How do affiliates programs make money and are they MLM's?

Affiliates make money by promoting other products. Basically affiliates create exposure of a product by advertising a product, once a customer buys the product through a unique link the affiliate earns a commission from the product owner. There are various techniques of affiliate marketing out there which help advertise the product to targeted customers. Mlm's are similar to affiliate marketing as you promote a product that is not created by you, and also earn a commission based on the number of products sold. Commission payment plans vary from company to company whether mlm or not, but these will generally be disclosed by the companies.