Affiliate Marketting

I am curious as to anyone(college students in particular) here has tried it. I come from a low middle class family, and I paid pretty much all my college related expenses via the income I earned as an affiliate for various companies promoting their product online. And even after all that, I currently have a $30k balance in my bank account.

I have half a mind to forget about doing post-grad education and resume my e-affiliating ways.

Originally posted by Epicurus
I am curious as to anyone(college students in particular) here has tried it. I come from a low middle class family, and I paid pretty much all my college related expenses via the income I earned as an affiliate for various companies promoting their product online. And even after all that, I currently have a $30k balance in my bank account.

I have half a mind to forget about doing post-grad education and resume my e-affiliating ways.

What did you do for this money?

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
What did you do for this money?

Originally posted by Epicurus
Read the title of the thread.

So, are you not answer my question. I read the title: it says Affiliate Marketting.

affiliate marketing

Web definitions

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate's own marketing efforts. The industry has four core players: the merchant, the network, the publisher, and the customer. ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing

Now, what did you do for this money?

The definition doesn't tell me what you did.

I would assume affiliate marketing in it's compensation is performance based. This makes it unreliable as a sustainable source of income.

I suggest post grad.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
So, are you not answer my question. I read the title: it says Affiliate Marketting.

affiliate marketing

Web definitions

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate's own marketing efforts. The industry has four core players: the merchant, the network, the publisher, and the customer. ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing

Now, what did you do for this money?

The definition doesn't tell me what you did.

You make an online blog or website and then promote the product which you've selected/earmarked for the time being. It's hard work though; I had to promote thousands of products over the last 4 years in order to get the bank balance I have right now. For every sale of the product, you get a percentage cut. Not to mention the headache involved in making a new blogpost/website dedicated to each new product. In fact, I am surprised I did as well in my studies as I did with all the time I used to spend glued to the computer.

But it's worth it, and once you get the hang of it, and actually start earning then it becomes addictive. Which is why I now seem to be in the dilemna of whether or not to pursue higher education beyond graduation, or continue this line of work in conjunction with whatever job I eventually find after 4 months time.

Originally posted by Epicurus
I did exactly what the web definitions say; I promoted various products I found available on the marketplace on clickbank(that's the go-to site for all start-up affiliates).

You make an online blog or website and then promote the product which you've selected/earmarked for the time being. It's hard work though; I had to promote thousands of products over the last 4 years in order to get the bank balance I have right now. For every sale of the product, you get a percentage cut. Not to mention the headache involved in making a new blogpost/website dedicated to each new product. In fact, I am surprised I did as well in my studies as I did with all the time I used to spend glued to the computer.

But it's worth it, and once you get the hang of it, and actually start earning then it becomes addictive. Which is why I now seem to be in the dilemna of whether or not to pursue higher education beyond graduation, or continue this line of work in conjunction with whatever job I eventually find after 4 months time.

Thanks. So you did many different companies. I have been offered to do this for two different companies, but when I looked into it, and I found it wasn't worth it. I was trying to figure out how you made it work. Good job, and when you say it was hard work, I believe you.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Thanks. So you did many different companies. I have been offered to do this for two different companies, but when I looked into it, and I found it wasn't worth it. I was trying to figure out how you made it work. Good job, and when you say it was hard work, I believe you.

I guess being an early bird in this case paid off. And yes, I did promote sh1t for hundreds of different companies. You need to judge the product you're selecting based on the avg $$$ earned per sale for said product, and the "gravity" of said sales. Nowadays, a product worth $50-$100 with a gravity of 100 or above is ideal for newbie affiliates(if they have a viable online promoting/hosting platform available).

Wow, the adbots are getting pretty sophisticated.

So basically you're a spammer?

Originally posted by Epicurus
I am curious as to anyone(college students in particular) here has tried it. I come from a low middle class family, and I paid pretty much all my college related expenses via the income I earned as an affiliate for various companies promoting their product online. And even after all that, I currently have a $30k balance in my bank account.

I have half a mind to forget about doing post-grad education and resume my e-affiliating ways.

Are you not able to get a decent job in your field? Are e-affiliating and grad school your only options?

If that were me, I'd be looking for a job in my field, maybe looking for a good online school to take grad courses gradually, and starting to stash that money in decent purchases or investments like a new car (if you're in need of one) or an IRA.

But money is money. If you didn't mind it, it's probably worth doing it for at least a couple more years to build your cushion a bit more, so to speak.

Originally posted by jaden101
So basically you're a spammer?

Originally posted by Digi
Are you not able to get a decent job in your field? Are e-affiliating and grad school your only options?

If that were me, I'd be looking for a job in my field, maybe looking for a good online school to take grad courses gradually, and starting to stash that money in decent purchases or investments like a new car (if you're in need of one) or an IRA.

But money is money. If you didn't mind it, it's probably worth doing it for at least a couple more years to build your cushion a bit more, so to speak.

It's just that I've become fairly fluid in this sort of thing. To the point that I don't have to put in as much of an effort as I would were I to get a normal job. With my resume, I might get a fairly decent-paying job even in the modern recession-ridden economy(I am not sure whether the IT industry is faring well despite the recent recovery trends), though it won't be that well paying.

The chances of me having better career prospects would be greatly improved though if I do pursue higher education. Which is where I face my current dilemna; sit at home on my ass and make easy money, or work my butt off and end up with a job with similar(maybe lesser in the case of a formal job) financial returns, with the added incentive getting to learn new things in the latter option. Both of these are good options imo, so I hope you see why I am unable to decide which to choose in this case.

And most of the money is largely put in my savings account. I don't need a new car, not when I use the subway to commute to work. And if I had to invest that money, I'd probably use it to rent my own apartment or get a new XBox/PS3 or some sh1t like that. Maybe even subscribe to that super-internet which Astner showed off on the Comic Book Off-Topic thread.

Originally posted by Epicurus
I am doing a six month internship as part of my curriculum right now. I haven't yet graduated; 4 months are still left.🙁

It's just that I've become fairly fluid in this sort of thing. To the point that I don't have to put in as much of an effort as I would were I to get a normal job. With my resume, I might get a fairly decent-paying job even in the modern recession-ridden economy(I am not sure whether the IT industry is faring well despite the recent recovery trends), though it won't be that well paying.

The chances of me having better career prospects would be greatly improved though if I do pursue higher education. Which is where I face my current dilemna; sit at home on my ass and make easy money, or work my butt off and end up with a job with similar(maybe lesser in the case of a formal job) financial returns, with the added incentive getting to learn new things in the latter option. Both of these are good options imo, so I hope you see why I am unable to decide which to choose in this case.

And most of the money is largely put in my savings account. I don't need a new car, not when I use the subway to commute to work. And if I had to invest that money, I'd probably use it to rent my own apartment or get a new XBox/PS3 or some sh1t like that. Maybe even subscribe to that super-internet which Astner showed off on the Comic Book Off-Topic thread.

See, if you want to start building your wealth in a way that takes an even longer view, you could put a portion of it in an IRA, or even something safer (but less lucrative) like medium-term bonds (maybe ~5-years). I don't mean all of it. Maybe 3K a year would be plenty. Even with horrid estimates, each dollar invested like that would end up being 3 or 4 down the road, especially if you're <25 right now. I'd kill to have 30K at your age (which is really only about 5 years ago for me), because even though it seems like a long way off, you have what you need to really set yourself up later in life if you're smart about it. All without sacrificing the new XBox.

E-affiliating is likely not a long term prospect. And especially in IT, continuing education of some form (not always college, but certificates and training) is a must. You'd probably be ok doing it for a couple years, but you'd be gambling with your long-term future if you did it for any longer. In five years, employers will look at an IT degree and no experience and pass you over for a more newly-trained college recruit.

Renting isn't investing. It's renting. Home ownership would be investing, because it's worth something later on. You're buying something with sustained value. Less so with a car, but it will also be a long-term necessity purchase. I'm not saying to do either, though, just clarifying. And renting is fine as a cheap alternative to other living arrangements.

Some hybrid arrangement is likely best. You did this while in college. Why not in grad school? If you can get to the other side of grad school with no debt and the same 30K, I can't tell you how ahead of the playing field you'll be.

Originally posted by Digi
See, if you want to start building your wealth in a way that takes an even longer view, you could put a portion of it in an IRA, or even something safer (but less lucrative) like medium-term bonds (maybe ~5-years). I don't mean all of it. Maybe 3K a year would be plenty. Even with horrid estimates, each dollar invested like that would end up being 3 or 4 down the road, especially if you're <25 right now. I'd kill to have 30K at your age (which is really only about 5 years ago for me), because even though it seems like a long way off, you have what you need to really set yourself up later in life if you're smart about it. All without sacrificing the new XBox.

E-affiliating is likely not a long term prospect. And especially in IT, continuing education of some form (not always college, but certificates and training) is a must. You'd probably be ok doing it for a couple years, but you'd be gambling with your long-term future if you did it for any longer. In five years, employers will look at an IT degree and no experience and pass you over for a more newly-trained college recruit.

Renting isn't investing. It's renting. Home ownership would be investing, because it's worth something later on. You're buying something with sustained value. Less so with a car, but it will also be a long-term necessity purchase. I'm not saying to do either, though, just clarifying. And renting is fine as a cheap alternative to other living arrangements.

Some hybrid arrangement is likely best. You did this while in college. Why not in grad school? If you can get to the other side of grad school with no debt and the same 30K, I can't tell you how ahead of the playing field you'll be.

It's just that I can pursue a post-grad programme even after another 2 or 3 years, after I've accumulated sufficient funds to pay for further education. And I will be doing a formal degree like an MS or M.Tech in the CS stream. I am not really interested in that IRA stuff you discussed long time back. My brother once tried stock trading, and gave a fairly bad review. So no, I am not interested.

I am not exactly going to live alone though. Will be sharing whatever living accommodations I can get with a number of friends, and all expenses are equally divided(which includes other expenses like wifi, food, laundry etc). Though this house sh1t sounds interesting. Should I contact Bada for further details on owning property in the United States?

Originally posted by Epicurus
I don't plan on continuing my affiliate hobby beyond a couple more years. Heck, I am already beginning to get bored of it now. The only reason I haven't fully quit is because of how addictive something becomes when you've been doing it continuously for 4 years straight. It's like posting on KMC; in its heyday the traffic was high so the incentive to post was more, and people ended up accumulating thousands of posts in a single year. Over time the traffic has gone down, and most of the old time posters don't post as often as they used to, and some have disappeared off the face of the internet altogether(if they haven't been permabanned).

It's just that I can pursue a post-grad programme even after another 2 or 3 years, after I've accumulated sufficient funds to pay for further education. And I will be doing a formal degree like an MS or M.Tech in the CS stream. I am not really interested in that IRA stuff you discussed long time back. My brother once tried stock trading, and gave a fairly bad review. So no, I am not interested.

I am not exactly going to live alone though. Will be sharing whatever living accommodations I can get with a number of friends, and all expenses are equally divided(which includes other expenses like wifi, food, laundry etc). Though this house sh1t sounds interesting. Should I contact Bada for further details on owning property in the United States?

IRAs aren't stock trading. Nor are bonds. Both come with significantly less risk (bonds especially). I only mention it because 30K right now is great, but sitting in a savings account it won't even keep up with inflation. It's a nice cushion, but does nothing toward setting yourself up to be doing more than living paycheck to paycheck in a decade or so. There are always risks with investing, but with almost no exceptions, a 20-year professionally managed IRA will gain you at least 5% annually (averaged, not every year), which is 4% more than the best savings accounts, and which compounded means 10s of thousands more dollars (hundreds if it lasts until retirement). Again, I'm not saying you should do this or that, only saying what I'd do in your place.

Home ownership comes with other burdens though, and is likely something you want to wait on until you've established yourself more. But the main key is being able to afford whatever you buy, whenever you buy it. There's not a bad time or age, just bad circumstances to be attempting it. Is Bada in real estate? If you're genuinely interested, though, do talk to some professional first.

Originally posted by Digi
Is Bada in real estate? If you're genuinely interested, though, do talk to some professional first.

There's a lot of that thread that I miss. But cool. 👆

Originally posted by Epicurus
If posting sh1t on blogs you yourself own count as spamming, then yes I am indeed a spammer.

Do you promote those blogs to get more clicks?

If so, spammer.

But hey, if it makes you money in a tough economy then why not.

Originally posted by jaden101
Do you promote those blogs to get more clicks?

If so, spammer.

But hey, if it makes you money in a tough economy then why not.

Businesses have to make money. We tend to sneer at "spamming" but in some contexts it can work.

I was a telemarketer for a time as well, and got much the same reaction. But the company I called for made decent money via that method, so it was worth the stigma from a business perspective.