Hi Mendeo,
First off, I want to welcome you to the 5Star forum. Definitely a great place to learn and network with others who have similar interests.
Whether or not you need a
system is just a matter of marketing semantics. Replace system with
plan, then it will be a very true statement. Don't get me wrong, it's not impossible to become successful at affiliate marketing without a plan, it's just a bit more difficult and possibly time-consuming.
As Linda already mentioned, Friedmett's A and B is pretty on point. It could turn into a very nice business plan for affiliate marketing. Though, there is a difference between MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) and affiliate marketing. Another name for MLM is pyramid or ponzi scheme.
Some MLMs are legitimate (very few that I've seen), but for the most part, MLMs pay for downline members. The idea is that you recruit ten people to a product/website and they each recruit ten people to a product/website, you'll be rolling in dough. Once you look closely at the set-up, you realize that only those in the upper tiers (i.e. the first few hundred members) will earn a majority of the money because as more people sign up, there will be fewer people
to sign up and the pyramid will cave in on itself. This is the reason many MLMs are illegal and banned by a number of merchants (i.e. PayPal, ClickBank, 2CO, etc.). When getting involved with an MLM, make sure to check it out and that it puts a focus on gaining
customers (besides yourself) and not just building your downline.
You can read more about MLM at the FTC website:
Multilevel Marketing Plans
The Bottom Line About Multilevel Marketing Plans
Affiliate marketing, on the other hand, pays per action (or lead). You're basically acting as a middle man for the merchant and consumer. Whenever a consumer purchases something from the merchant using your special link or referral code, then you receive a cut -- no downline recruiting required, though some affiliate programs are multi-tiered (need to be careful with those also). In my experience, most affiliate programs will not go deeper than two or three tiers, though they do exist.
You can learn more about affiliate marketing by reading Rosalind Gardner's
Affiliate Marketing Handbook or Jeremy Palmer's
High Performance Affiliate Marketing eBooks. Either is great for the beginning affiliate marketer.
Another difference between affiliate programs and MLM is that affiliate programs are usually free to join/maintain an account, whereas a number of MLMs will require you to earn a certain amount of money through product sales (whether you buy them yourself or not).
Hope that lends some light and good luck!
~ Teli