If you are new to internet marketing and trying to figure out which business model to pursue, I have one clear recommendation: start with affiliate marketing. I have been saying this since 2012 and the reasoning has only gotten stronger. Here are six reasons why affiliate marketing is the best way to start an internet business, especially if you are building something on the side.

1. You Do Not Need Your Own Product

Creating a product from scratch, whether physical or digital, requires significant time, money, and expertise before you earn your first dollar. With affiliate marketing, you skip all of that. You find products that already exist, already have a market, and already have customer support in place. Your job is to connect the right audience with the right products.

In 2026, the number of affiliate programs available is staggering. Amazon Associates, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, Impact, PartnerStack, and countless direct programs from individual companies mean you can find products in virtually any niche imaginable.

2. No Customer Support Required

When someone buys a product through your affiliate link and has a problem, the product owner handles it. You do not deal with refund requests, shipping issues, or technical support tickets. This is a massive advantage for a part-time entrepreneur who is already stretched thin between a day job and family obligations.

The best affiliates do go above and beyond for their audience, but it is a choice, not an obligation. That distinction matters when you are building something in your spare hours.

3. Less Business Complexity

Selling your own products globally means dealing with sales tax in multiple jurisdictions, VAT compliance in Europe, payment processing, and a mountain of accounting complexity. As an affiliate, the merchant handles all of that. Your financial picture is clean: commission checks come in, and you report them as income. That is about as simple as business accounting gets.

4. Lower Legal Exposure

I am not a lawyer, but in my experience, honest affiliate marketing carries relatively low legal risk. Follow the FTC's disclosure guidelines, never make false claims about products, be transparent about your affiliate relationships, and you are operating on solid ground. The rules in 2026 are well-established and straightforward to follow.

5. Minimal Financial Risk

There is a famous story about someone who manufactured thousands of premium yoga mats, only to discover that nobody wanted to pay a premium for yoga mats. That inventory became an expensive lesson in market research.

With affiliate marketing, your risk is measured in time, not capital. If you promote a product and it does not sell, you have lost some hours creating content. You have not lost a warehouse full of inventory. You simply pivot to a different product or a different approach and try again.

6. Unlimited Product Selection

Whatever your audience cares about, there are affiliate products to match. Amazon has hundreds of millions of physical products. SaaS companies offer recurring commissions on software subscriptions. Digital product marketplaces feature courses, templates, and tools in every niche. If your audience is into underwater basket weaving, I would bet there are basket weaving supplies available through an affiliate program somewhere.

This variety also provides resilience. If one product gets discontinued or an affiliate program changes its terms, you can swap in an alternative without rebuilding your entire business.

Bonus: The Value of Checklists

In the original episode, I also shared a tip about checklists inspired by Atul Gawande's book The Checklist Manifesto. The advice holds up perfectly. If you are building an internet business, create checklists for your recurring tasks: publishing blog posts, promoting content, setting up affiliate links, optimizing pages for search.

Checklists cut through procrastination because you always know exactly what to do next. They prevent costly mistakes like publishing a post with broken affiliate links. And when you are ready to outsource, a checklist becomes the training manual you hand to your virtual assistant.

What Has Changed Since 2012

The tools and platforms have changed dramatically, but these six advantages are as relevant today as they were when I first listed them. The biggest shift is that content quality standards are much higher. Google's algorithms and AI-powered search reward genuinely helpful content and punish thin affiliate sites. But if you are creating real value for a real audience, the opportunity in affiliate marketing is bigger than it has ever been.

Listen and Subscribe

Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or subscribe at latenightim.com/internet-marketing-podcast/.