Contrary to the mainstream notion that it "takes money to make money" in business, the Internet has leveled the playing field. Sure, big companies such as Google and Yahoo have millions of dollars to spend on advertising campaigns and product development. But did you know that it is possible to make money on the Internet right now, without having to spend a single penny?

It is actually a ridiculously simple method. Here is all you need:

1. Internet access (which you already have otherwise you wouldn't be reading this right now).
2. Good written communication skills.
3. A topic that you are passionate about or have some general knowledge about.
4. A product that fills a need, provides a service, solves a problem, or is in consumer demand that relates to the topic you chose in #3.
5. Good typing skills.
6. The ability to search Google to find discussion forums pertinent to item #3 above.
7. A PayPal account.
8. A checking or savings account (optional, for use with PayPal).
9. A set amount of free time per day. Anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
10. An e-mail address.

Okay, now that you have all of the above 8 items accounted for, what do you actually need to do in order to start making instant Internet income today? If you follow the steps enumerated below, you will be well on your way to generating income instantly. With a little bit of luck and perseverance, you could be earning your first dollar today if not in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

How much money can you expect to make using these steps? The answer depends entirely on you. You will get out of this business model what you put into it. Basically you need to put in the time and the effort. The more you put in, the more money you will make, more quickly. You could be making a few dollars every few days or you could be raking in hundreds of dollars per day, depending on how well you can adapt this technique to suit your personal ambitions to make money online for free.

So what do you actually need to do?

In a nutshell, you will participate in online discussion forums on the Internet while passively advertising a particular product or service from which you will derive income from commissions for each sale. This is commonly known as affiliate marketing. If put into practice properly, you could literally be making money within hours after you get started. Essentially, you are getting paid to discuss various topics of interest with other people on the Internet while promoting a product or service. This is not the same as spamming because you are not writing advertisements for your products. You are engaging in lively discussions on the Internet with other people and passively or implicitly inviting others to check out your product or service. A more specific name for this type of affiliate marketing is forum marketing. And because participation in most forums is free, there is absolutely no advertising cost!

It is really that simple.