In the time I have been running my internet home business I have realized that there is a wealth of information available about 'working at home'. Unfortunately a lot of this info does nothing more than waste your time and money. It has become very difficult for the beginner entrepreneur to get started successfully in the online world. I am writing this article because I believe I have found the 5 essential tools necessary to run a successful home business as an affiliate marketer. The tools outlined below play the biggest role in the operation of my home business and they don't break the bank either.

Essential Tool #1 - Your own Website:

The first step is finding a good product to sell along with a nice website to promote it. For the average person this can be a little overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Thanks to PlugInProfit, anybody can now have a fully functional website up and running and accepting orders within 24 hours. What you get is a very professional looking website as well as memberships into 5 of the internets most successful affiliate programs.

When I found out about this opportunity I really couldn't believe it. Thanks to Plug in Profit I was really able to kick-start my home business and start promoting my products almost instantly. You can find out more by clicking the link below.

http://www.homeworksolutions.biz/pips.html

Essential Tool #2 - An Email Auto Responder:

Now you will need a means to drive traffic to your website and that's where our 2nd essential tool enters the picture, the email autoresponder. Where do you get such a program? Well, you see what I didn't tell you about PlugInProfit is that you also get your very own 360 day business newsletter which is in turn hooked up to an email autoresponder, so basically whenever someone signs up for your free newsletter, they will receive 360 days of emails from your business promoting your website. Doesn't that sound great?

If you would like an example of the newsletter that comes with PluginProfit click on the link below and then enter your first name and email address in the box at the left of the screen. That will sign you up for my newsletter.

http://www.homeworksolutions.biz

Ok, now you are probably wondering how someone would find your newsletter and get entered into your autoresponder. There are basically 2 ways to get potential customers into your autoresponder. 1. Visit your website and signup. This requires your website to rank fairly well in the search engines or be advertised somewhere. We will talk more about that during essential tools #3 and #4. 2. Buy leads that get entered into your autoresponder automatically. There are many places out there that sell leads for this purpose.

Here are 3 examples: List Opt, Leads Factory, Traffic Oasis. Once the leads get entered into your autoresponder it becomes completely automated. You can sit back and watch your business grow. Having an email autoresponder has really made my work a lot easier and definitely continues to play a key role in the success of my business.

Essential Tool #3 - Reciprocal Linking Campaign:

A key factor that determines your website rank in the search engines is often how many and what kind of websites are linking to your site. If you can partner with a couple hundred relevant websites your search engine rank will skyrocket. I learned how to do this with Jack Humphrey's e-book PowerLinking. I highly recommend this e-book; it provides all the tools and information necessary to produce a highly effective Reciprocal Linking Campaign which is sure increase the traffic to your website. You can find out more by clicking below:

http://www.power-linking-profits.com/swres/c6798.html

Essential Tool #4 - Word Tracker Software:

Along with your linking campaign you will also want to optimize your website around a select a number of keywords. However, you will want to choose your words carefully. Select keywords that not only describe your website but are also popular with the search engines. Word Tracker is a great tool for tracking the popularity of selected keywords. This tool will tell how often each keyword is searched for in Google, Yahoo, Excite, etc. You can try it for free at wordtracker.com.

Essential Tool #5 - The Warrior Forum:

The Warrior forum is the #1 marketing group on the net for 6 years. When you become a member you will get the opportunity to chat with some of the internets top affiliate marketers and in my experience they are always willing to help those who want to work. Just browsing through all the forum topics can generate tons of ideas and answer any question you may have. The Warrior forum is an excellent resource and when you sign up for the Plug in Profit site discussed in 'Essential Tool #1' you will automatically get a free membership.

If you are interested in becoming a successful affiliate marketer I suggest you at least check these tools out. If you go as far as to learn how to use them and then invest about $100 a month to make them work you could have a full blown affiliate marketing business that will eventually generate a six figure income quite easily. The key is simply planting the seeds and sticking with it. I hope this has motivated you a little and that now you are considering getting started on your own internet business venture. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questions or feedback.

Curtis Sexton.