What is an Affiliate Network?

You could try to go and find each individual website you want to promote, try to setup a deal with them and then become their affiliate but that would take a lot of time.
This is where the affiliate networks come in. Affiliate networks are companies that facilitate the “network” or relationship between the companies and the affiliates (you). Affiliates (Industry term: Publishers) sign up for the affiliate network and instantly have access to thousands of companies  (Industry term: Advertisers) that want you (affiliates) to promote their business. You can pick through any number of these companies to promote.
This instant access to hundreds or sometimes thousands of companies is the true power of being a part of an affiliate network. But… the benefits don’t stop there. You never deal with the individual companies directly. Instead, you always deal directly with the affiliate network. This way you really only have one point of contact.
Finally, the other major benefit of the affiliate network is the payment terms. Affiliate networks usually pay their affiliates way faster than a direct company. Instead of waiting 60+ days to be paid (net 30 or even net 45), you can often get paid biweekly or weekly after a small earning threshold. For example, many networks will
set you on weekly wires if you start generating $1000 per week or more in commissions.