new_affiliate_marketing_questionWhen you’re just starting out with a new online business, it’s understandable that you’re going to have a lot of questions about the best way to move forward and how to make key strategic decisions for your business.

However, it seems there is one new affiliate marketing question that keeps rearing it’s head:

How much money can I earn in a short period of time?

I’m going to break my answer into 2 parts. First I’ll talk about the “How much?” part of the question, and then I’ll look at the “When?” side of things.

 

How Much Can I Earn?

The answer: It depends.

Like any new business, there are virtually endless possibilities with how to earn money online, and affiliate marketing represents a huge potential market for you to take on. There are endless niches, and seemingly endless programs and products to promote, so instead this question should really be:

“How much can I earn given my current resources?”

If you dedicate yourself to full-time work on one or several different websites, it’s very possible to earn thousands of dollars per month marketing programs online, but you need to understand what some example earnings figures might look like.

Realistically for new marketers, saying “I want to earn $10,000 a month” is a bit of a stretch. Over time, and with practice, this is possible, but it takes experience. If you’re completely new to online marketing, your best bet is to invest in a training program to get you started on the right foot.

When Can I Expect to Earn Money?

The answer: It depends.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but it’s true. I will say that you shouldn’t expect any significant revenue within the first few months of a new website, and while you may start seeing some earnings within the first 3-4 months, it will more likely be 6 months to a year before you start to see significant earnings.

Unfortunately, this fact discourages a lot of people from starting out online, but I think you have to compare the act of starting an affiliate business to the act of starting any other type of business: there is no magic solution to earn you money overnight, but with time and effort you can expect your investment to reward you.

Most new businesses aren’t profitable in their first year. Affiliate businesses can be, but it takes time and effort to make that happen, so understand how to set realistic goals for your business before you begin.

The REAL Question

I know if you’re new to affiliate marketing it’s tempting to ask a question about prospective earnings and a timeline to get there, but for most people, this is absolutely the wrong question to be asking.

Instead, you should think about your business in terms of specific, actionable steps you can take. Whether that’s deciding on a niche, buying a domain or hosting plan, joining a community, or starting to produce quality content, your business is only going to grow when you take action.

So, rather than ask yourself “How much can I earn with this website?” you should rephrase your question:

What can I do today to start building my new business?