If you are new to the online business world and would like to get involved without risking any of your hard earned cash then this article will show you one way to get involved for free.

We are going to discuss ways to promote affiliate programs without your own site and without spending any money.

Best of all if you choose a program related to your interests then it won't even seem like any work is involved.

The 5 steps are aimed at promoting a product while you go about your normal daily surfing activities.

Before we get on to step 1 you need to locate and join an appropriate affiliate program.

This program ideally should be 2 tier, which means you get paid for sales made through your link as well as for the sales made by affiliates that you refer through your link.

To find an affiliate program search at Google for "affiliate directory" then visit the directories and search the directory for a keyword related to your interests.

Once you have joined a program you will receive a link to promote, you may also receive a second link to promote the affiliate program itself which can be used to recruit tier 2 affiliates.

Once you have a link take the following steps to incorporate the affiliate link into your surfing activities:

1. Add a signature to your emails, this will mean that every mail you send will have a tag line at the bottom which, in this case, will promote the service that you are affiliated with. Check the help files in your email program for instructions on how to do this.

2. If you already visit forums related to the product add a signature to your profile. This means that every time you post your link will be added to the end of your post.

Locate more forums where people interested in the product might hang out. Do a search for a keyword followed by forum at Google.

Try and think of all the different related subjects that might have forums and identify as many as possible.

Once you have identified your forums visit them all and join the ones that allow posters to add a signature file to their posts. Then get involved in conversations be useful whenever possible and every time you post an item your affiliate link will be displayed. This will be a lot less like work if you are promoting in a niche that is of interest to you.

3. If you have an eBay account then create an About Me page and include details of the affiliate program there. Click help once logged in to eBay and search for About Me to find instructions on creating your page.

Whenever you list an auction include a line at the top of the description that invites viewers to visit your About Me page.

4. Locate sites that have visitors that might be interested in the product that you are affiliated with especially those that have a mailing list or an ezine. Then contact the site owner and suggest that they join the affiliate program. If they join using your link you will earn a percentage of any commissions that they earn.

5. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat. With so many things success comes down to numbers. The more site owners you contact and the more forums that you post at the more commission you will earn.

Do all of the above and you will earn money for no investment, it may take time and might start slowly but it will happen.

Copyright 2004 Darren Power

Darren Power is the author of The Money Seed, your quick start guide to making money online. You can join his affiliate program at http://www.themoneyseed.com/affiliate.