Many years of business experience has taught me how to detect the scammers from the real McCoy. Long before the internet became such a compulsive part of our lives there were loads of scams available for the unsuspecting. Back in those days the classifieds in the newspapers were booming.

Today it is different. The internet has made the opportunity for scammers and get rich quick schemes to be all that more accessible. My scam radar is more finely tuned than ever before.

The last few years there has been some great opportunities come to the forefront of business mainly thanks to the internet. One of those being affiliate marketing programs. For most people being an affiliate is seen as hard work. If you have started in the world of affiliate marketing you have probably spent a bucket of money to promote products and services on behalf of another company that already is doing very well.

The main problem is that there has been very little information available on how to work this potential gold mine to its full potential. I have been researching and working affiliate programs for about 2 years with mixed results. The information out there until recently has been far from easy to follow and most has tried to sell me stuff claiming they can help me promote harder and faster.

Sure there are a handful of people out there that have been making money but if you ask most involved in affiliate marketing if they have made their fortune they will probably say no. Why? Because there has been not one bit of helpful information in the marketplace to help, coach and train.

Recently there has been more hype and information out there on affiliate marketing. Sadly the way it is being promoted many unsuspecting people may think it a scam, a get rich scheme or just a waste of time. The best thing to do is when you hear and see advertising that infers a way to make money using the internet is just visit the website. It is amazing how you can be suddenly informed about something that may have sounded less than kosher.

Australia is still catching up with the rest of the world when it comes to affiliate marketing. We have been blessed with some fantastic authors and teachers that have had the foresight to provide us with information on how to make affiliate marketing more mainstream.

As a IT professional I am always keen to consider smarter ways to make my affiliate programs work better for me. I have taken a keen interest in the information on mainstream media networks in recent times and subsequently found them to provide me with information that is not only simple to use but also very practical.

Today there is information that will not confuse the average punter on how to become an affiliate. What the information does is teach you step by step on how you can be earning an income within the 1st day of your learning.

For those who have been working with affiliate marketing for a while any information you gain is beneficial because the internet is a moving and growing medium. Learning how to be smarter without spending loads of money and time is what it is about.

After spending the last 8 weeks or so "studying" all the new information I have gathered about affiliate marketing I have been able to say that I spend less time, less money for a higher return. I have learnt from those before me – remember it is about networking with your fellow internet business owners either via forums, emails, phone, or simply e-documents.

Affiliate marketing is truly a global experience. There is no reason as an affiliate you should not be earning money from any where on the planet. If you are tentative follow any information you have collected and start within your own country and build on it. One of the blessings of affiliate marketing is you don't have to have any specific computer skills or even a website.

What I must stress though is affiliate marketing is not a get rich scheme. If you want to make money fast reconsider affiliate marketing and be really careful if you have to make capital investments – there are tonnes of scams out there.

Affiliate marketing is a win-win marketing and business strategy that with the right information absolutely anybody can make money regardless of expertise, education or global location.