Those who have joined a few affiliate programs and now have a number of affiliate links to promote often ask the questions: How do I promote the affiliate programs I have joined? How can I generate internet income from all these affiliate links? Do I need my own website on my own domain name?

The attractive and exciting idea about joining affiliate programs is that they give you everything you need to start generating internet income right away. Well that is how it seems anyway. You get your own custom affiliate website, banners and pre-written ad, a list of online advertising hot spots, etc. They say all you need to do is plug in and profit. Does it really happen that way? Not usually!

Unfortunately, the problem with joining affiliate programs is that people get lazy. They slave away 5 or 6 days a week at their job and then think they can take the standard affiliate website they are given, plug it into a couple of free advertising tools that take five minutes to setup and start generating internet income right away. People are willing to work hard at their day job every day, but they are not prepared to put in nearly the amount of work to their affiliate programs, yet still expect to make internet income.

Also if they have probably joined a few affiliate programs and therefore have a number of affiliate links to promote, confusion and frustration set in.

The key to promoting affiliate links and really getting an affiliate marketing business off the ground is to have your own website - one that you can control and one that is on your own domain name. This puts you in total control of your own business.

Having your own website establishes your credibility immediately - online and offline.

There are three potential problems with affiliate links, which can be eliminated if you have your own website on your own domain name.

Firstly, a big problem is that affiliate links can have the ID's removed from them very easily. Personally owned domain names allow you to cloak affiliate links. You can also set up re-direct links which look more professional and ensures that nobody can remove your affiliate ID, which would cause you to lose the commission.

One of the main reasons people fail at affiliate marketing is because they never invest in getting their own domain name and website setup. For some unknown reason they think this is an unnecessary thing when the fact is, having your own domain name is one of the most necessary things of all to succeed in this business.

Never put yourself at the mercy of the company you are promoting. You want and need to be in full control of your internet affiliate business at all times. What happens if you have spent a lot of money and/or time promoting your affiliate link all over the internet and then the company you are promoting changes the structure of their affiliate links or goes out of business?

If you did not have your own domain name and were not promoting through re-direct links, you would be out of luck! But if you set things up correctly from the beginning and did all your promotions through your own website, all you would need to do is login to your hosting account, click a button and replace the link you were promoting that does not work anymore.

Secondly, personally owned domain names are controlled by you, affiliate links are not.

You have to be able to control your own website. Affiliate links do not let you do this. You need to be able to add your own style and personality to your site. You need to be able to add and promote other products you believe in. You need to be able to change the layout, color, the type of font, the message, etc. Ultimately, you need to be in full control of your own website.

If you are not in control of your site, someone else is and if someone else is in control of your site, their agenda will always take precedence over yours. Remember that. Take control of your website, you then have control of your business and you take control of your financial future.

Thirdly, personally owned domain names rank high in search engines, affiliate links do not.

One of the best ways to promote affiliate products online is to get good free rankings in the search engines. But you simply cannot do that with affiliate links. However, if you have your own domain name and hosting account, all you need to do is put up a site with unique content on it, get a few links from other sites and you are on your way to getting lots of natural free listings and traffic from the search engines.

Free traffic from natural listings in the search engines is some of the best traffic in the world. Your conversion rates on turning prospects into customers shoot straight through the roof once you get these natural listings. But this can only happen when you have your own domain name and hosting account.

By getting your own website on your own domain name for promoting your affiliate links, you will give yourself the best chance of generating internet income as an affiliate.

Cynthia Minnaar is the owner and webmaster of http://www.cyns-home-biz.com, the site for internet business ideas, online home business opportunities, internet income training, affiliate marketing ideas, web income ideas, ideas to start an online home business, online home business tools, ebooks and articles. Start your free internet income training today.

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Cynthia Minnaar - EzineArticles Expert Author