Sponsorship, as it is mostly understood today, is about money. A sponsor is a person or a group that provides funds for an activity, especially a commercial organization that pays all or part of the costs of putting on a concert, sporting event, etc., or a business firm that pays the costs of a radio or television program in return for advertising time. We've all heard 'We'll be back after some messages from our sponsors' on our favorite news program, or have seen the yahoo logo in sporting events. Sometimes it's even difficult to see the actual sporting event, because all there seems to be on the screen are the logos of sponsors like Coca Cola, IBM, Quaker State….

The other form of sponsorship we find in all kinds of organisations, private, public or commercial; organisations that require some kind of membership, stated or implicit. The sponsor is supposed to help the newcomer to find his way around the organisation, teach him how the job gets done, introduce him to other members, make him feel welcome, show him the tricks of the trade, in short, orient him. We find the sponsor in sport clubs, Alcoholics Anonymous, Rotary International and Affiliate programs on the Internet. Sometimes you may pick your sponsor yourself, sometimes a sponsor is assigned to you. "Your sponsor is ……” sounds kind of reassuring, doesn't it.

The word 'sponsor' comes from the latin 'spondere', which means "to promise solemnly”. According to the Collins English Dictionary it refers to a person who undertakes responsibility for the actions, statements, obligations, etc., of another, meaning the sponsee, as during a period of apprenticeship; he is the guarantor for that persons actions.

In business terms, mainly in network marketing and Internet affiliate programs, the sponsor is the person 'under' who you joined the organisation. You found the company you are with now either through his marketing efforts, or you were personally invited by him. Whichever way it was, and whatever company you are with, your sponsor makes money out of your efforts. That's the way it works. He gets a cut of your sales commission, or an override or a group bonus or however it's called, it varies greatly from company to company. And as in all network marketing companies or affiliate programs, the 'real' money is in sponsoring new people, meaning that sooner or later, you will turn into a sponsor yourself.

What makes affiliate programs so hugely attractive and successful is precisely the potential for 'residual income' that comes from sponsorship. That's where the big bucks are. You work once and get paid for a lifetime. The whole Sinatra and Presley clans are financially secure probably for some generations to come because Frank and Elvis did a superb job once, and keep getting paid for it. Every time one of their songs is played on radio or sold on a CD, the cash register rings for them.

Now, we don't have to sing in order to earn residual income. What we are doing is duplicate ourselves, teaching another person how to become successful, so that our sponsee can teach his sponsees how to be successful, so that they can teach their sponsees how to be successful……. If you are with a good company, this will inevitably turn into a win-win situation for everybody involved, affiliates and company alike.

Yes, it is important that the company you join up with in order to make extra money on the Internet provides you with high quality products and plenty of marketing tools.

But far more important is that your company provides you with a high quality training program, so that initially your sponsor can get trained, so that he may train you. You want to get to a point where you are the teacher, teaching others how to make money and be successful, and for that you need to belong to a company whose number one priority is training and the tools necessary for it. They are the companies that prevail and will be around for years to come, thus assuring you of that all coveted residual income. Choose well!