Also, wouldn't you need a credit card with a high limit to afford the Google charges since I would imagine that you would be charged for those before you received your affiliate check.
Sincerely
Andla
Over time, there has to be an "above average" input to your money making process that is broadly in proportion with your "above average" earnings.
Just look at any high-earner that you know of, and you should be able to identify their "above average" input - even if it is raw luck.
Is anyone here actually making a lot of money with adwords and affiliate marketing?
I am sure there are, but you can also be sure that to get a lot of money out of it they are putting a lot of something else into it. My guess would be an above average combination of patience, marketing aptitude and raw effort.
You don't need to spend a fortune to make money in Adwords. I do it all the time; the only problem is that it takes time - something I'm short of right now.
As mentioned it is very competitive and unfortunately full of players that have no idea what they are doing. That was one of the frustrating things for me to observe.
I found Adwords a little like gambling, it can be addictive. It can also be fun and frustrating. Here are my tips:
- You also need guts. Depending on the market, some of your competitors will click on you ads. Some to drive you out, others just to take a look at your offer. This can cause your conversion rate to be low in the beginning.
- You need to keep an eye on the ball. You need to watch you ads and see which one is performing better (CTR). You need to track your conversions and make sure you know which program is working.
- Start slow. I know people that jump into Adwords, Overture, FindWhat... all at the same time. They have no idea which program is converting for them.
- Examine the competition before entering the market. Look at their advertisements and the programs that they belong to (not by clicking on the ads). Learn from them before you even start your own program.
- Don't always follow the leader. For example, in one program I was running, all the other advertisers did not run ads over the weekend. Guess what? Sunday night was my second best time of the week.
- Stay away from the obvious keywords (at least in the beginning). There are always ignored phrases and misspellings that you can take advantage of.
- Lurk or participate in forums. For nearly every major market or program there is a forum that specializes in that area.
I read Googlecash in January this year. 6 months later I had quit my job and started doing it full time. It's a very good eBook - the principles are all there and it's ideal if you don't know anything about affiliate marketing (as was the case for me in Jan).
Doing PPC affiliate marketing full-time can certainly be lucrative, I'm looking forward to a nice Christmas. I can't remember the claims from the book but to give you an idea I'd say £1000 profit a day is just about reachable within a year - but you'll have to work pretty hard and set up campaigns for hundreds of companies to get there.
The most important issue when you start is cashflow. I roughly experience a 2:1 return on Google, i.e. spend £1 get £2 in commission. If you start to spend £000s a day and have to wait a couple of months for cheques to arrive you'll need a hefty loan to keep your ads going. There's nothing more frustrating than knowing you can make cash and not being able to run your ads.
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Neil
