One way you can earn money from your Website is by promoting one or more affiliate programs from another company. You usually earn money in one of three ways:

1. By just displaying a banner advert
2. By people clicking on the banner ad
3. By people buying something from the company who's advertising.

Most of the affiliate programs are US-based, so you will receive your payments on US dollars and cents, ranging from as little as one cent (100 cents = $1 = 60p) per banner advert display, to as much as about $10 (£6) per sale. Your earnings are tracked electronically, and some of the more sophisticated programs let you check your account balance daily.

Although affiliate programs are free to join, you usually have to generate a minimum payment before your cheque (spelt check in the USA) is sent to you. Note also that if your cheque is not in your local currency, your bank will charge you a fee to convert it, typically £5-£10 ($8 - $20) per cheque. If you have a choice, it might be better to opt to receive your cheque once a month instead of every two weeks.

Do affiliate programs work? If you earn one cent per banner display, and your Web page is seen by 250 people per month, then you will earn about $2.50 (about £1.50) per month. But if your Web page is seen by 250 per day, then you will earn 250 x 30 x 1 cent = $75 per month, or $900 (£500) per year.

Case study summary (details in No.2 above): ABC Dating is a personals Web site that uses the The One & Only Affiliate program. Someone who signs-up for one month pays $24.95 (£15), and a 15% commission is earned by ABC Dating (ie., 24.95 x 15% = $3.74 (£2.25). Longer sign-ups earn more. The average earned each month (Dec 1998 - Dec 1999) is $820 or £500 per month.

Homeworking.com will review and test out some major programs, and give you an honest and realistic assessment of each one and their usefulness to homeworkers. If we can, we will also give you the bottom line on what they actually pay and what it costs you in terms of time and side costs!

As ever, we welcome your comments and experiences of affiliate programs and if you agree or disagree with our comments please let us know. Email admin@megelu.com