How does one get into an affiliate program?

In the business world many individuals will want to become an affiliate of some type of organization. In researching the way to do this, it would appear the process is relatively easy, one simply goes to the webpage of the affiliate of which it is desired to become a member of and then an application is filled out, a fee is paid and then you will receive an approval or disapproval within a certain amount of time via email or mail depending on the organization.