The History of Affiliate Marketing

Even though Amazon.com credits themselves as the very first affiliate program, it has been shown that there were actually a few other affiliate programs in existence before Amazon. PC Flowers & Gifts, AutoWeb.com, and KBToys.com are a few of them. But, as we all know, Amazon.com has been by far the most successful affiliate program to date. Even Amazon will admit that they would not be who they are if it were not for their affiliate program.

By and large, it really doesn't matter much who started the first affiliate program. What does matter is that someone conceived an idea that allows anyone to share revenue without a large startup investment, i.e., there are no production costs, license fees, no previous sales experience needed, no employees needed (unless you want them), no order processing, no shipping, etc. All of these "business related" expenses are handled by the program you are marketing. What other industry can provide so much potential for running your own home-based business with little to no startup cost?

No other business is so inexpensive to start yet offers such high profit potential without investing years of labor. But, becoming a successful marketer takes time and effort. The person who never gets off the couch will not succeed online. Nor will the individual who reads every online business manual ever published yet fails to act on a viable plan. However, compared to building a ‘brick and mortar' business, starting a business online is relatively easy and inexpensive. Affiliates have it particularly easy with no inventory to carry or ship and the merchants invest in product research, development and manufacturing, as well as order processing and customer service. Although few opportunities are as quick, easy and inexpensive to implement, success requires effort.