Does Doing What You Love Mean The Money Will Follow?
Posted by AC Editorial Team in Affiliate Marketing Wednesday, 10 June 2009 11:03 2 Comments
Sometimes you can build an affiliate business on your passions or hobbies. But sometimes – most of the time – you can’t.
Yet there are several highly visible affiliate marketing courses that still suggest you can build a large content site about your hobby or pet interest, then cash in from related affiliate products and contextual advertising.
Much as we wish this were true today, it’s not. Sure, back in the 90’s, when affiliate marketing was new and growing, it was possible to build a site about almost anything, keep adding pages, and make money through Amazon.com or other merchants.
But those were also the days when Amazon paid much higher commissions on books… and when the search engines weren’t crammed with niche sites by the millions.
Today, if you want to be a success in affiliate marketing, you MUST start with a product. The product should IDEALLY relate to a topic that interests you (for example, board games). Or it should appeal to a market you belong to, with a mindset you can relate to and understand (such as parents of pre-teens). But even then, that’s not enough.
The product must come from a reputable merchant who is committed to affiliate marketing, supports affiliates, and PAYS ON TIME. The commissions have to substantial enough, with enough potential customers, to justify the effort it takes to build a site, get it into the search engines, and possibly build and maintain an optin list.
The good news is that the odds of finding the right product,that pays the right commissions, from the right merchant are growing every day. Contextual advertising is also making it easier to monetize sites that are all about what you love.
But if you don’t start your affiliate business with a product that’s going to pay, everything else will be a long, dreary uphill battle.
So steer clear of gurus who tell you to follow your passions. You wouldn’t invest many thousands in a bricks and mortar store unless you knew you could stock it with PROFITABLE products that would sell well. Think of your affiliate business the same way.
This is a great post, appreciate the honesty and your being up front. Yeah, a lot of people are still preaching to follow your interests …. it is the only way you will make any money.
It would be nice to be able to start a business based on your hobbies, but your right that doesn’t mean that you will make money.
One of the best ways to make money with affiliate products, is through blogs posts. Write a review on your blog and have a link to your affliate product page.