If you're just starting out in the field of Affiliate Marketing, I'm sure you are overwhelmed with all the information out there. In fact, many people give up after a short time because of the information overload problem. There are so many ideas out there, and so many promises that this deal is the absolute best, and so many "secrets" that you can't find anywhere else, that it's only natural to become overwhelmed.



And then comes the list-building advice! "The money is in the list." "Never promote affiliate products without your own website so that you can build someone else's list." It goes on and on.

Well, of course, a list is important. It gives you a group of faithful followers who have begun to trust you if you are an honest person who sends valuable advice and good products.

But here's the downside to list-building which no one talks about. List-building takes a lot of time.

It takes time to build a list, it takes time to write up the autoresponder messages to your list, it takes time to investigate products to promote that are worthwhile and that you endorse. Remember, you don't want to promote junk to your list because they trust you and will quickly lose faith. It also takes time to respond to the emails that your list will write to you. They may pose all kinds of questions and some take time to research and answer! Of course, you could pay someone to do this for you, but when you're just starting, this probably is not the direction that you want to follow.

So all in all, list building is a time consuming task. And as far as I'm concerned, when you are starting out in Affiliate Marketing, you need to set priorities and do the most important things first. The most important thing you need to do is to become familiar with Clickbank and how it works. You have to find the right Affiliate Product to promote. Join a few lists from the top marketers and see what products are hot. Then become an affiliate for a product that you feel comfortable promoting.

You also need to learn about the various methods of advertising and find out which works best for you. Then get started promoting ONE product. Once you see those commissions coming in, and you feel comfortable with the whole process, then, you can begin your own list building strategy.

But what about the concept that people don't buy on the first try. True. So I would begin by joining an affiliate program that sends out follow-ups for you. Yes, they are building a list based on your leads, but they are following up for you. One program that I joined over a year ago, sends out follow-ups for a year to any lead that you send them. I often see commissions from them on my Clickbank statement, months later and I know that they are doing a good job! Those people aren't on my list, but I don't care, because I'm still making the commissions from that product.

So, the important thing is to begin somewhere. Don't get overwhelmed. Set realistic goals and experience some success! Affiliate Marketing is a wonderful way to make money online. So start today!