When you sign up for a merchant's "affiliate program" successfully, you will be given a account which contains username and password. You can check your affiliate link and payment status in your account. Now your job is to put the link (or banner) on a website, or in an email to get people to click on it and buy. When someone clicks your affiliate link and make a purchase, you will be paid a commission on that sale. The "affiliate link" contains a special code that identifies you as the person who made the sale, so the merchant knows you should be paid, not someone else.

In affiliate marketing, there're many ways you can make money, such as Pay-Per-Sale (the merchant pays you a percentage of the sale when someone buys a product or service through your affiliate link), Pay-Per- Lead (the merchant pays a flat fee, or "bounty", for each qualified lead you send to the merchant site though your affiliate link), and Pay-Per- Click(Affiliate Program where an affiliate receives a commission for each click on the banner that takes them to a merchant's site).

Affiliatesummay.com lists free affiliate programs of multiple categories. You can sign up directly or  look for products through affiliate networks. Each affiliate network represents many different merchants. It can be easier and faster to access more programs in a fraction of time. The affiliate network issues one single check for all the managed programs..