“I pooled some money together for a deposit in one of the alternative investment schemes, as I really needed a source of extra money. It seems almost impossible for me to earn what I need to survive from my regular job.

“Now that I’ve stopped receiving monthly payments from the investment scheme, I’m looking for some other options to earn part-time income. Any suggestions?”

With rising prices and stagnant paycheques, anyone trying to get ahead financially has to look for viable options to earn extra income. The phenomenal growth of the ‘alternative investment’ financial market in Jamaica is partly due to people’s natural desire to make lots of money without too much effort.

However, many investors participated out of desperation because their nine-to-five jobs were just not providing enough to pay bills and save for future financial goals.

One of the challenges for financial advisors is to help their clients to find practical ways to earn more. Not everyone will be able to set up a business on the side due to time and other personal constraints.

Many people don’t have large lump sums to invest that will spin off a great income. Very few have extra-ordinary talents that are in demand and profitable. So what’s the average guy to do if he needs to make extra money?

In business, trends are always changing and it’s important to keep informed of current developments if you want to stay ahead of the game in any industry. It’s the same with finding suitable investment opportunities – we have to always be on the lookout for what’s new. The good news is that we’re in an age of technology where you can find information on anything on the Internet.

Need ideas to create more money? CLICK HERE!

The global reach of the Internet allows ideas to be disseminated to millions in mere minutes. It stands to reason that the Internet is a great medium for businesses to spread the word about their products and services to a wide audience in a very cost-efficient way.

It’s well known that word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most powerful methods for achieving customer growth. What if that referral process took place where millions could participate?

Well, this process is already taking place – through affiliate marketing programmes. According to Wikipedia.com, affiliate marketing is a “web-based marketing practice in which a business rewards affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s marketing efforts.”

Affiliates are simply regular people who enter into a contract with these online merchants to promote their products in exchange for commission or other reward.

Amazon.com, although not the first online company to offer an affiliate marketing programme, brought the industry mainstream when it launched its associate plan in 1996. Research quoted in Wikipedia.com estimates that in 2006, affiliates worldwide earned $6.5 billion in commissions from a variety of sources in retail, personal finance, gambling, travel, telecommunications, education, and publishing.

Affiliate marketing is not an online scam or pyramid scheme. It’s simply a way for merchants to obtain an abundant source of marketing mediums to advertise and increase sales. The more affiliates the online store has, the more return he can expect from their efforts.

The programme works equally well for both businesses and their affiliates, as it is easily quantifiable based on sales or visits to the website. The merchants’ advertising promotions are less costly in time, money and effort, as he only has to reward his affiliates if the desired result is produced from their work. The affiliate can receive recurrent income in direct proportion to his success in driving business to the affiliated company’s site.

Is it possible for us here in Jamaica to benefit from one of the fastest growing industries in on the Internet? Yes! According to Vinnie Gallagher, writing in www.affiliatemarketinginsight.com, “Affiliate marketing truly levels the playing field because anyone can start a business with a very low investment of time and capital.”

Gallagher confirms, “There are no specific requirements to become an affiliate marketer. There are no strings attached, which is why millions of people are turning to affiliate marketing to make some serious income on the Internet.”

Do you think affiliate marketing could be the answer to your prayers to earn extra income? Next week we’ll tell you what it takes to get started and how to become successful in this business. We’ll also show you how local business people can apply the principles of affiliate marketing even without using the Internet.