Creating an Affiliate Marketing Budget

 Your first thought on seeing the title of this article is
probably, "I'm not going to need a budget because I'm not
going to spend any money." I'm sorry, but that's not how it
works. If you don't want to spend ANYTHING, you are not
going to succeed.

Now that you know you must spend some money, it's time to
decide how much money you can afford to invest in your
affiliate marketing business.

There are some expenses that you will have if you want to be
successful. There are others that you can put off until the
time you start earning income from your affiliate products.
The below suggestions are not carved in stone - they are
just a guide. This is an Annual Budget - for the first year
of business. Some items that will need to be budgeted for
are:

* Domain Name. There is quite a span between the low-cost
and the high end cost of domain names. Why does Network
Solutions charge $35 when you can get your domain name for
much less elsewhere? I don't know, but when I got my first
domain name, I went through them because I didn't
know any better. Now, I get my domains through
http://godaddy.com. They're a big enough company that
they're not likely to "go under" and their charges for
domain name registration is only $8.95 per year. If you shop
around, you may even be able to find something less
expensive. But make sure it's a well-established company!
You don't want to lose your domain name once you have
decided on it! You will likely get a better "deal" if you
register your domain name for two or more years in advance.

* Website Hosting. Here again, fees for web hosting can vary
dramatically from company to company. Set up a comparison
chart and write down each company you are considering, with
columns for Company Name, Price, Disk Space, and Bandwidth.
Go to http://google.com and add the
first twenty that come up to your chart with costs, etc.
When you actually get to the point when you will be
purchasing your web hosting, you will drill down further to
see what each company offers. Hosting fees will run from
$7.00 to $25.00 per month or more. Shop carefully.

* Merchant Account. You probably won't need a Merchant
Account, as such, unless you are selling digital products or
products you'll be shipping to a customer. It is a good
idea to set up an account with http://paypal.com because a
lot of affiliate managers are using PayPal to make payments
to affiliates. There is no charge for using PayPal.

* Software and Scripts. You will need, at the least, some
kind of spreadsheet to track your expenses and income from
your affiliate business. Eventually, you will need a more
robust program like QuickBooks or Microsoft Money. If you
don't have a spreadsheet software application, you can get
one free from http://openoffice.org. This is a suite of
tools that works like Microsoft Office. You may or may not
need website scripts - depending on how elaborate you want
your website to be. Examples would be article management or
"tell a friend" scripts. Let's just set at cost at $50 just
in case.

* Advertising. For the first few weeks, you will not be
spending money on advertising or promotion. But since we are
working on an "Annual" budget, let's estimate it at $50 per
month or $600. I know that sounds like a lot, but if you
want to get the word out, you'll need to set money aside for
pay-per-click search engines and ezine advertising.

* Education. Ongoing education is going to be extremely
important to your affiliate marketing success. You will not
have to purchase a lot of educational materials - if you
don't want to. There are many free resources, such as
newsletters, that you can study. For now, we'll set a zero
budget, but allow a certain amount later for ebook or how-to
videos.

What is the final total? Approximately $800.00. Does that
seem extreme? Remember, this is for an entire year. Where
else but on the Internet can you start a business for under
$1,000? Keep it in perspective. If you intend to have a
"real" business, you must treat it as a real business -
which includes real expenses.

About the Author

-----------------------------------------------------
Jude Wright has been an Internet Marketer for three
years. She has just created a product that will help
other Internet Marketers keep all their marketing
information in one database. Check it out at:
http://i-marketingorganizer.com/organizer.htm

 Jude Wright

More Articles 

Best Affiliate Products, Where to Find Them and Select the Best choices - Fred Farah
The BIG QUESTION on everyone's mind is... Can you make money on-line through affiliate programs? The Answer is YES and YES and YES! It is totally possible to make money on-line, there are all kinds of articles and stories about people who have...

"How To Create A Lifetime Income With Affiliate Programs By Changing Your Focus!" - Mark Meyers
"How To Create A Lifetime Income With Affiliate Programs By Changing Your Focus!" An often overlooked strategy that could maximize your affiliate earnings by Mark Meyers (c) 2004. All rights reserved. http://www.Internet-Income-Advisor.com Most...

9 Steps to Success in Affiliate Marketing - Curtis S
1.Join an Affiliate Program. I would suggest joining programs that interest you personally. There are affiliate programs for almost any product or service you can think of so do some research and find one that is right for you. If you have a passion...

Your Home Based Affiliate Marketing Business - Paul Jesse
Did you know that you can make money on the internet without ever selling anything? There are very few home based business opportunities that are easier or cost less than affiliate marketing. There are businesses and people earning thousands of...

Protecting Yourself From Affiliate Link Thieves - Stephani Richardson
So, you have worked really hard to build a fabulous affiliate site. You took the time to add your keywords and relevant information about the products. Your pages load quickly, and your site is even listed in the search engines for specified terms....

How To Choose The Right Affiliate Program - Zamri Nanyan
Being an affiliate or a partner to promote an online program can be as easy as a 1-2-3. You fill up a form and a second later, an affiliate code is generated and you are ready to go. But, not all affiliate programs are the same. Therefore, you...

Affiliate! Discover Why You Are Losing $600 Each and Every Month! - Mouloud Siaci
Link bypassing is the number one trap affiliates fall into online. Also known as the "affiliate links theft". This "piracy" costs hard working affiliates promoting programs both time AND money. First, let's do some simple math if you please: Say...

How Do You Treat Your Affiliates? - Denise Hall
If you've been working online for any length of time you know that one of the best and fastest ways to make money with your products is to offer an affiliate program. So let me ask you this - how do *you* treat your affiliates? You might...

Affiliate Program Scams To Watch Out For - Chet Brzezinski
Affiliate programs are a great way to earn extra money or even a good living if you do things right. But unfortunately, there are alot of people out there that know this and will do everything they can to swindle you into selling their products...

Affiliate Programs: Can I REALLY Make Money? - Rosalind Gardner
As an Internet marketing consultant, I often hear the question, "Can I REALLY make money online with affiliate programs?" To me, that question speaks of the asker's skepticism, so let's put aside any question of whether money is REALLY...