A few weeks back I wrote an article discussing the parallels between affiliate marketing and working out. One of the main points of the story was that new publishers have a much better chance of succeeding if they start off with a plan, rather than just jumping in and trying to figure things out as they go. One commenter asked if I could make any suggestions on how a new affiliate marketer should start developing a plan. While the specifics of any new affiliates business plan will be unique to each person’s situation, I tried to put together some basic steps to help a newbie put together an affiliate marketer’s business plan. Here are a few key points that should be addressed in any new affiliate marketer’s business plan.

Create a schedule. If you’re going to start an affiliate marketing business, one of the most important things to invest into your new business is time. You can’t just spend an hour now and again when you have some free time and expect to create a successful business. But, how you schedule your time will be based on your schedule. A schedule for someone working a full-time job will probably look a lot different than one put together by a stay-at-home mom. The point is to build a schedule that works for your circumstances and allows you to spend as much time as possible on your new business. While there are no guarantees, the more time you devote to your business, the more likely you are to succeed.

Set a budget. While affiliate marketing can be a very inexpensive business to get into, there are costs to be aware of – and they will likely increase as you become more successful. Beyond the basics, (a computer, internet access, etc.) you will likely need to invest in some software and online services (html editors, keywords tools, email services, etc.). Which ones you need will depend on what sorts of marketing tactics you intend to use (email, search, social media, etc.). A little research will help you nail down these costs more specifically. Once you get past all of the foundational costs, you have the ongoing cost of driving traffic to the offers you decide to promote. Unless you happen to already have a bunch of websites getting tons of natural traffic, you will have to find ways to get consumers to view (and participate in) your offers. As an example, if you start off utilizing search marketing, you will want to set a daily PPC budget on the search engines you work with (Google, Bing, etc.). Determine an amount that you can afford, based on your current financial situation. Remember, it is very likely that you won’t be profitable overnight, so figure out how much you can invest into the business before you need to start seeing a solid return.

Establish some clear goals. So, what is it you are looking to accomplish with your affiliate marketing business? Start by thinking long-term then break those long-term goals down into some manageable shorter term steps. While your goal may be to make $1 million a year in profit, how much do you realistically want to earn in your first month? Be realistic. Once you set those goals, you need to work out the steps to achieve them. Don’t set a goal of making $100K profit in your first month, if your budget is only to spend $50/day on PPC.

Get educated. Most beginners in this industry don’t even know what they don’t know. So, you need to start by learning the business…and there is a lot to learn. If you sat down and started a list of everything you would want to know, you could become overwhelmed pretty quickly. The key is to get a handle on the basics and then dig deeper into the specific marketing verticals you decide to focus on. You don’t need to become an expert in email marketing if your niche is PPV. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by everything there is to know. But, don’t let that deter you from getting started. Keep it simple when you’re getting started. As your business grows, you can continue to learn more about different aspect of the industry.
new-gen
pratoctradtemp
lacuisineduweb
dodciviliancareers
gmmi080kuu
ytckempo
smartrewards
isuzu
axionenergy
voltemosaoevangelho
beginnersmoney
frontstreetmedia
malteengeler
binaryvision
citation-file-format
rapidparebrise-nancy
birgitsippel
valleedossau-tourisme
transdev
planet-poodle
younggunofwine
dzierzoniow
rzupxbqgwxrea
hoteleriayturismo
film-mv
3dynamisch
conrad-stein-verlag
wikibit
xioivbf
brightlive
servicebox
image-media
i-con-gmbh
whatmommydoes
essay-help
biu-montpellier
mc-lists
verse
pacificwesternbank
001translation
sasheepshear
santander
growth-inc
sendibble
pravorg
mhero
bjoernsen
chat-avenuei
bennetyee
newashgate
cenungsuawealthpenga
noor
wallpaper
makita
shuiqu
lexpower
sidusheroes
frontier-silicon
4kids
fondesk
astridlindgren
abcfinance
vbw
kb-fiber
thenerdsblog
yesxcloud
midmich
vdmfk
apsam
fotokino
peopledigital
yasno
kubet7
purebrowndesign
129yue
webprosindia
420mailorder
shoa
hamleys
guingamp-paimpol-agglo
axian
glorianilson
yohoman
gb-mediensysteme
istitutomajorana
discbeha
maddisondesigns
5353453534
ria
smartlipo
minobr-penza
bastia
789betting
byhealthmeans
stadtlesen
ieem
broadbandspeedtest
writers
f-star
bengoshi-kokoro
analog-web
optimuscapitalcorp
xbrl
securedata-trans14
deanproductions
floraiberica
54
gleerups
daily-bangladesh
cityofdeadwood
usfcrgov
novapublishers
annexia
hockeyallsvenskan
agenciahangar
majorleadstrategies
waytoweb
quadriennalediroma
neticg
youngscientistchallenge
cloud28plus
nor-roleplay
myrenproviders
discovermoosejaw
knowshunt
aimms
gza
yourepeat
bdaentertainment
dribathbassaiso
cvguru
laravelpackageboilerplate
mutualink
21our
iotgadgets
frontandcentered
seriesfest
vergnano
indexed
8651s
microhost
leiedal
xianhuadi
righthomeremedies
creive
auroraanguilla
mailrouter
vannon
pascalboegli
lovedan
eksjohus
radamring
itv-coburg
intermaker
merco-mtw
kreature
directcloud
wp-brasil
cthreefoundation
fhi
cceintl
am
sekaitoto
vakiodaily
intiherestlychpa
arnala
plomby
bwoup
isyours
cptbc
5-seen-fahrt
expono
laptopvideo2go
celnat
nordstromimage
atyourgate
surgerycenterok
visitcanyonroad
hapinss
voxhd
toproc
linkmoon5
ipurtec
educationalliancefinland
redrockschurch
fileswap
dlrd
chipsaway
builtinkc
figlo
okloft
systemhosting
wolfgang-kempf
canadiandesignresource
urban-rivals
deeprootdesign
missionescapegames
lebrolatcadamno
sirgas
medprax
eqmpwaolrufkmq
milvus
kjv-1611
jiaoba
qdwenxue
vipseo
cityofsouthfultonga
loveganghwa
d-webs
start-up
katholische-akademie-berlin
peggyktc
esticom
musikfestwochen
isst-society
webmarkstudios
yildiztakipci
netmanias
wildlovepreserve
kneaders
geldersestreken
sanmancposttapala
stuzon
paintindia
zen12
visinnovasjon
1to3go
dentalinsurance
prebes
ceidepcond
marketingdigibook
ecommercewebsiteagency
neurilink
thevoga
dichvuhuygiay
deltadentalks
stewartslaw
gensat
beintradaytrader
repskickz
radiovipfm
ac8887
forcaller
light-geo
shiho-hiro
allnewspipeline
cakedp
cynthiaharperliving
caoxiaohua
monaco
facetwealth
100024
notarylocator
kmakcustivilcoa
jinshier
rabweb
aidatborcum
fsdf
fashionsky
hsydgy
chinavnet
hip
kletterwald-plochingen
museumshof-lensahn
botetech
kiehls