The Truth About Affiliate Marketing
It seems like lately everyone is in a rush to open their own website. And quite frankly I don’t blame you, because it’s exciting and it seems like anyone that is making money has their own website. Plus it’s never been easier to launch something, because there is no shortage of out-of-the-box scripts that you can purchase and open up for business quickly.
However, I would like you to be aware that owning your own website has its own set of costs and responsibilities.
Here’s a list of just some of the stuff you have to think about as a website owner:
- hosting
- graphics
- advertising
- paying commissions
- customer support
- programming
- and plenty more
And after all of that, you might not even be making a profit! If you pay attention, you may notice that for every site with thousands or tens of thousands of members, you will find hundreds of sites with little to no members – and I’d guess most are operating at a loss.
And it is for these reasons, that I am a big big fan of affiliate marketing.
The affiliate commissions I earn each year are actually very competitive with the amount of money I earn at some of my websites!
So while having your own website may seem prestigious and definitely a cool experience, if your main concern is making an income and some healthy profits, there is absolutely nothing wrong or disadvantageous about promoting other peoples’ products as an affiliate.
In fact, it can be just as profitable (if not more), than owning your own website.
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Solomon Huey is a Full Time Internet Marketer who absolutely loves revealing secrets about all aspects of online business. Visit his blog and discover his secrets to making money online and running a successful business. You'll can also get his free website traffic report, that reveals his hidden tricks to getting massive amounts of traffic every single day.
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Most traffic exchange users are doing affiliate marketing already, even if they don’t think of it as such… simply by promoting their favorite traffic exchanges. It can be exciting and rewarding, especially when new sites or products launch.
Carol Walczak´s last blog post ..What to Blog About?
Most people are shocked when they come to me and ask what it costs to run a site. They expect they can buy an out of the box script put it up and then just promote it on their own. Honestly these are the sites that don’t make it. What people don’t see is all the hard work that goes into making a site a success and how much time and effort we ourselves put into our sites every day and before we even launch it.
There are connections, partnerships and helping others first that need to be made before you even launch your own site. I find it very surprising when someone I don’t know comes and asks me to promote their new program. When I look at their account they just joined my site or worse never sponsored anyone into my sites.
The first thing I learned and I had to do in order to become successful full time online was to promote others peoples products first as an affiliate marketer and then ask for a small return of favor to promote my new site.
Sean Supplee´s last blog post ..Building A Massive Traffic Campaign For Your Blog
@Carol Walczak – Site owners definitely tend to be active affiliates as well. I know I am! 🙂
@Sean Supplee – I agree with you 100% Sean. I’ve also had similar experiences when telling people all that goes into having your own website.
Another thing I would add on top of what you already stated – For those who want to start their own sites, being a successful affiliate is a good way to test your marketing and advertising skills. You’ll need more than that do well as a website owner, but it’s good to know you have such an important skill.
Anyway, just some more great reasons why I think being an affiliate marketer is an excellent path for making some extra cash online 🙂
@Sean Supplee – You mean I can’t just spend $97 one time and be a millionaire overnight?
John Bell´s last blog post ..Upgrade you numbskull!
Setting up and promoting your own site or service is indeed hard work. A very important thing of getting things done is to build a trustworthy online presence on social media and such. Give and you shall receive. The giving does not always have to be buying/signing up or bringing members in the program. It can be as simple as writing a comment, share a post or give a tip. I have been doing this since I started as a newbie and nobody and I found wonderful friends and contacts that helped my business forward. Human resources and friends that are willing to help and advice you are the best asset you can get. But it takes time to build such relations.
As for owning a site or service, if it is one of the kind that you use a lot like i.e. advertising, url shortners, rotators it is defenately worth considering starting your own. Why? Because YOU are in charge. You may not make much money at starters but you do not have the risk to to certain tasks again because a service stopped. This risk is of course less with long existing established services but still…you never know.
I agree with you Solomon. I am an affiliate marketer too and I use my blog to plug in several affiliate products including safelists, traffic exchanges, viral mailers, and of course business opportunities I joined.
haha John good stuff :p
@Paula van Dun – Fantastic advice Paula and offering helpful tips and advice is something I try to do regularly.
Regarding sites going down or disappearing, that is a good point Paula because it does happen from time to time. This is why I always suggest that beginning marketers start building their lists immediately. Because if a website disappears or becomes inactive one day, you can quickly move on from it with minimal loss.
If you are absolutely serious about getting into site ownership, I do like Paula’s suggestions. I would also suggest picking something you enjoy, because this allows you to be more engaged.
@Thor – Great to hear from an active affiliate Thor. Blogs are definitely a great place to plug in some of your favorite programs.
This is a great post. You have simplified the comparison of ownership to affiliate marketing. I love you admit: The affiliate commissions I earn each year are actually very competitive with the amount of money I earn at some of my websites!
Affiliate marketing can be very lucrative with persistent action.
Catherine White´s last blog post ..Building Momentum For Your Business
@Catherine White – Thanks Catherine, I try to help where I can. 🙂
Looking back, I know I always thought the real money was in site ownership. And don’t get me wrong a lot of money can be made from owning your own site. However the earning potential is substantial in affiliate marketing as well, without all the new responsibilities that come with ownership.So just thought I’d share that with people, glad you found it to your liking!
The potential is so amazing I could not believe it.
@Leo Ward – Haha I’m glad you see the potential. Sometimes I wish I realized it from the start 🙂
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