Updated 2026: This post originally reviewed Jimmy D. Brown's Affiliatenaire course, a membership-based affiliate marketing training program that launched in 2009. The course is no longer available, and the specific tactics it taught have been overtaken by changes in search engines and affiliate networks. But the broader discussion about what makes good affiliate training, and the reasons affiliate marketing remains an excellent starting point for new internet marketers, is worth preserving.

Why Affiliate Marketing Is Still the Best Starting Point

The case I made for affiliate marketing in 2009 has only gotten stronger. Here is why it remains the best first business model for most new internet marketers:

• No products to create. You recommend existing products and earn commissions when people buy. This lets you focus entirely on learning traffic generation and content creation without the complexity of product development.
• No customer service. The merchant handles fulfillment, returns, and support. Your role is connecting the right people with the right solutions.
• Low overhead. You need a website and an email service provider. That is it. Compared to virtually any other business model, the startup costs are negligible.
• Scalable and passive. In the original post, I mentioned a super-affiliate friend who had been away from her business for two months with no decline in her five-figure monthly income. That kind of passivity is real, but it comes after putting in the work upfront to build the content and traffic systems.

What Made Good Affiliate Training in 2009

What I appreciated about the Affiliatenaire course was its structure. Jimmy D. Brown delivered content in a weekly drip format that kept students focused on one task at a time. This addressed what he correctly identified as the biggest obstacle for beginners: not a lack of information, but a failure to execute on the basics.

His teaching covered setting up a blog, creating presell content, building an email list, and driving traffic. The step-by-step approach worked because it eliminated the paralysis that comes from trying to learn everything at once. The specific tactics are outdated now, but that structural approach to training is still what separates effective courses from ineffective ones.

What to Look For in Affiliate Marketing Training in 2026

The affiliate marketing training landscape has changed dramatically. Here is what to evaluate before investing in any course:

• Is the instructor actively doing affiliate marketing? The best teachers are practitioners, not just teachers. Look for someone who can show current results, not just historical success from a different era.
• Does it focus on sustainable strategies? Courses built around exploiting specific platform loopholes or algorithm quirks will stop working. Look for training that teaches fundamental skills: content creation, audience building, email marketing, and relationship-based selling.
• Is it structured for execution? Information without implementation is entertainment. Good training gives you specific tasks to complete and builds skills progressively, not a massive information dump that leaves you overwhelmed.
• Does it address current platforms and tools? Affiliate marketing in 2026 involves SEO, social media content, YouTube, email marketing, and potentially AI tools. A course that only covers one traffic source is incomplete.
• Is the price reasonable? Be skeptical of courses costing thousands of dollars. The fundamentals of affiliate marketing are well-documented, and there are excellent resources available at every price point, including free ones.

The Bottom Line

The hardest part of affiliate marketing has always been getting started. Not because it is complicated, but because the sheer number of options and opinions creates decision paralysis. Pick one training resource, follow its instructions completely, and give it a genuine effort before deciding it does not work. Most people who fail at affiliate marketing never actually get their first piece of content published.

For more on affiliate marketing and building online businesses part-time, subscribe to the Late Night Internet Marketing podcast on Apple Podcasts.