Can ClickBank Replace Your Job?

I saw one of the AdSense ads showing that proudly proclaimed Affiliates: $537 per day – Quit your job with ClickBank.

Wait a minute – I hope you aren’t thinking you could go quit your day job so you can be an affiliate marketer. If so, here is why I recommend that you don’t:

* Affiliate marketing is volatile – You have no way of knowing where the market is going to go in six months, a year, or five years. Just because you managed to make $5,000 last month does not mean that its going to stay that way. Websites fluctuate in traffic, popularity, and relevance all the time- Ive had sites that were making $200 a day drop to less than $10 a day for seemingly no reason. It will take work, patience, persistence, and a bit of ingenuity to ensure that your income continues to grow. Until you’ve got $10,000 in a bank account and all of your expenses paid, do not quit your day job. Why throw away a solid income for hopes and dreams?

* Affiliate marketing is competitive – Were talking about a business where you wont even be able to tell your friends or family what your websites are. Any competition that you bring up inadvertently could be taking away from your income, and if you are spending money to make money (PPC advertising, for example), that can really take its toll on your profits. Unlike the job landscape in your area, affiliate marketing can be done from anywhere in the world. Are you comfortable having competition from people in Thailand, Brazil, India, China, the UK, the United States, Canada, and any other internet-enabled nation? If not, stick to your day job.

* Affiliate marketing is fast-paced – Once you have your marketing campaigns going and the traffic starts coming in you are either going to be making money or not. There are no wait times, rest periods, of times when you can kick back and take it easy. This is a business that runs 24/7.

All of that being said, I should mention that Im not a complete hypocrite for working full time as an affiliate marketer. There are many reasons why you should take up affiliate marketing full time:

1. Affiliate Marketing is SO Lucrative. In no other business can you make over $500 the day you start. I’ve seen a little eight page website with a few images make over $10,000 in profit in less than four months. Finding a way to help people do what you want them to do can provide absurd profits.

2. Affiliate Marketing changes daily. It is a new game from day to day. The challenge of trying out new things and seeing what works or doesn’t means Affiliate Marketing can be an exciting business. Once you see how much sales methods and marketing techniques change on a day to day basis you may become hooked. And you could end up running away from the competition.

3. Talk about FUN! It is hard not to get a thrill out of Affiliate Marketing. I get up, go work out, come home, work on my marketing, check my bank account and grin all the way to the bank. All the while knowing I’m being paid to sleep or go to the park which really makes my life.

In truth, an offline job provides steady reliable income. Continue to supplement your offline income while growing your Affiliate Marketing income. When the day comes that your are making more than $8,000 a month online, stick with the day job.