Web Affiliate ProgramsSign up with an affiliate program to add revenue to your Web site.

You don't need a storehouse full of products to become anonline retailer if you build a Web site full of otherretailers' products and take a piece of their profits. A hottrend on the Internet, affiliate programs pay you a commission forreferring business to them.

Signing up with affiliate programs that sell products similar toyours is a great way to supplement your current Web store'sofferings or add revenue to a content-only Web site. Afteryou're approved, the company usually generates code you can puton your site to send customers their way.

Probably the best-known affiliate program is Amazon.com's,which lets you build your own bookstore on your site. Users whoclick on the store are taken to Amazon.com to make thepurchase.

A slight twist on the commission idea, Nexchange (http://www.nexchange.com) lets youadd a fully-stocked store to your site, sell all types of consumerproducts and receive a commission on sales. Nexchange describes itsprogram as "commerce in content," meaning the store hasyour site's look and feel, and after visitors buy, they'reautomatically returned to your site at the same place they werewhen they stopped to make the purchase. (With most affiliateprograms, it's up to the visitors to manually return to yoursite.)

Membership in these affiliate programs is free, and most willactually pay you for the business. In return, you'll get thebenefits of online retailing without the administrative andtechnical hassles.