Hi there,
Welcome to 5 Star. 1st want to be sure you know that all REAL affiliate programs are free to join. If there is a charge to join then it's MLM or some other type of biz opp or a scam.
But you do have to drive traffic to your affiliate site and this requires lots of time learning how to do SEO or paying for traffic somehow.
Start with the following thread which gives great advice from other affiliates on the best things to do AND to avoid.
If You HAD to Start Over - What would you do Differently???
If You HAD to Start Over - What would you do Different???
Then read everything you can here. You need to do some learning so you don't lost time and money falling for scams and can get started on a solid foundation.