Promoting a product or service (such as satellite TV) has its benefits and drawbacks. Being an affiliate is no cakewalk. It can take a lot of work to get started. You may not see any income for months. In fact, initially, building up your affiliate presence will probably burn a pretty big hole in your pocket. And since you’re not an employee, you get none of the rights or benefits that come with working for a company. So why the heck would you want to be an affiliate?

Unlimited income potential

For starters, you have unlimited earning potential. If you refer an average of 1 Dish Network sale a day, your annual income would be $45,625. 2 sales a day puts you at $91,250. And so forth. Of course, most affiliates don’t make 1 sale a day. Most affiliates don’t make 1 sale a month. Don’t ask me why. There are probably a million reasons. So, don’t get your hopes up thinking that being an affiliate is a golden ticket to wealth. It’s not. On the other hand, you are guaranteed to make no money if you don’t go for it.

Freedom from “The Job”

When you work for someone else, you’re working to make that somebody else rich. Regardless of how much profit the company makes, an employee’s salary remains pretty much the same. Typically, how much and how well you work will only increase your earnings if your boss decides to give you a 3-4% raise at your annual review. That barely keeps up with inflation!

When you become an affiliate, you are stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. You become your own boss. You call the shots. And best of all, your working to make yourself wealthier, not the board of directors.

Work from home

Yeah, I work from home and have for many years thanks to affiliate marketing. Let me tell you, it doesn’t matter what the weather’s like outside; working from home beats the hell out of working in an office. When it’s -20º F at 6:00 in the morning and your car is iced over and buried in 10 inches of snow, the last thing you want to do is go out there and freeze your ass off shoveling snow and scraping ice. And since the days are so short in winter, you never see the sun because you’re cooped up in an office with buzzing fluorescent lights. Of course, in summer it’s no fun to be stuck in an office either. Who wouldn’t rather be outside sitting on a comfortable lawn chair under the shade of your favorite tree typing on your laptop and listening to the birds sing.

No need to create a product

Creating a product is a lot of work. As an affiliate, somebody else handles the product creation. Somebody else builds the e-commerce system to process payments. Somebody else ships the product. Somebody else provides customer service and support. You don’t do any of that stuff. All you do (mostly) is develop your presence online and link to the merchant.

Low start-up cost

There are a few expenses that every affiliate faces. The extent of these expenses depends a great deal on the scope of your project. However, compared to the start-up costs of a traditional brick and mortar business, affiliate marketing is pocket change.

Make money whether you work or not

I really feel bad for the people in service industries. They trade their time for money whether they work for someone else or not. However, as an affiliate, you can set up an “affiliate machine” and sell stuff around the clock without ever actively participating in the transactions.

I’m sure there are hundreds of other benefits. But I’ll leave it to you to discover what they are and share them through your comments.