EQUTE — Projections from the marketing research company Forrester say that affiliate marketing will continue to thrive in the down economy.

Their projections say that the affiliate business will grow in double digits in 2010 and become a $4 billion industry by 2014. Most of this revenue will be paid to affiliate marketers, though affiliate networks will continue to grow.

The research says that PPC and search marketing will continue to be the dominant venue for affiliate marketing campaigns — social media isn’t expected to grow much at all. Industries favoring affiliate marketers will be financial institutions, retail stores and online education, according to the Forrester report.

This shouldn’t be a big surprise to anyone in the industry, but such projections could help foster an environment where businesses will think more about letting their brand loose for affiliates. As the industry continues to work out the kinks — flogs, shady re-bills, garbage products — with help from Oprah and the FTC, it will be even more attractive to bigger brands.

So keep up with your affiliate marketing, this skill set could be priceless when big businesses figure it out and actually start spending good money on good affiliates.

Thanks a lot to Geno Prussakov over at AM Navigator for putting out some key numbers from the pricey ($499) report.