Rumors have come and gone on the Internet about the viability of affiliate marketing and making money. In fact not that long ago there was an article that asked the question,"Is Affiliate Marketing Dead? There's a famous quote by Mark Twain that states, "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." So to the rumors of the death of affiliate marketing being dead are greatly exaggerated. Affiliate marketing is not dead and is still a vital means of making an income on the Internet.

Although there are many marketers that have said that affiliate marketing is dead and that it's almost impossible to make money in it, I don't agree. As a matter of fact I think that there are better tools and resources available today than there were six or seven years ago that make it easier.

As a matter of fact I think that today you have a greater chance of making money because of the technologies and products available. For example, six years ago pay per click was a fledgling market with a few small players. Today Google AdWords(R), Yahoo Marketing(R) and MSN are the top three players in a multi-billion dollar industry that gives a product worldwide exposure instantly. An individual can research an affiliate product on day one and day two have a targeted ad on the first page of the search results for the product keyword, providing hundreds if not thousands of potential targeted buyers to their website. The trick is having enough capital to pay for the advertising.

Advertising unfortunately costs money and in some cases a lot of money. It's best to prepare a plan that's realistic. Consider this: Come up with a number that you feel comfortable enough with to actually lose. That's really the best way top approach it because you may need to re-tool and go back again. There are a lot of tools that you can use to see how competitive your niche market is. Tip: try to use an independent source like Wordtracker to come up with the keywords you need to use.

If you are using a site such as Clickbank, remember that they mandate a 56 day or eight week "buyers remorse" feature. Sales are not final until this period is over, then you can start to determine your profit. Remember that buyers remorse can be as high as 50% depending on the product, so be careful. A 50% return rate can kill any profit in a program.

Considering the shaky economy and job loss statistics, it makes a great deal of sense to "hedge your bet" so to speak and have some additional passive income. Doing business on line as an affiliate is the perfect way to anonymously make some extra income with the right tools and resources. Any by the way, Affiliate Marketing is alive and well.