April 4th, 2009 
Recently I’ve been doing consultations with a pupil of mine, whose will remain nameless, and he’s asked me this questions several times throughout our discussions, talks, consultations, etc… That question is the one I posed in the title of this blog post.
Is Pay Per Click becoming too difficult for a new affiliate marketer to enter and be successful for long term. When I say Pay Per Click in this post, I’m talking about the traditional context which would mean using one of the top three search engines. That would be either Google, Yahoo, or MSN in order to send traffic to your landing page/offer…
My first reaction was very quick and my response only took a second…Absolutely not! I replied almost amazed that he would even ask me that! I then proceeded to tell him my story that I’ve probably told him 15 times by now! (haha sorry bout’ that!) I told him that I got laid off from a steel mill, was getting ~100 bucks a week unemployment and started in this business and I’ve grown it to a full scale business that provides a very modest 
full time income for part time work! (Okay yeah I admit it…I like to brag just a little)
Anyways, after thinking about it for a while, I realized that my story is now a little over 3 years old and that in internet time that means it’s very… very… outdated! O.o So my mind started going about a mile a minute thinking and wondering that if I was in this guys shoes would I be able to create a full time income like I did in the past with very little start-up money.
Then my thoughts got worse…I started wondering if I had been given this guy false hope…and leading him on…not intentionally but just because of what I’ve seen happen in my own life…
After thinking about these things for a little while, I finally started to think about the good stuff as well. I’ve helped over 50 people (that I know of) get started in this business that are now making a full time income using affiliate marketing. I’m not saying this to brag and in fact some of these were years ago, however, a lot of them have been more recent. Again I’m not saying this to brag, but instead I’m saying it to say that YES I do still believe that it’s very possible to make a ton of money in this field even if you have very little to get started with.
Do I think that affiliate marketing has gotten harder? With the three major search engines yes! However, there are tons of new opportunities out there that when I started weren’t. Things like Facebook, Myspace, etc that people are blowing it up in! These are things that are still considered new and in their infancy and they should be exploited as much as possible for as long as they can be, however, I still believe that the three major search engines are where most of your income and stability with come from in affiliate marketing and while it may be harder to learn the ropes and get started and become profitable, once you do it, this thing becomes a heck of a lot easier!
So, don’t discount AM and think it’s a thing of the past and that it’s only for those that have already become profitable because I know several people that have went from “rags to riches” in this business and have done so recently!
Sorry that I kinda rambled a bit in this post, but I just felt my readers could use a little encouragement! There are still people making a killing in this business! Don’t Give Up!!!
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Hey Derek, good to see you post again, Hope things are going well. I’m glad you think people can still make it in this business. Some days just get so frustrating. With all of the options available about what to do with the products, niches, landing pages, tracking, search engines, ads, etc, it sometimes seems impossible to hit the right market with the right options and make a killing. But, thanks for the encouragement, your blog is great!
Hey Mary, thanks, glad to be posting again. Things are going okay, I’ll probably do an update post here in a couple days, I’ve said on the blog several times that I was back, but then I disappeared again, the divorce is going rough, anyways, I don’t want to say anythign until I’m sure this time.
Also, I understand that things get frustrating and seems almost impossible, but with things getting harder with search engines there are also plenty of things getting easier, tracking has never been easier with the release of tracking202 and now tracking202 pro!
Also there are other tools that have helped advance affiliate marketing and made things easier for new affiliates! I may just have to do a post on common used tools that I use and that would help any new affiliate marketer!
Hi Derek, very good post and it is something I’ve been thinking about. I’m one of those struggling affiliates and have to take some time out of PPC to build up some funds again to try again. I will start very small and very slow this time. It’s good to hear some confirmation of my belief that it is still possible to make it in ppc affiliate marketing and I hope to prove that right soon. Hope everything goes well with your personal stuff.
Well, I encourage you to hang in there, because it is still very much possible to make a ton of money in this business!
Thanks Derek…. gives hope to us little guys
Part of me wished that I had jumped into PPC as soon as I started thinking about working online!
Yeah, I wished the same thing though when I started, I tried a ton of stuff before I got into PPC affiliate marketing…but…better late than never!
Thanks D for the good news.
The problem with most newbies is information overload.
How do we find the right techniques for PPC..there seems to be many
styles to approach PPC.
Hi Juice, I had this same problem. I think part of it, is finding a method and sticking with it. For me I am trying 3 or 4 methods right now, and just pumping out more and more campaigns. There are so many options though it can get confusing. The one thing though, I have always heard is to keep making campaigns, test, test, test. I think it’s the best way to learn. But I’m still looking for success too, so I hope this is all true.
Thanks Mary and I believe my first campaign will be a success because I’m a semi-expert in this niche.
Mary is exactly right Juice, you have to find a method that works for you, I understand that it can be Information Overload, however, the plus side is that sometimes certain techniques just don’t work for people, however, since there are several you can really pick the best one for your style and your talents!
If you don’t give up and put your effort and passion into a business it for sure will become successful.
The real trick in affiliate marketing will be to utilize PPC in ways that are a little less common. I’m thinking site targeting, rather than just search PPC and Content PPC, in regards to Adwords.
Also, use tools available to you, some for free, some cost very little but pay off big time. Affiliate Espionage is one that I’ve used and had great luck with, and costs little more than an extra value meal.
Lastly, I think that niche research will become even more important as competition raises and buyers get smart. I’ve found my search traffic becoming increasingly specific to long tail keywords, where once it was insignificant and focusing on broad terms was necessary.
Well you are correct Chris, while I say PPC is still awesome for making money in, new affiliate still need to realize there are other ways and they need to work on trying out some new stuff as well!
Yes, it is difficult for me as I’m a newbie in affiliate marketing.
In retrospect as an affiliate marketer who’s finally been able to experience some success over the last few months PPC marketing is an absolute bitch to get into.
At a minimum you need a good knowledge of:
- Web Design (HTML, CSS and a little PHP)
- Tracking & Testing
- A Black Belt In Adwords.
- And a good working knowledge of conversion principles and copywriting, both to write your own pages and to make informed decisions about which offers to promote and which ones to stay away from.
Now of course you can outsource landing page design to someone, but that brings up 3 problems. Number one is you’re going to have to know how to edit it anyway for split tests (you suck as an affiliate if you don’t split test). Problem number two is 99% of web designers wouldn’t know a landing page that sells if it slammed them in the groin. And problem number 3 is the fact that many starting PPC affiliates are poor as crap and can barely afford adwords, paying for landing pages makes things a whole lot worse…
That being said, it’s all worth it in the end. If you have the dedication and perseverance to never give up and learn the necessary skills, you’ll be rewarded like crazy for your efforts later in the future once you’ve finally found what works for you.
Thank for the great post Derek.
PPC is a dangerous methods for newbie without proper guide. I dont mean newbie cannot used PPC method, but you need to choose the correct PPC techniques and ready to burn some money to try those techniques and when you find the correct techniques just make sure to focus.
I am a newbie to internet industry. How should i earn money in Affiliates please help me Derek.
Interesting point. I also newbie for ppc affiliate marketing. I think PPC is difficult for newbie without guidance.
Really nice post. I always though going in PPC would be good but I just don’t have the time for it. It is hard for sure.