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4thMarch

Affiliate Marketing On A Tight Budget

Affiliate Marketing really does not take a ton of money to start.

Time and time again, I see people saying that they're saving up thousands of dollars before they even begin affiliate marketing. This is not needed and a big waste of time.

One of the biggest mistakes I see in starting eBusinesses is that people just don't START. Sure you can research and think it all through but when it comes to actually starting, lagging around looking at one research phase to the next or making excuses about wanting to save up some huge sum first is NOT the way to become successful.

Affiliate marketing takes virtually no startup capital. If you don't have enough to cover the little costs that it does take, you're probably not ready to become an affiliate marketer.

Affiliate Marketing Start-up costs: (Rounded up)

  • Joining an affiliate network - FREE (See my favorite list of networks) If you're on a tight budget, you should probably try to run your offers through Incentaclick (Also known as CX Digital) because they automatically pay every two weeks instead of once per month like most affiliate networks.
  • Godaddy '.com' Domain - Use the coupon "OYH3" to get it for $6.95
  • Web Hosting from HostGator - $5
  • Landing page - Start by designing your own, getting a free css template (I know a guy who makes $60,000+ a month still using a $5 generic template), or buy one for around $50 max.
  • Pay per click costs - Start out by using THESE coupons and you'll have end up spending maybe $15 in "account" activation fees and have up to a few hundred in free clicks to use.

As you can see you're looking at no more than $100 to start your first campaign including quite a few free clicks if you use the coupons.

Another great way to get started with affiliate marketing is to put everything on a credit card that pays you back. Cash rewards, mileage points, etc. I run most of my campaigns through a 2% cash back card which has really been GOOD to me. :) Finding one that gives 2% back on all purchases took me a while, but it's possible to find one. Mine is through HSBC Credit Cards.

Starting Campaigns:
For newbies just starting affiliate marketing, I highly recommend starting out with Yahoo Search Marketing. This is because it's quite a lot easier to learn on and understand. Not only that, but it's best for people on a budget because the clicks generally cost a bit less.

Tips for starting a campaign on a tight budget.
- Turn off Yahoo Context Network.
- Bid on lower hanging fruit (Also known as long tail keywords). These include longer keywords such as "California dating online" instead of a keyword like "dating."
- Bid $0.10 to start. If you cant make a profit with $0.10 bids, you probably want to test a different campaign.

Those are just a few tips to get you started.

I plan on making a free affiliate marketing guide for newbies but I will need a couple of weeks before I can finish it. :)

Hope that helps!

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21 Comments

Kiley says 4th March @ 2:33

Wow, I have been with CX for a year now, and I had no idea they paid twice a month! No wonder you and Paul use them so much.

Tom Beaton says 4th March @ 7:15

PPC marketing for an affiliate offer is not something I have done before. I am going to give it a shot today and let you know how I get on. As someone who has never started, the hardest thing I find is choosing an offer to go with. I have no criteria at all for making a decision. Do you generally stab in the dark? Avoid ringtones and dating? Start with ringtones?

rachid says 4th March @ 9:08

$0.10 to start? Sounds a bit low and can probably get your ads only shown on like the 5th page or something.

Chinaboy says 4th March @ 9:19

I am waiting for your free affiliate maketing guide.

Thank you.

tyler dewitt says 4th March @ 13:31

John,

On a new account you can not bid .10 for dating keywords your going to pay very high probably 2.40 plus from my experience my bids started out extremely high with a great quality score and as time went by I slowly decreased them.

tyler dewitt says 4th March @ 13:34

When I mean time went by I had to spend a *lot* to get lower clicks.

George says 4th March @ 14:33

How much did you start with jonathan?

tyler dewitt says 4th March @ 15:34

George,

Great Question, I would like to know the same thing…

I know in the niche I’m targeting right now I was paying super high for clicks, but my cost has been going down as I put more money into it as time goes by…

I think some people get lucky and start profiting right off the bat, but with a new account I doubt thats the case

Jonathan Volk says 4th March @ 15:46

George: I started out with very little. I used to get paid minimum wage working part time. I had a few thousand saved up in the bank when I began affiliate marketing.

For those who think that you need to start with a huge amount and then gradually lower to less costs, you’re missing the whole point about bidding on long tail keywords.

If you’re on a budget, only bid on the long tail keywords and start with low bids. Less competition = lower bids.

Hope that helps!

tyler dewitt says 4th March @ 16:06

Jonathan,

Yes long tails are most certainly better, but really though I mean you know as well as I do to get cheap clicks even from long tails on a new account or new keyword list your going to have to pay super high then slowly bid down (specially on new accounts).

Lets take Seattle Dating Services for example which is a long tail of course if someone was to create a new account with a good matching ad and relevant keywords on there landing page which of course it would have to be a dynamic web page or something, but anyways use that keyword with everything relevant along with a ok or great quality score you will still be paying super high it could take a good 500-1000 dollars before you even start to break even, so therefore someone could just slowly decrease bids and insert money into there account to build there history through adwords.

tyler dewitt says 4th March @ 16:09

As times goes by and paying very high for clicks eventually you will start to get good deals on clicks I have a campaign I launched I was paying 2.40 per click with a great quality score on a new account which of course my click cost has went down 100 percent since then, but I was paying super high in the beginning, but as my account started collecting data I could slowly start to decrease my bids, but at the same time ultimately keeping the same position which is number 1-3.

tyler dewitt says 4th March @ 16:11

Jonathan,

Alls I’m saying is you probably confused people when you said the following below.

“Bid $0.10 to start. If you cant make a profit with $0.10 bids, you probably want to test a different campaign.”

You said to test a different campaign, but the facts are no one is going to get that low of a click cost for the keyword California Online Dating specially on a new account and with no adwords history for that particular keyword…

I mean really dude think of it I’m not saying you don’t know what your doing by any means, so don’t take it like that, but honestly someone is going to pay way higher then that in the beginning until they collect data.

Jonathan Volk says 4th March @ 16:25

Tyler: You’re talking about Adwords. In my post I mentioned those on a tight budget should start with Yahoo Search Marketing. Saying it’s not possible is incorrect as I have done it numerous times.

Trying to start a campaign with a low budget in Adwords is MUCH much more difficult. :)

Hope that clears that up!

tyler dewitt says 4th March @ 16:37

Jonathan,

I mean really if you get get that low of clicks through adwords on a new account for that particular keyword then you have some type of special privileges because I have to spend a ton to break even then eventually start profiting.

tyler dewitt says 4th March @ 16:41

Jonathan,

Hey also sorry about the IM the other day I thought you was someone else…

LOL you probably have no clue what I’m talking about LOL

Pete says 4th March @ 20:55

Jonathan,

Great advice once again.

3 questions about YSM:

1. Advanced or Standard match?

2. Do you usually have the Content Network turned on?

3. Do you mostly use a different landing page for each adgroup within a campaign?

thanks,

Pete

Deepak says 5th March @ 2:54

hello john…i m waiting for your free affiliate marketing guide very desparately.Also can affiliate products be promoted through free blogs?I m just asking.

Gadget says 5th March @ 3:55

1and1.com has nice offers if we buy hosting package from them: free voucher for Microsoft adCenter, Adwords, & Yahoo Search Marketing.

Waylen says 7th March @ 15:15

Jonathan,
Thanks for another great post! I’ve been reading your blog for about 3 weeks now and enjoying it a lot. You have a great attitude regarding affiliate marketing, goals, and other things, I appreciate that. I am putting together my first YSM campaign at the moment. Im a total friggin Noob but hey you gotta start somewhere, and start I am. I just signed up with you on Azoogle & Incentaclic I think it was, waiting for the app to be approved. I’ll let you know when I hit $100 a day thats my first goal. Thanks Jonathan you Rock!

noobx3 says 11th March @ 22:10

Non of the networks will accept my application because I don’t have a website yet. I dunno how to build a website yet. What to do?

Affiliate Teachings says 7th May @ 10:19

Great Post Jonathan
Everything you mention above is spot on - I started my affiliate marketing journey without spending a cent.

I signed up to an affiliate program, set up a few squidoo, blogger blogs and hubpages… building a little network and driving traffic mainly through article submissions. So without spending a cent I made $600 my first month - not bad hey!!

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