Remember that old saying, “money doesn’t grow on trees”? Contrary to some online opinions, affiliate marketing isn’t a money tree.
You won’t start earning passive income overnight. And you certainly won’t make money if you sit around waiting for your site to grow on its own.
I know the promises out there– “Start making $20,000 a month with affiliate links!” “Make $5,000 in your first month as an affiliate marketer!” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but those numbers just aren’t realistic for a beginner.
BUT I don’t say this to discourage you. The exact opposite, actually. Because when you know what to expect from your first few months affiliate blogging, you can set yourself up for real success.
So, no, affiliate marketing isn’t a money tree. But like a money tree, your affiliate marketer passive income needs a few important things to grow: traffic, tenacity, and time.
1. Traffic
We’ve talked about traffic in this series before and I just can’t stress how vital this is to your success. You will never make a dime if you don’t have people visiting your site.
Part of getting traffic is doing SEO. Another part is accumulating backlinks AKA links to your website published on other blogs. This not only increases general awareness about your site but it also makes Google index you more often, which can increase your ranking.
I recommend focusing only on organic traffic (i.e. traffic you get from Google rankings) at the beginning. If you want to grow even faster, stay tuned for an upcoming post on types of paid traffic.
2. Tenacity
Tenacity means persistence and determination– two qualities you need to succeed as an affiliate marketer.
In your first few months, you may be blogging in obscurity. But that can be good if you’re brand new to blogging. That’s because you get to experiment and work out all the kinks before your customers start rolling in.
Whatever you do, don’t give up on your affiliate blog. Because there will be a hundred other more tenacious people who will come in and scoop up your spot.
3. Time
Earning passive income through affiliate marketing takes time to build into something sustainable. Your affiliate blog is a business. And even the fastest growing companies need a year or two to get off the ground.
SEO efforts can often take four to six months to start bearing fruit. And SEO compounds over time. That means the results you see at 6 months won’t be as robust as the ones you see after a few years.
The best thing you can do while you wait for traffic is to run those A/B tests we talked about last week and hone your writing. That way, once visitors do start tearing down your door step, you’ll be ready for ’em.
The Final Word
The bottom line? Affiliate marketing is not a get rich quick scheme. It is a way to build a stream of passive income that will take time, tenacity, and traffic to build, but will benefit you for years to come.
If you’ve stuck with this series the whole time, congratulations! By now you should feel prepared to build your affiliate blog from scratch. You should have realistic expectations and be ready to work.
And you should have all the tools you need to be truly successful. Good luck and happy writing!
Haley Clark | Freelance Writer 