The amazing rise of the Internet affiliate is even more fascinating when one considers the fact that before Amazon.com came along the word "associate" or "affiliate" was almost a dirty word. It was mostly associated with Multi-level marketing or Network marketing promoters. Many people still consider network marketing to be too close for comfort to illegal pyramid schemes.

Yet this is the exact model that has been copied so successfully by many web enterprises which has in turn created a huge Internet affiliates' industry. In fact there are even many famous Internet non-affiliate based businesses that have grown tremendously literally overnight by making use of the basic principles of network marketing. An excellent example is the popular hotmail email service provider, which grew from a cold start to millions of users in a few short weeks by using their first few users as unpaid Internet affiliates for their free service. This they did by simply having all emails going out having a simple signature ad statement one liner. The one liner at the bottom of the email page ingenuously urged the recipient of the email to open a hotmail account there and then by clicking on the link.

So when one person (unknowing Internet affiliate) sent out mail and that mail got forwarded or copied to a few other people who would do the same thing, you can imagine how rapidly the message is capable of spreading.

That is how the power of network marketing or Multi-level marketing, has come in so handy online and can greatly benefit the Internet affiliate who understands it.