Are you asking yourself “should I do affiliate marketing?” Affiliate marketing is a great way to generate an income which is completely independent of a job or boss. So if you’re highly motivated to escape a career, or generate more income from your laptop, affiliate marketing might be a good fit for you. Affiliates use all kinds of tactics to build an income online.
Some use a blog and others create videos. Some run advertising and build an email list of subscribers. No matter what strategy you use, you’ll need a good deal of self motivation and the ability to work under your own steam. Affiliate marketing is often touted as a “get rich quick” scheme, but the truth is that it takes a lot to make a consistent income from it.
So is being an affiliate worth it? For those who stick at it, affiliate marketing can be the answer to financial independence and geographical freedom. But many affiliates will quit for a number of reasons:
- They don’t make money immediately – it takes time
- Their time is taken up already from a job
- They aren’t motivated enough to overcome the difficulties
- They don’t get the help they need
- It’s just too difficult!
The affiliate marketing failure rate is pretty high too – around 95% of affiliates quit. So “should I do affiliate marketing?” is a reasonable thing to ask yourself if you’re currently sitting on the fence.
Should I Do Affiliate Marketing? Your “Why”
Your “why?” for doing affiliate marketing needs to be pretty big. Unless you’re self motivated and committed to the journey, with all its ups and downs, you’re likely to join the 95% who drop out. The 5% who eventually turn their affiliate marketing endeavours into a consistent income often stick at it for years. They commit for the long term and are prepared to overcome any obstacles which stand in the way. Good affiliates learn from their set backs and continually improve.
It’s far easier to drop out when you meet your first set back than to use it for “feedback” to push on.
If you have a big “why?”, such as you’re exhausted by your career and can’t tolerate another 10 years of the same, that’s a big enough reason to succeed at affiliate marketing. If you’re just thinking of “giving it a go”, and are quite happy in your job, it might not be for you.
Affiliates spend a fair amount of time learning and growing their businesses. It doesn’t happen overnight but takes some time and consistent effort before things start showing up. I worked for years with affiliate marketing before making a consistent income from it and tried several courses without success.
Should I Do Affiliate Marketing? Already Blogging or Own A Website?
Affiliate marketing is a simple strategy to monetise a blog or website which you already own. Simply find an affiliate program which matches your topic and use their marketing materials on your site. This is an easy win if you already have an online presence of some kind. Partnering with companies who can help serve your audience is a quick way to make money from existing online content which you own.
The quickest way to find programs which match your topic is with a Google search. Type “{your topic} affiliate programs” into any search engine and look for the best program for your audience. Join a program you like the look of and put some banner adverts on your site which have your unique affiliate link in them. When your website visitors click on the banners and purchase something, you can earn a commission. Hey presto you’ve monetised your blog/website – even without any products to sell of your own.
If you don’t already have a web presence, that’s going to be the biggest challenge for you as an affiliate. To earn money as an affiliate marketer you will need to learn how to generate interest in your products. This can be done through content creation or through using paid advertising. Sign up here for a comprehensive affiliate marketing training resource.
Your Marketing Strategy
An affiliate’s marketing strategy can determine whether they are successful or not as an affiliate marketer. Some bloggers take years to achieve success through their writing. Other affiliates use paid marketing and get there much quicker. Your choice of marketing strategy will depend on your interests and abilities and of course you finances too.
With more time you can focus on generating content through a blog or through using videos and uploading to YouTube. Alternatively if time is less available you might opt to build a business using more automation and through running paid advertising and building an email list.
Whatever your strategy is, you’ll need to focus on the long term, keep focused and maintain your motivation, even when you don’t see any results for some time. This is easier if you are able to join a community and get help and support. Going it alone is difficult and you can easily veer off-route and go down many rabbit holes which don’t lead you to a good outcome!
Highly Motivated Or Just A Dabbler?
Are you highly motivated or just a dabbler? Many people try out lots of things but never stick to anything. This makes them a dabbler! Affiliate marketing is something which attracts a lot of people because the potential outcome is incredibly desirable:
- Financial independence & freedom
- Geographical freedom
- Never work for a boss again
- No more commutes
- Choose your own schedule and build your business around your life, rather than the other way round!
But there’s downsides too and building an internet business takes time and effort. At first you will spend a lot of time learning, too. Affiliate marketing is a commitment to your freedom, which if followed through and maintained over the longer term will bring some amazing lifestyle benefits with it.
But during this journey, you’ll doubt whether it works, wonder if you’re doing the right thing and will be derailed many times by setbacks and problems. To overcome all of these and keep moving forwards requires a commitment most aren’t going to accept. They want the “easy win” and when they discover that affiliate marketing isn’t easy, they quit rather than re-investing more time into it and themselves.
So if you’re wondering whether you really should do affiliate marketing, ask yourself some simple questions:
- What is your “why?”? Do you have a strong reason for doing it – financial independence or geographical freedom?
- Are you a dabbler or highly motivated?
- Are you looking for a get rich quick scheme? – if so affiliate marketing isn’t for you
- Will you keep going given multiple set backs and adversity?
If you’re serious about making an income from affiliate marketing, access a free video series to learn more by clicking on the image below.
