Navigating the intricate often tangled network of the worldwide web is an onerous task for the hardiest soul. Like a spiders web the www is a very complex and often a confusing maze. No wonder the terms web, spider, crawl etc. are commonly used terminology on the internet.

You need guidance from seasoned veterans who could mentor you through the rough and the tumble and teach the complexities of online marketing. The best way to learn and find a mentor, remote though he may be is to start with an affiliate program. Joining an affiliate program helps you to find a good mentor as every online marketing guru has a system of taking their affiliates through the various complex system of internet marketing through their online courses and f*r*ee reports and tutorials.

However please do a bit of research into the affiliate programs and the gurus before you rush to join the program. There are many affiliate marketing forums and websites where you can get a lot insight into the right programs and products.

The major benefits of an affiliate program for a newbie are:

Guidance from seasoned veterans who mentor you through the rough and tumble and teach the complexities of online marketing

Programs are f*r*ee to join and only takes a few minute to set up. You can be in business immediately.

It is the best introduction to e-commerce through online coaching and tutorials provided by most affiliate programs.

Ready to use quality products which have been tried and tested.

No investments till you start making money. Some of the affiliate programs even provide your own website or web pages to promote the program.

A commission structure of generally 25% going up to even 60% and multi tiered so that you can also have one or two tiers of down lines to help you generate a passive income.

You get introduced to tools of marketing provided by the programs which familiarizes you to effective promotion techniques of online marketing.

Above all safety and reliability of payments. Most of the affiliate programs use third party merchants like clickbank to set up their payment and delivery system. So your payments are sent in by the merchants once every fortnight or on a minimum specified payment by you.

Start with one or two affiliate programs which suit your interests and background and graduate to few more with time. Joining too many programs may not help as you will be distracted and lacking in focus.

So if you have dreams of making it big in online marketing, get started with a couple of good affiliate programs. Soon enough you will learn enough to launch your own program.

R.G. Srinivasan is a Certified Trainer, Writer and author of eBooks with more than two decades of managerial experience. You can view his home-business resources blog at http://www.home-businessresources.blogspot.com for online marketing tips, resources, opportunities and online promotional strategies.