I know alot of people find displaying specific ads of various companies through their site to be more beneficial than adsense, but don't want to handle companies' money. So here's a technique I'm using on Patrick's Watch List. I registered at Linkshare, which is a site that handles tons of different affiliates. There's an iTunes, Netflix, Overstock, Sharper Image etc. affiliate program that you can join from Linkshare plus hundreds more. So, instead of contacting various companies and arranging to advertise them on the site, I just took these automated companies and placed them in a revolving ad position on my site. Try it! www.linkshare.com
I do the same thing, only with Comission Junction. It really makes using affiliates a lot more convenient.