That’s a good question, and I think one that is completely lied about, misunderstood, and left to the world of wishes and fairy godmothers.
While Bill and Sarah might make $3,000 in their first 3 months, Candice might make $100 and Em might make $0, so really, how much does a beginner affiliate marketer make?
Key Takeaways:
- You are not going to learn a dollar amount here,
- But you will learn what to expect from affiliate marketing as a begnner,
- and why you must not over expect of this industry.
It depends on multiple factors.
Let’s look at why these disparities happen, so first let’s look at the question:

How much does a beginner affiliate marketer make?
There are a few parts to this question that need to be answered.
- What is a beginner?
- What is affiliate marketing?
- Is affiliate marketing like other businesses? (beginners don’t normally make much money at things they just start at, especially in the world of reality we live in).
If these questions are making your head spin you might like to look at our beginner guide to affiliate marketing which will help you understand what this business is about.
Beginner Affiliate Marketers
Ok, what is a beginner?
Think about it when you first started your first job, straight out of school, fresh-faced and wet behind the ears, but eager, and willing to work your a$$ off to make that extra few dollars.
I’m going to guess you were probably about 16 or 17, and making money to go out with friends was the most important thing at that time in your life (for most of us anyway).
For me I took a job at McDonald’s, I think I got about $5 an hour, in the US equivalent to the Irish Punt.
Did I go into Mcdonald’s and start working to the best of my ability straightaway?
Nope not at all, of course not, I had to understand certain things first,
- What the company did,
- The different parts of it,
- The must do’s and must not’s etc…
And after all of that, there were all of the different stations that I had to get good at, good at enough to pass tests on them.
This learning process was called my training period, and much like when anyone starts a new job and is a beginner, it was a 3-month probationary period to see if I could get up to speed and show advancement in my learning.
So a beginner is really a learner… and with affiliate marketing, you have to learn first, then make second, or if you can, which means putting in hard work, learn and profit at the sae time (it definitely can be done).
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Ok, so you now get the idea that this isn’t just a magical formula that is going to pump your pockets full of golden nuggets and rainbow kisses, this is an actual business, and what do we know about businesses?
Many of them fail, even if the person has been doing it for a long time. This is just life and business.
But, don’t let that dooming sentence above stop you, but…
When you are starting out online, at your own online business using something like affiliate marketing, you are really going to have to go through a steep learning curve…
This definitely isn’t a business for people who want or think they can quit their jobs within the next month, you will have more of a chance of playing the lottery.
So… this is a business, a real business.
Affiliate marketing is more prominent and diverse than ever, in fact over 80% of brands use it.
Similarweb.com
What makes a business successful?
Hard work, and knowing the business model that you want to be successful in.
But it does have benefits over other business models…
- You don’t need your own product,
- You aren’t limited to promoting only one product,
- You can sell to people all over the world,
Is Affiliate Marketing Like Other Businesses?
As mentioned above with most businesses people have a 3 month probation period before they are kind of let off the learning hook to see if they don’t make any mistakes…you know this period of time happens in so many businesses,
So why would it be any different in something like Affiliate Marketing?
So, how much does a beginner affiliate marketer make should really be taken into consideration related to any job in the world, because that is really what it is…
Well, it’s a business to replace your job, so you need to treat it like a business.
Set Your Beginner Affiliate Marketing Goals
You know what SMART goals are, and if you don’t they stand for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Timebound
This basically is a great way to set goals for your new affiliate marketing business as a beginner.
And in this, you should set goals for:
3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year.
Each of those months should be broken down about what you achieve, money made etc…
But make sure they tick all the SMART goal requirements.
Start with dreaming, then…
Turn Dreams Into Goals…
- Define what your dream is,
- Turn your dream into goals,
- Break your goals into steps,
- Take one step at a time.
And when you do this…
Your dreams start to become a reality.
Our Thoughts On How much does a beginner affiliate marketer make
How much does a beginner affiliate marketer make? Well…
You make what you put in. If you don’t put the work in to achieve the goals you are after then you won’t be successful in affiliate marketing.
This is a business for people who want to work and make money, and if you get it right there is a lot of money to be made in it.
If you don’t, then there isn’t and you won’t.