May 26th, 2009 
This post is a bit of a rant, but I also feel it is a very important thing that many people looking to get into the affiliate business don’t even pay attention to…
First off, realize that you aren’t going to become a millionaire overnight, in fact, you most likely won’t even make money for your first couple months of trying affiliate marketing… I know that there are tons of products and services out there that promise to make you 5,000, 20,000 or even 50,000 dollars a month if you buy their product or service, but the bottom line is that most people will never make anywhere near that kind of money because they expect it to happen overnight.
When you are first starting out you need to sit down and make a plan, you need to make an ad spend budget and you need to stick with it. You need to do some research, find out what others are promoting, talk to some affiliate managers, etc. Basically get to know what it is you are going to be doing, because believe it or not, most people will simply sign up for a popular network like Market Leverage, pick an offer and try to promote it by throwing a ton of money into Adwords, Yahoo, or MSN.
Don’t fill up your ad accounts with credit cards, you are taking a HUGE risk by doing so, skip some of the extras in your life (five dollar cups of coffee) and use that money instead! Once you actually get a niche making some solid earnings, then that is a different story!
You need to realize that you are probably most likely going to lose money for your first couple of months and you need to plan accordingly to that! You need to come up with a budget of how much you can spend, even if means you can only spend a 100 bucks a month. You have to start somewhere and build up!
You also need to make sure you understand and know how the niche you are promoting works. How can you promote a product or service if you don’t even know what the heck it is or does???
Pay attention to what other affilaites are doing in a niche, if there are a billion affiliates using review style landing pages to promote weight loss and one affiliate using a fake blog, why in the world would you start with a fake blog as a landing page? Pay attention, jot down what you see, and make a plan!
The bottom line is that unless you come spend some time figuring out where you want to get to and how you are going to get there and do some research and then make a plan, you will probably fail horribly in this business…
Popularity: 15% [?]
Related Posts
Don’t Let a Recession Kick Your Butt Part One
Over 9,000 Dollars in Free Cash & Prizes
Do You Have a Long Term Strategy for Your Affiliate Business?
Loading ...
Great suggestions! It is so important to know what you’re getting into whenever you start a new business, and essential to have a plan. There’s no quick, easy, lazy way to make a million- if there was, wouldn’t everyone be rich?
Very true Dina, and I’m glad you stopped by! You are so correct, but so many so called gurus try to trick people into thinking that there is a quick, easy, lazy way to make a million!
I made the mistake in the past of throwing too much moeny at it that I didn’t have.
I don’t really have the budget for PPC right now but really do want to get into it again
Its difficult to not fall under the allure of a “quick money” advertisement if you catch my drift. Its really not like that of course, and those who were a bit naive quickly learn that. Making a plan or having some sort of planning method is a pretty vital thing, and I say that not only for online business but any business really, even the business that is your school. And I absolutely agree with you and often implore people not to go the whole credit card route.
-Randy
Great advice. It took me literally about a year to figure this out and the sooner you realize that if you want to do anything, and do it well, you have to make a plan.
Everyone should have at least a 1 year plan. Start small and progress to a 5 year plan.
What are your weekly goals?
what are your monthly goals?
What is your LONG term plan or business model? etc.
Just some things to think about…
Great post.