When people decide to get started in internet marketing, the first thing they should do is find themselves a good affiliate marketing guide. Though they may be experienced in sales and other forms of online business, affiliate marketing has its own little tricks and tactics that can only be learned by doing it.Fortunately, there are many people who have been involved in internet marketing for years who are willing to share what they have learned with you. In this way, you can avoid the learning curve and jump right in with both feet, ready to start making money as quickly as possible.A good affiliate marketing guide should contain a few characteristics.First, the person offering the guide should have a good deal of experience in the area. After all, who wants to take advice from someone who has never actually done what they are preaching?Secondly, the guide should cover all the important areas of internet marketing. It should explain what it is, how to get your site started, how to bring in traffic to your site and how to optimize the site for search engine results. These things should be laid out in a format that is easy for you to understand.Video based guides are among the best for most people. Lastly, the guide should either be offered for free, or as a no risk, money-back guarantee plan. If you are not convinced that the guide clearly explains what needs to be done, you will receive a full refund.Many people wonder why anyone would want to offer this kind of advice for free, especially if it could actually increase their competition. The answer is that the field of online marketing is growing so quickly that there is no danger of saturation. The more people being successful, the more opportunities there will be. Those offering the programs are actually doing themselves a favor also.If you ever wanted to run your own online business, an affiliate marketing guide can be the tool that gets you started. Find one that is right for you and put the power of the internet to work for you.