Joseph Ratliff
<b>5 Star Success Guru</b>
I love it when someone asks this question...
"Can I make $XX,XXX or more per year as an affiliate marketer?"
Why? If someone answers yes to your "Can I make XXk at this?" question...does it really take a "Yes" answer for you to become committed?
I would say that you should become committed first...because success in any business is on you...not the income potential itself. The income potential in any business is solely dependent on the owner of the business.
Affiliate marketing is no different.
And an additional thought, this forum, as large as it is...probably wouldn't exist if there wasn't a solid opportunity for affiliate marketing...would it?
(although I wouldn't use that as a sole factor in the decision to become an affiliate at all)
Look...no one will tell you it's ok to succeed...you have to tell yourself it's ok to succeed.
The reality is, this affiliate business, like 99% of all businesses, has its challenges and its rewards...and tons of income potential with no specific amounts that can be determined for any one person...because it's a business, and not a "job" with a pay scale.
So the question really is, and this is not personal...as many ask the type of question listed above...
Are you committed to make $XX,XXX (or more) in your own affiliate marketing business this year?
Then, a couple of other classic examples of questions asked by those investigating this opportunity...
"How many hours do I have to work per week to earn a substantial income as an affiliate?"
Or...
"Is there a point where I can put this business on 'autopilot' and work less and less?"
Those questions don't have a "cookie cutter" answer that fits everyone...and really it comes back to what you want to put in...if you put in 10 hours of work, it won't necessarily pay you 10 hours worth of dollars and cents.
If putting in 60 hours a week worth of focused effort scares you, starting a business might be scary (any business)...unless you have the personal gifts and experience starting, leveraging, and building a business from the past.
There really isn't a way to answer these questions with an answer that will be specific enough to do you good. Everybody is different, has different resources available etc...to leverage into a business.
You really just need to take a step back, and commit to yourself first. If you put in 30 hours a week behind a computer screen, what could you accomplish? If the need came about to put 60 hours a week in, could you do it? Do you have enough passion to do whatever is required to succeed (not just in affiliate marketing, but any business)?
Notice the common thread with all of those questions... you. It really depends on you.
If you're concerned at the amount of work this business might require to get started, this may not be for you.
Not because it would necessarily "take 60 hours a week behind a computer screen" to be successful, it might, it might not...but being concerned at all with the amount of work required to start and run an affiliate business focuses on 2 very common causes of business failure in just about any business:
1) You might want to be told that this won't require work...or "too much of it" anyhow...to be successful. That mindset will kill your business right away...and quite frankly, it's a very common mindset created by all of the "biz opps" out there (you're not the only one with this mindset).
Bottom line for this point is... it's not work at all, no matter how many hours it takes, if you have a passion for what you're doing.
2) "Is there a point where I can put this business on autopilot..." That to me implies that you might be seeking defining points where the amount of effort you put in starts to go down, and the income continues to go up.
While it's good to think about leverage in this business, and trust me, there are several good leverage opportunities...the effort required to grow any business (not just affiliate marketing) never really decreases, it merely shifts.
And it goes back to point #1, it's not work if you have a passion for it.
Sure, the image of sitting on a beach somewhere with a laptop, and checking your Paypal account for new commissions does in fact exist at certain points that you can control...but the mindset must be adjusted first.
What this all boils down to is...you have to decide for yourself if you're willing to commit your passion to this business first...and then figuring out the rest (hours, income, etc...) really doesn't have as much of an impact (and may not even matter).
And a bonus point for this article... many people think that their income is first focus. If you want to be successful, your mindset has to center around the value you give other people first...and your income is a reflection of how well you do just that.
That bonus point is probably the reason why many people don't succeed in business or in life.
So, what are you going to do today to start giving value to others and start the process of shifting your mindset?
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<img src="http://www.5staraffiliateprograms.com/images/halloffame.jpg" align="left" hspace="10" />
Your words of wisdom were added to the 5 Star Hall of Fame.
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"Can I make $XX,XXX or more per year as an affiliate marketer?"
Why? If someone answers yes to your "Can I make XXk at this?" question...does it really take a "Yes" answer for you to become committed?
I would say that you should become committed first...because success in any business is on you...not the income potential itself. The income potential in any business is solely dependent on the owner of the business.
Affiliate marketing is no different.
And an additional thought, this forum, as large as it is...probably wouldn't exist if there wasn't a solid opportunity for affiliate marketing...would it?
(although I wouldn't use that as a sole factor in the decision to become an affiliate at all)
Look...no one will tell you it's ok to succeed...you have to tell yourself it's ok to succeed.
The reality is, this affiliate business, like 99% of all businesses, has its challenges and its rewards...and tons of income potential with no specific amounts that can be determined for any one person...because it's a business, and not a "job" with a pay scale.
So the question really is, and this is not personal...as many ask the type of question listed above...
Are you committed to make $XX,XXX (or more) in your own affiliate marketing business this year?
Then, a couple of other classic examples of questions asked by those investigating this opportunity...
"How many hours do I have to work per week to earn a substantial income as an affiliate?"
Or...
"Is there a point where I can put this business on 'autopilot' and work less and less?"
Those questions don't have a "cookie cutter" answer that fits everyone...and really it comes back to what you want to put in...if you put in 10 hours of work, it won't necessarily pay you 10 hours worth of dollars and cents.
If putting in 60 hours a week worth of focused effort scares you, starting a business might be scary (any business)...unless you have the personal gifts and experience starting, leveraging, and building a business from the past.
There really isn't a way to answer these questions with an answer that will be specific enough to do you good. Everybody is different, has different resources available etc...to leverage into a business.
You really just need to take a step back, and commit to yourself first. If you put in 30 hours a week behind a computer screen, what could you accomplish? If the need came about to put 60 hours a week in, could you do it? Do you have enough passion to do whatever is required to succeed (not just in affiliate marketing, but any business)?
Notice the common thread with all of those questions... you. It really depends on you.
If you're concerned at the amount of work this business might require to get started, this may not be for you.
Not because it would necessarily "take 60 hours a week behind a computer screen" to be successful, it might, it might not...but being concerned at all with the amount of work required to start and run an affiliate business focuses on 2 very common causes of business failure in just about any business:
1) You might want to be told that this won't require work...or "too much of it" anyhow...to be successful. That mindset will kill your business right away...and quite frankly, it's a very common mindset created by all of the "biz opps" out there (you're not the only one with this mindset).
Bottom line for this point is... it's not work at all, no matter how many hours it takes, if you have a passion for what you're doing.
2) "Is there a point where I can put this business on autopilot..." That to me implies that you might be seeking defining points where the amount of effort you put in starts to go down, and the income continues to go up.
While it's good to think about leverage in this business, and trust me, there are several good leverage opportunities...the effort required to grow any business (not just affiliate marketing) never really decreases, it merely shifts.
And it goes back to point #1, it's not work if you have a passion for it.
Sure, the image of sitting on a beach somewhere with a laptop, and checking your Paypal account for new commissions does in fact exist at certain points that you can control...but the mindset must be adjusted first.
What this all boils down to is...you have to decide for yourself if you're willing to commit your passion to this business first...and then figuring out the rest (hours, income, etc...) really doesn't have as much of an impact (and may not even matter).
And a bonus point for this article... many people think that their income is first focus. If you want to be successful, your mindset has to center around the value you give other people first...and your income is a reflection of how well you do just that.
That bonus point is probably the reason why many people don't succeed in business or in life.
So, what are you going to do today to start giving value to others and start the process of shifting your mindset?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<img src="http://www.5staraffiliateprograms.com/images/halloffame.jpg" align="left" hspace="10" />
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