Undoubtedly, working from home is a dream shared by almost everyone who is shackled to the daily grind of the 9 to 5 syndrome. How nice it would be to tell the boss where to stick his job, to have no more daily battle with the other commuters, to take annual leave when you, yourself, wish to and, more importantly, to decide your own income.

It's true that working for yourself can have many plus features but, like everything in life, there are both plusses and minusses if you decide to go this route.

Without doubt, one of the most essential requirements is strong self discipline; you and you alone will be responsible for the success or failure of your business. If you are the sort of person who finds it difficult to stick to any sort of regime then your business (and your income) will more than likely perish. Running any sort of business takes persistence and hard work but this can be handsomely repaid when things go right.

One of the quickest ways to begin your own business is via the internet. An online business has much more going for it than its offline counterpart; running costs are minimal, you can choose your own working hours, and virtually everything can be done from your desk via the computer.

There are numerous ways to earn a living online - too many to include in this article - but the quickest (and easiest) for most beginners is by becoming an affiliate. This is where you sell someone else's product and get paid a commission once a sale is made. This method means that you do not need a product of your own. All the work needed to produce your own product has already been done for you. Additionally, most good affiliate programs have ready made sales pages, pre-written advertisements and secure online credit card processing. The only thing you have to do is promote the program so that interested prospects arrive at the sales page.

Promoting your affiliate program means getting as much targeted traffic to the sales page as possible. Here are four tried and tested ways that, done correctly, will consistently bring you much quality traffic.

1. Reciprocal Linking

One of the most effective ways to generate free traffic is through linking with other sites. Remember that you are seeking 'targetted' traffic so always ensure that the sites you chose to link with are related to the subject matter of your own web page. Building strong links in this way will also help greatly to increase your page ranking with the search engines (resulting in even more quality traffic).

2. Online Forums

Take advantage of online forums and online communities. The great thing about forums and online communities is that you can target a certain group that fits the certain demographic that you are looking for. You can discuss many things about the niche that you represent or offer. Another great advantage is that you know what you are getting into and you will be prepared.

3. Keyword-rich AND sensible content

Writing or acquiring articles that provide solid information regarding your business is one of the best ways. Making use of free keyword suggestion tools such as Overture will help you on which keyword or phrases to work on to better lead more traffic to your website. Making these write-ups very readable and genuinely informative will make you many repeat visitors to subsequently become repeat clients.

Submitting these articles to various article directory listings will provide more visibility for your business as long as you keep your resource box intact to create for yourself numerous back-links.

4. Pay per Click Advertising

Using pay-per-click advertising (such as Google Adwords, Overture, etc.) can be a very powerful way to get highly targeted traffic but does require you to know what you are doing. Those who do not know what they are doing can just as easily lose money instead of making it. Nevertheless, when used expertly this is one way to begin receiving visitors within minutes of opening your account. Just ensure that you research the 'how-tos' thoroughly before venturing into this area of promotion.

In such a short article it is not possible to fully cover everything that is necessary in order to succeed in an online business. However, making your first venture via affiliate marketing can surely be the quickest way to begin earning a living in your own business. It should be your priority to learn as much about online marketing as you can in the shortest time as this will assure your success in a business where fortunes can, and are, being made.

Copyright 2006 Brian Hunter