bobothecat - 10:08 pm on Mar 12, 2007 (gmt 0)

Affiliates? can you really make a living?

Really depends upon what you call a living. I'm sure we all have different standards.

I've been doing affiliate-style marketing for the past 11 years and average over $250k (US) each year... which is cool since I have no one else to share it with ( no staff/employees/etc ) ... been there done that in previous businesses - no fun. Having fun at what you do is very important... otherwise you'll probably fail because of boredom. ( unless you sell ).

I've also sold online businesses because I was 'bored' with them... then took the money and used it towards making new sites that where fun... and taking a break and having some offline fun.

All in all I've made a few million, and hope to continue having fun for the next 13 years. ( I plan to retire at 50... then let the sites act as free money from there on out ).

Making serious money in the affiliate world requires a lot of patience, time, and hard work ( at least in the begining ). I'd suggest you find a niche you're comfortable with, then find out who your competition is... then figure out how you can serve the client/customer better... then prepare for the fight and hope you win.

The fun part is making $500-$1000 a day and not even 'working'. It's neat to come back from vacation and see that I was paid while 'having additional fun'.

Please no sticky mail as to what I do, how I do it, etc... That would require a very hefty consulting fee so that I could retire at 40 ;)