Check out doteasy.com for free hosting when you buy a domain name. What you need to do next is write a strong lead-capture page on the topic of the product you are selling as an affiliate. Describe benefits and offer a free email course to get subscriptions. Only sell your affiliate product in your email course and through email messages.

2. Build your own list.

Stop relying on one-shot ads to make you money. Real businesses have repeat customers that they cultivate in order to make more profits. You must do the same. Make a commitment to establish relationships with your customers and especially with visitors to your site. Create an email list to keep in touch. Send out periodic tips or articles and focus on helping your customers. Only promote your affiliate links in unobtrusive ways; don't make your emails one big ad.

One of the best ways to build traffic to your list is to write a short report that describes the benefits of your affiliate program. Make this report available only by email. When someone sends for your report, they are added to your list and you can continue to communicate with them.

3. Continue marketing to your list.

Once someone is on your list, continue marketing to them. They may not buy your first affiliate product, but they may buy the third or fourth product you promote. Keep on the lookout for solid products you can promote to your list, but make sure the products you promote are the same type of products you began promoting. And when you market to your list, do so by sending out quality content like an article instead of an annoying ad.

4. Build traffic to your own site and list.

This is where you really make your affiliate links your own business. By having your own site and building your own list you are building your own business, not just marketing someone else's. By doing this, you can market to your own customers over and over again. Do not overlook this point: When your ad redirects a customer to your affiliate link, you have lost that person as your own customer because you lost the ability to communicate with them on a repeat basis. When you direct customers to your own site and list, they build a relationship with you.

These four strategies will help you build and grow your affiliate marketing business.

Jeremy M. Hoover gives away FREE marketing information at his website. Go there NOW and get your free marketing information as a "thank you" gift for reading this article.