Affiliate programs are a great source of additional income and with companies ready to pay a hefty commission amount on some programs this business opportunity seems to be extremely prospective. But before going for an affiliate program there are certain things you got to be sure of. Firstly and most importantly you got to be sure if your affiliate business opportunity is actually an affiliate program or a multi level marketing (MLM) program. Don't know how to make one from the other? It's not as tough to differential between a MLM and an affiliate program as it looks. Let's find out the difference between the two;

MLM Vs Affiliate program

An MLM or multi level marketing is a way of selling products and services through distributors. MLM program generally requires you to recruit distributors and generate sales. The payment in this mode is given for both recruiting distributes as well as generating sales. A MLM program also always involves an initial investment.

An affiliate business opportunity program is way different from an MLM in the sense that it is referral based marketing. An affiliate program involves you to generate sales referrals to the affiliate merchant's website and can earn you commissions based on the type of affiliate scheme you opted for. For instance a pay per click scheme involves you to get paid based on the number of clicks a visitor from your site generates on the affiliate merchant's website irrespective of the sale he makes. Most affiliate programs are free to join.

In a way a two tier affiliate program can be considered to be somewhat near to a MLM strategy but not close enough.

Which program to go for?

Both MLM as well as affiliate programs cannot guarantee returns. Finally it all comes down to how committed you were to your work and in the strategies you adopt. Apart from that alls fair.