Is it still possible to start in affiliate marketing now and make money ?

It is certainly possible to make money with affiliate marketing, but you need a different approach. Consider digital as well as physical products and optimise with the right keywords i.e. in title domain name etc. Do some research and aim for low competition keywords with reasonable monthly searches. I would also suggest that you not be in too much of a hurry and follow the old boy scouts motto of "Be Prepared".

I have been doing IM for 2 months now and feel like im fighting for a position in a bloated market too, same problem with me creating websites in areas that already have established adsense sites / affiliate sites and its becoming increasingly popular with more people finding out about IM.

My intrest is computers and technology unfortunatly - talk about a bloated Adsense / review / affiliate section !

It certainly is possible, anything is possible when it comes to making money. The reality is however its going to be hell to get there, im currently walking through that hell and alot of stress comes with it. But hey, my desperation to get out of working a 9-5:30 job far out weighs the stress. Thats what keeps me moving forward.

Do not be distracted by competition. There are multiple sites about everything you could possibly think of. Better to keep the motto in mind that 'Cream always rises to the top'.

Aim to make a high quality experience for visitors to your site. That is not always about expensive graphics and animations. It is about ease of access and navigation and high quality content which provides the visitors with what they were seeking with a minimum of fuss and effort. Do this and word will spread. Facilitate easy sharing and bookmarking options to encourage happy visitors to attract others.

Extend your sites to dedicated blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and other social platforms. Link them up with RSS to save time posting stuff around.

Give away a free report to start building a mailing list from day 1 and keep value flowing via regular newsletters. Affiliate products can then be recommended to the list and, if you have successfully developed a good relationship with them, they will be more likely to click and purchase.

Following a quality-orientated gameplan with a co-ordinated social marketing strategy means that you will not be dependent on any one search engine for your targeted traffic

It's certainly possible but the current mentality and approach needs to change.....

Too many people starting out go for a scatter gun approach of building hundreds of individual review sites and adsense sites and spread themselves far too thin.....this leads them to chase that elusive silver bullet system.

If you approach this from a business perspective and focus on working on one particular niche area and developing a relationship with people within that niche you are more likely to be successful.

I think too often we make the mistake of compartmentalizing IM into groups....adsense or clickbank, digital or physical, when really we should be using a variety of strategies to bring income into our business....

Regards

Chris

It is certainly possible, but as you say, there is plenty to learn along the way. Don't let that put you off, simply make a start, and keep learning as you go.

From my own personal experience, the conduit method with Amazon physical products, certainly works in practice, and I've certainly made money with AdSense and other systems too, but they all take experience and continual improvement and learning.

You'll learn best by taking action, seeing what happens, then asking how you can improve. Don't read methods and think about what will work perfectly and make a fortune, pick the most suitable method you can find based on your personal abilities and likes, and make a start, see how it's going and then ask here how you can improve a specific aspect of that method, try the best of the advice, and see what happens in practice.

Don't be afraid to make lots of mistakes along the way, and to start very small. If you keep on learning and improving, you've got the same chance as all those experts who are building those "high-quality, high-traffic, SEO-performant websites" you mention. They started from zero too. They made mistakes, they didn't know things and had to ask and learn. They're human, you're human, the game is continually changing, you have as much chance as anyone else . . . if you can see some other websites out there which are succeeding, that means YOU CAN TOO. All it takes is the will to keep learning!

Chris

I'd say it is definitely possible to make money in 2012 if you are just starting. The major thing you need is focus. You need to find a good plan, and focus on it.

You could have the best plan in the world to implement, but if you don't focus on it, then it doesn't matter.

It's really hard to do though if you are just starting out because of all of the shiny objects and push button money makers out there, but just keep in mind that those generally don't work and you must actually put in work to make money.

With a good plan and approach you can still make money with affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is no different than any other business. You have to work hard on the beginning. Put some effort into your affiliate business and you will see money on your bank account at some point.

You'll get out of it what you put in. If you're not willing to risk some money and lose hours upon hours until something is profitable - then no, it won't work. If you're willing to, then you're fine.

It is possible if you choose the right product and choose it EARLY enough. What I mean by this, is to choose an affiliate product way before it is due to launch, that way you have time to build an affiliate site offering your bonues and reviews of the product and you have time to get it ranked in the search engines and choose a suitbable keyword rich domain before they are all taken.

I personally use JV Notfity Pro to look for suitable digital products or programmes to promote. I them build a free wordpress site using a free theme such as flexibilty 2.0. I then add keyword rich content such as a review, video sneak peak and some relative bonuses for those who buy through my link.

To get it ranked in the search engines, I normally out source this. Simply search 'seo expert' or 'senuke submissions' in this very forum and you will find someone who will get your site ranked for its product keyword for around 60 bucks then when its time for the product to launch you will be sitting in just the right position in the search enginees for people to find your bonus review site so that you make affiliate sales.

Also when the hype around the product you are prompting dies down you can simply flip the site in flippa.com for anywhere between $200-$2000 depending how much commissions and traffic you generated.

I do this week in, week out, In fact my last affiliate site made me $5,500+ in commissioins and I also flipped the site on flippa.com for $1,250 with my only outlay being $6 for the domain, 1 day to set up the site and $60 for seo for the site.

I have had so much success with this method of affiliate marketing that I am actually going to create a video programme with the exact steps on how to acheive what I do. I will probably offer this as a super low WSO on here so simply shoot me a PM if it's something you are interested in and I'll get it set up.

Regards,
Steve.

Absolutely you still can. As many have said above, don't get too scattered in your approach and pick something, learn exactly how it works, and go with it!

I agree there is still plenty of money to be made out there with affiliate marketing; many people have this belief that every niche is now saturated which I beg to differ. Construct the right marketing strategies and try different approaches and you will become successful. Above all I will always believe that perseverance pays off in the end. Great advice from everyone here.

if you approach it like a proper business, of course it is possible.

that's like saying "should i bother opening a clothes shop" or "is there a market for an ice-cream business in my town?"

markets are always there, you just need to take a formal and professional approach.

of course it's possible... just like Chris Farrell often says: this is the best time to start

It is absolutely possible and it’s never too late. Don’t be afraid of competition, it’s actually a good thing! If there’s competition in a market, it means it’s a lucrative market. Affiliate marketing is a good way to start your IM business, but it takes time. You need to build a list, build a rapport with your list and then promote quality affiliate products to them, you’ll be surprise how much money you can make this way. However, you have to be patient- it can take several months to build a responsive list. If you are looking for a quick fix, this is not a good choice.

Absolutely.

Don't expect to make big money in your first year but definitely.

Affiliate marketing is like any other skill.

It is like saying, Do you think you can still make money playing Golf?

Of course, you just need to dedicate yourself to the art.

I continue to increase my affiliate commissions every month.

Hope this helps

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb

Man are you for real? That's like asking can you make money from a McDonald of course you can make money using affiliate marketing! Focus on building a list and provide value and you can make money with affiliate marketing!

Let not what you have experienced make you feel that you cannot get a breakthrough. You should checkout on your approach. Your mobile marketing skills is what will make you generate money. Try to go for high quality content and provide an easier access to it. This makes your web visitors get what they want with much ease. I

Yes it is possible to make money using affiliate marketing but like everyone else has said here it will take time and you have to focus. Don't keep moving from one thing to another like Google Adsense to Facebook, use one method and work on it until you make some money.

It's very possible. Just make sure you don't fall in the dream. There's a LOT of nonsense going around. There is no quick way in earning that. If you're just starting IM, it would be best to have a steady job and do IM on the side. I found out the hard way.

You need time and a steady pace to learn.

Whatever you do, do not let the thought: "ooohh, I'm too late, it's all saturated now" put you off!
I remember looking at stuff in 2006 and thinking I had missed the boat.
In 2007, I thought the same thing: "I'm too late, everyone's doing it, I'll never get anywhere now".
Same again in 2007 and 2008 and 2009...
But, in 2010, loads of the things that had great value and the people that were making fortunes had started in 2008, NOT back in the nineties.
So then I started to think: "Wow, if I hadn't thought what I did back in 2008, and had actually DONE something, it would now be 2 years old, and I might have got somewhere with it"
I could have had a 2-year head-start on everyone who didn't come into affiliate marketing until 2010, see? But I missed out on that.
Finally, in 2011, I decided to stop caring about what everyone else was doing, and learned that the only way to build "my" business was to get started!
So, I did...
I haven't made that many posts here, as I've done a lot more reading and learning than posting, but I'm finally starting to reap rewards from stuff that's now acquiring some age.
I still kick myself from time to time though, for not having started properly 5 or 6 years ago, as my head start could have been way larger.

So, stop worrying about what you're doing, create a solid action plan and just get started!

Hey RCT!

Haha you're in good hands! Our fellow warriors have given some fantastic guidance already.

Just wanted to share one of my biggest downfall in internet marketing, which is to try too many projects at once. In the end none of them ever get to completion and none of them ever become successful. You can easily waste YEARS doing this!

So really just focus on one niche, and go all the way until you are successful! that's all there is to it! =)

Jie