No Better Time Than Now To Start Affiliate Marketing

The way we work is changing.

Although the 9-5 grind still exists, it’s a dying breed. People are starting to realize that there is no reason to work those long hours for someone else’s company when they could be doing what they love, making their own hours, and enjoying life a whole lot more. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably at least played with the idea.

A recent Forbes article (http://www.forbes.com/sites/scotthartley/2012/08/17/the-rise-of-me-commerce/) tackled this topic head-on. It covers everything from the mindset of the individuals who make a go of it online to the kinds of products that are successful with consumers and why they become successful. It’s a great read – I highly recommend that you check it out for yourself.

“With access ubiquitous, consumers demand personalization.”

The central point of it is something that affiliate marketers experience every day: customization. You and I both know that sending a generalized, untargeted, unspecific message to a completely uncurated list isn’t going to generate the best results. As affiliate marketers, our strength is finding qualified leads, people who are looking for the products we offer. We may find them through ad networks that target certain visited pages, or through PPC for certain search terms, or through prospecting or through the myriad of other methods that I’ve talked about previously. But one thing is certain: if the offer isn’t acutely complementary to what the potential customer wants, they’re going to ignore it (and potentially report it as spam or drive down your quality score).

Personalization is what’s driving the new economy.

“Declining startup costs associated with creating companies have democratized the ability to create.”

There has never been a better time to get in on the ground floor. The start-up industry is growing and has already begun to take off. If you don’t jump in now, you’re running the risk of missing the boat or worse – jumping into overcrowded waters. Is there ever going to be a time when creating a startup isn’t feasible? Probably not. Creating a business isn’t likely to become more expensive; if anything, as technology improves and customer demand becomes still more diversified we’re likely to see that cost get even lower.

The issue is market saturation and competition. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that others will jump in and the market will become saturated. A saturated market has exactly enough supply to fill the demand. There is no room for any newcomers because there isn’t a need for more of that product or service. The only way that you can get a foot in the door is with a completely unique value proposition – and in an established market, that usually means creating a better product or the same product faster or cheaper.

So what does this mean for you? Well, if you’ve been holding off, dreaming of going into business for yourself but never doing it, now is the time. Save a little extra from each pay check for your new venture (don’t just quit your job – that rarely works out). Reach out to people around the Internet and learn how to work with the web effectively.

The best advice anyone can ever give you is this