A lot of affiliate marketing programs offer complete marketing systems that claim to give the new marketer all the knowledge they need to succeed. The good ones certainly are comprehensive and easy to follow. The problem is that no one education system can successfully answer in advance all questions or problems that may arise for a newcomer to internet marketing. Once the E-book or audio file is downloaded, the newcomer is going to require clarification on some issues at the very least. Affiliate marketing may be the easiest and cheapest way to succeed on the internet but it can still throw up occasional challenges for some one starting out.

A family member or a friend may be regarded as a computer expert but there are potential traps to watch out for if you intend to use such a person.

The first thing to acknowledge is that the person you have in mind may be extremely busy. If they are a computer programmer, software developer or have any technical job in the I.T. industry then they may be very focused on their career. In addition they may be working on their own projects in their spare time. On top of that they may be in hot demand from all their friends and family to fix problem computers. Also, they may be knowledgeable in their field but they may not be interested in affiliate marketing.

How close is the relationship? A spouse or life partner may be more willing to help than a casual friend but don't assume anything. They may have the best intentions but they may be busy too. You may consider to offer a return favour if your support person is a friend or casual acquaintance.

The important thing is to not abuse the good will of your family and friends. They are more important than business success. They should be one of the reasons for your quest for a successful business. By succeeding in such a great business as affiliate marketing you can show the people you love the way to success.

This is why I recommend that you choose a high quality program that offers after sales support of some kind. 'Phone or chat lines are good but this may increase the cost of the program and not many affiliate programs can offer this sort of service 24/7. If you are with a good program run by genuine people interested in helping you succeed, then a support ticket system should be sufficient. If the records of your questions and the replies you receive are retained on the website under your affiliate number then that is a bonus as you can refer back to them for those technical details and you don't have to worry about them being mixed up with your other emails.