If you are planning to join the millions of online marketers you have be motivated. Motivation is the key to any endeavor. My motto in life is "If others can do it, I can do it too." But being motivated is just the beginning. There are other steps along the way before you reach the top. These are the things that you need to prepare for:

Find the niche that interests you most. Having a wide knowledge on a product or subject has the advantage.

· Allocate a small budget for your initial investment.

· Educate yourself on basic html, word processing and data base using excel.

· Allocate at least 2 to 4 hours per day on your affiliate business.

· It is better to have your own domain although it is not necessary at the beginning.

· Join affiliate programs that are related to your chosen niche.

· You can start writing articles about your niche. Research for the best keywords and insert it in your article. Plan your articles like a chapter of an e-book because you can compile these articles into an e-book later.

· Join forums, blogs and buy e-books related to internet marketing.

· Start to build your opt in list. There is a big advantage on having your own opt in list of prospects because you can send new offers to them without being accuse of spamming.

· As you increase your list it will be time consuming and very hard to manage them. In this case, you can use auto responders to save time and effort in promoting your product.

· Outsourcing is another strategy in running an online business. You do not need to do everything. You can hire an expert to build a website for you, prepare a professional ads or graphics.

Let me warn you, online business is not easy. You need to have the right target market, make sure your product provides the solution on the buyers point of view. Lastly, do not loose that motivation to succeed.