Affiliate marketing is one of the best opportunities in Internet marketing and what makes it so enticing is that an affiliate marketing network offers a wide selection of products and services to promote. You can find everything from the most popular products marketed in mass media to the most obscure products and services.

The biggest benefit of being an affiliate marketer is that it doesn't require product development, customer service, order processing, shipping, or ordering inventory. Your only job is to promote the products and services of vendors, and your only real expense is advertising.

Many affiliates try to find great affiliate programs to join and consider private affiliate programs. Some of these affiliate programs offer amazing benefits such as bonuses, extra commissions, prizes, and free products. However, affiliate networks may be a better bet for 5 reasons.

1. You are guaranteed payment.

If you work with a private affiliate program, you never know if the website you're working with will pay. There are many horror stories where affiliates have made hundreds of dollars in commissions and the sites never paid them. There are also stories where the accounting was wrong and the affiliate was underpaid.

With an affiliate network, you can be confident that that you'll be paid what you are owed. The network's business depends on whether they're being reliable to both their merchants and the affiliates. They also use a system that calculates everything from clicks, leads, and sales so you don't have to worry about discrepancies in your performance.

2. There are hundreds of products and services to promote.

By joining an affiliate network, you can start your business from any direction you like. You are not limited on any choices concerning what to promote and you don't have to manage multiple affiliate accounts. You can be promoting a diet product, an educational product, and a pet product all from one network.

3. The affiliate network acts as a mediator.

If there are any problems between you and the vendor, you can ask for the network to come in to help resolve it. Working with a private affiliate program can be one-sided, and you'll be forced to adapt to their terms and policies no matter how unfair it may seem.

4. You can pick from many different payment structures.

Sometimes it may be more profitable if you are paid per lead or a percentage of a sale. There are even recurring memberships where you are paid monthly commissions for one sale. By having different compensation options, you can test various offers to see which one is the most profitable for your campaigns.

5. There are many extra features to help you succeed.

The great thing about affiliate networks is that they offer you great tracking tools, marketing tools, and an easy way to manage your account. You'll be able to view your statistics, commission reports, and your history in an organized interface. This allows you to make better decisions on what to promote and which advertising campaigns to run.

Those five reasons are why working with affiliate networks are the better option when it comes to your affiliate business. With the support, security, and features offered, you can be confident that your marketing efforts will be rewarded properly.

Would you like to earn instant commissions on the products and services that you sell? PayDotCom has hundreds of products, many of which pay instant commissions directly to your PayPal account. Visit http://www.paydotcom.com/ for more information.