Here are a few things you would need to take care of:

a) Create your websiteb) Design your product (if you are selling new products)c) Create your product (if you are selling new physical products, or any virtual products)d) Set up an online storee) Set up a merchant account or payment gatewayf) Set up a warehouse or storage space (if you are selling physical products)g) Have procedures and staff ready to fulfill ordersh) Set up an affiliate program to get others to market the products for youi) Monitor for fraudj) Monitor stock levels

As they say, "No pain, no gain".

Having your own store pays very well, but requires a substantial time investment from you.

On the other hand, if you sign up for an affiliate program, all you need to do is set up a website to promote the program.

All the ads, banners, marketing text etc will be provided to you by the affiliate program.

Your only responsibilities would be to get people to visit your website, and hopefully click on the affiliate links to buy the products that you are promoting.

3) CONVERSION

Whether you have your own business or are promoting an affiliate program, the bottom line is the conversion rate, or the percentage of visitors that actually buy something from you.

A number of factors influence this conversion rate.

Factors as quality of the product, quality of the website, customer support are all important.

However, I personally believe that the most important factor is trust.

When a potential customer arrives at your website, he will need to trust your site enough for him to be willing to buy from you.

After all, on the internet you are just a faceless salesman.

He doesn't know who is actually running the site and whether he will actually get the goods that he orders.

Having said that, one of the key methods of garnering trust is by recommendation and referral.

If a store is being referred to or recommended by another website, the potential customer will feel that the store is trustworthy.

After all, if the store is not trustworthy, why would the other website recommend it?

This is where affiliate programs shine.

When you refer a potential customer to the store for which you are an affiliate, the customer will feel more relieved, since the store is being recommended by your site, a 3rd party.

The customer will be more likely to buy from the store, benefiting both the store, and you as well.

There are both pros and cons to joining an affiliate program.

You might earn less with an affiliate program compared to starting your own store, but I believe the benefits of not having to be responsible for the logistics makes affiliate programs are very viable "passive" source of income.

For more information on affiliate programs, do visit http://www.onlinebiz-help.com

About the Author:

Steven is the webmaster of http://www.onlinebiz-help.com - Your Guide To Internet Business. His website contains various resources on affiliate programs and internet marketing advice to help you succeed in your internet business.