Can you make a living being an affiliate?

[spoerner]

Hey all,
I'm unemployed in Greenland. (Kudos to anyone who gets the movie reference.)
I'm 50 and no one wants to hire this old man. Don't tell me there is no age discrmination. I'e got over 20 years of IT and I can't get a nibble. So it's time for plan B.
So my very important question. Can you make a living do this? How much do you need to get started? What are the best programs?

Thanks,
Jack

PS I'm very computer savy and have done web development for over 10 years. You'd think I'd have no problem getting a job.

 

[jen.bas]

Based on what I've learned from affiliate guides.. clickbank, amazon, ebay and CJ are the ones were we can get lots of good affiliate products to promote.. just need to research more about the target market and which ones are really in demand..

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hey all,
So my very important question. Can you make a living do this? How much do you need to get started? What are the best programs?

Hi Jack and welcome.

With your background you have a big leg up on most affiliates! Most don't know how to build sites when they 1st start. Do you also know SEO and web marketing? If so you'll have an even easier time because one of the biggest issues is being able to drive a lot of traffic.

Yes you can make a living. I know affiliates making over 50K a month, but that's rare. I also know lots of affiliates making $100 a month. Thing is it's not quick and easy to make money at 1st and is something that can gradually build over time as you build traffic. Everyone's results will vary of course.

As far as money - the only thing required is a domain and hosting to start. But if you have money for pay per click advertising and if you invest the time to really learn how to do it right, you can make money quicker than if you try to build traffic with free methods.

Best thing to do to get started is to read the stickies in our newbie forum. Then the MOST important thing to get started is to pick a good niche - one that's not too competitive yet has some interest and products that niche may be interested in. After the newbie stickies head to the niche forum for help with finding and researching a good niche market.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

[Rob_TID]

One thing I am finding with IT guys and web designers is they think that because they know how to build a website or make it pretty, they therefore know how to build a website that sells.

It simply isn't the case.

My advice to you is to buy this book:

Website Optimization: Speed, Search Engine & Conversion Rate Secrets: Andrew King: Amazon.co.uk: Books

It is pretty good. But as someone who can build websites, you need to pay particular attention to the chapter on landing page design and also the one on seo. (The ppc section is too basic, but might give you a start).

In answer to your question, yes it is possible to make a living doing this. Many people do. If you did a bit of writing, a bit of seo consulting, a bit of design work, and build up your affiliate sites, you could probably get a livable wage very quickly.

 

[adidjohari]

Hi Spoerner,

I'm 26 and I work for myself. You can make a living doing affiliate marketing but it will take some time. Consider to also build your own list if you want to make a living using affiliate programs. I'm doing affiliate marketing to make some extra cash and I build my own list to more extra cash.

You can also try to sell a cheap product range from 7$ to 17$. The purpose is to build you a list of eager subscribers and make some extra cash. And then you can make more money in the backend.

 

[Jeff Casmer]

Hi,

There is no question you can make a living at affilaite programs. I got started in affiliate programs and work full time from home. It takes hard work, determination, good planning, and discipline. It also helps if you have a good product...

Take care
Jeff Casmer

 

[fire3fly]

Making a Living as An Affiliate

Making a living with affiliate marketing takes a lot of hard work. It also takes a lot of research and learning about all of the different ways to build traffic, what to sell, and how to sell it.

It can be done.

Carmen

 

[jokenda]

Hi Jack,

Like you, I am in my 50's and unemployed. I call it Semi-Retired. I hope that there is a living to be made as an affiliate since that is one of the avenues I am undertaking. I have been told that the market is wide open but requires much work and determination.

At pressent time I am looking into Hosting as an inexpensive way of setting up my Affiliate sites. I am down to one site at this time but have had as many as 7. The price was my main problem. Well, that and time.

Wish you the best!
Jokenda

 

[ChocolateChip]

Hi there

My answer would be yes - and no! Yes, you can definitely make a living being an affiliate. Lots of people do. But there are some who try it and do not make a living. And incomes vary a lot. I think the thing to do is to start it and see whether you enjoy it. Read everything you can in the stickies to get a better idea as to what it's about and then you need to have some sort of plan as to how you're going to start. And then you need to just get stuck in. There is sooooooo much information and things you could read and learn that you can find yourself just reading and not actually doing anything else. Once you've got a basic idea you need to start to take small steps of action. And it will take time. It's definitely not a "get rich quick" scheme. It takes time and hard work. Which is why you need to enjoy what you're doing. And it can be very addictive!!
Good luck

 

[Niche48]

Absolutely yes, you can make a living as an affiliate but it does take time to build an online reputation where people are willing to trust your recommendations

If you work hard at it and are motivated, you can get somewhere pretty quickly

I suddenly realize that tthat sounded very cryptic

I'll lay my cards on the table and tell you I am onle a part time affiliate marketer. Love my 'day job' and have no intention of giving that up

But even as a part time marketer i am doing...okay

Your current disadvantage is your advantage

You are currently unemployed so that leaves you with a lot of free hours on your hands

Building your campaigns, doing, the research, doing your backlinking, networking on social bookmarking sites and networking sites, participating in forums, building blogs, all the things that go into getting visibility for your business, they all take time. And this is the one thing you do have

You might need to take on a part time job in whatever to support you through the months when you are trying to build things up but if that's what it takes, that's what it takes

Yes the majority of affiliate marketers make peanuts, but there is a small proportion that make enough to live on and some even more

A tip is to avoid spending your money on all those 'i've got the secret' affiliate marketing products
There is a lot of free information out there
Look at this forum, search you tube. you'll be overwhelmed with free study material

All the best

 

[kenpachi]

Hi Spoerner, I am in the same situation as you, except that I am in my 20's. No one wants to hire new grads, they just want people with 5+ years experience. It seems like whatever you have they want the opposite. I'm not very successful yet, but I think the key is to stick to it no matter . That's my approach. Good luck!

 

[shayne54]

We are making a good living from affiliate sales. My business partner and I have been doing this for a little over a year. It started out slow but we are finally able to make a living from it and I actually quit my job this fall.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Congrats Shayne on getting rid of the J.O.B.