Internet Marketing: Are You an Affiliate?

Affiliate Marketing is one aspect of internet marketing. It's all about selling other peoples' stuff and it is a great idea-if it works well.

Is affiliate marketing working well for YOU? If so, you no doubt understand why. And we would be interested to have your comments on this page, if you'd be kind enough to chime in! If success has eluded you, are you interested to learn how to make it profitable and productive? Or, like so many others, will you throw your hands up and surrender?


People will wail, "It didn't work for me. I tried it but I gave up because I couldn't do it!"

Giving up is understandable but will not help you achieve profitability and it's not really necessary. Let's examine some of the elements of affiliate marketing and see if we can help you figure out what WILL work.

First and foremost, you must know that it is not the affiliate marketing that works; it is YOU.

If you know anything about real estate you have heard the expression "Location. Location. Location." Location is EVERYTHING in real estate. With internet marketing in general and affiliate marketing in particular the cry is: "Preparation. Preparation. Preparation.

Ben Franklin said "By failing to prepare, you prepare to fail."

People tend to want instant gratification so they think that by doing anything, even out of sequence, they will surely hit their mark. Think, "Ready. Aim. Fire." People who are unprepared are likely to fire first and fail to aim or be ready.

Would-be affiliate marketers would be wise to lay out long term goals with short term goals for every step that needs to be taken. Beyond that, there need to be rewards in place for the completion of both long term and short term goals.

SIDEBAR: Make the rewards fit the goals. For example, if you finish three things on your Task List, you get to do the Happy Dance and meet a friend at the coffee shop. When you earn the dollar amount you have set for yourself, you get to turn cartwheels in the yard and spend a day at the beach. Or you get to buy a new book dealing with your niche. I'm sure you get the idea. END SIDEBAR.

Here is a great idea from one of the Top Gurus in affiliate marketing:
He uses a white board to post his goals and his tasks. As each one is accomplished he erases it, does the Chicken Dance, and eats waffles at his local hangout. For the bigger goals, he eats Chinese. That's HIS thing; what is YOURS?

Don't get your knickers in a twist when you miss your mark. Reset your goal, tweak your priorities, keep at it and prepare like never before!

Commitment is a huge factor in the success of any endeavor. Internet marketing, affiliate marketing is no different in that way. If you are not committed to your preparation and learning and success, who will do it for you? Commitment cannot be outsourced nor can its importance be underestimated.

When you are committed, consistency will be a given. You cannot expect to post on your blog with your affiliate links and then wait a week or a month to re-post. Your lack of commitment and your lack of enthusiasm will be patently obvious to visitors of your site.

There is a great deal more to affiliate marketing than we can cover in this post so you can expect much more in the days and weeks to come. We leave you with the admonition to keep on keepin' on and stay prepared!

We ask for your comments because your experience and wisdom can help others. As always, we are grateful for comments; you are reminded the comments are moderated.

Connie Baum
*The FTC wants me to tell you that if the links in this post are clicked and that results in a sale, I would be compensated. They worry about this much more than is necessary in my case.