I'm bored here killing some time before meeting up with a friend, so I'm going to write a little more than I normally would.
Understand the basic structure of how affiliate marketing food chain works.
-Advertisers- make the "offers" that you promote. These advertisers go to -Networks- to find -Affiliates-, like you, in one convenient spot. That's all you need to know for the food chain for now.
Now comes the important part.
You, the -Affiliate-, go to the -Network- to find offers to promote. The Network pays you for each time someone does something. For example, if they enter their email. You get paid. It's that easy, almost a joke really.
Now the question is, how do you find people to fill out their email ?(or whatever your offer asks you to do). You can either spend some time building a site, or take the faster route: just buy the opportunity to display your offer to these people.
As to where to start? Do you have $500 of DISPOSABLE cash laying around? Go to one of these paid traffic sources and go get educated by the school of hard knocks. If not? Go write articles until you do. Writing articles is stupid easy. You'll be given a topic and a rough format, just go reword some shit someone else wrote and hand it in. It just has to be coherent.
Fuck me, I could've just linked you to cake's guide. Whatever, now go young padwan. Take over the world.