Well, the first thing I'd recommend you
not do is use any PPC advertising until you have a firm understanding of how the system works. I'd recommend anything by
Perry Marshall, a leader in Google AdWords, and there are a number of other ebooks on using AdWords for profit. I personally have
AdWords Miracle and
AdWords Black Book (no longer available) -- both are quite useful, but they really aren't geared towards the absolute newbie.
I'd suggest starting out with an affiliate guide like Rosalind Gardner's
Super Affiliate Handbook (PPC is covered) or Jeremy Palmer's
Affiliate Marketing eBook. I own both and they are extremely newbie friendly, though SAH has a bit more info on working with PPC. Both are affordable and jam-packed with helpful information for someone just starting out in affiliate marketing.
Another route you can try is article marketing. There is something that's all the rage right now called
Bum Marketing (you'll need to sign up via e-mail for the course, but it's free). It explains how you should find long tail keywords, write articles for distribution using those keywords and add your affiliate links (or link to your website as some article sites don't allow affiliate links) in the signature. Interesting and easy read. I'm sure you can pluck a few ideas from it.
I hope that's enough to get the juices flowing. If there was something specific you were looking for help with, let us know and I'm sure someone may be able to help you.
~ Teli