Why Are You Involved in Affiliate Marketing?

After talking about focus in yesterday's post and some of the emails I have received from readers recently, this question is something that I want you to ask yourself and that I want you to personally address. You don't have to respond to me, but at least work through the question and be honest with yourself.

What made you get online and look for a way to make money? In other words, what is your "Why"? Think about it for a minute or two. You had to have a reason.

Were you looking to just make some extra pocket change or were you looking to replace your income and quit your job? Did you aspire to be rich beyond your wildest imagination? Or did you have other reasons such as a new car or paying off your debt?

We've all heard the statistic that 95% of online marketers will fail. And to a point, this is true. Losing sight of the "Why" is the reason. It's not that they don't know what they're doing. It's not that they haven't tried. They lost sight of why they got into doing this in the first place.

There is one other reason, and that reason is they thought it would be easy. After all, just look at the sales pages of nearly every making money scheme and that's what you will see. Push button this, do a few clicks and bam! you will have money in your bank account tomorrow. Blah, blah, blah....

Being successful in internet marketing takes work. Hard work and dedication. It is a business and you have to treat it as such. If you treat it like a hobby, you will never make more than hobby money. Certainly not the life changing income you might be dreaming of. When you sit down to your computer and go to work, treat it like it is a job - either full-time or part-time.

Oh, and spending an hour or two checking email and statistics does not constitute as work. You could have spent that time writing an article, creating a new page for your site, promoting your site, etc.

The purpose for saying all of this is that I'm trying to help you find your reason, your "why". Whatever it is, if you want to succeed, you have to be passionate about it. It must be something you really want. It must be the one thing that drives you to keep plugging along day after day online. Most importantly, it will be your reason for NOT giving up.

Those who have been at this a while know what I'm saying. When you define your "Why", write it down and keep it in front of you daily. When your why is strong enough, you will get past those times when you feel that nothing you are doing is working. Because it is sitting in front of you, it will lift you up when you are feeling down. Trust me, it will. The reason for that is you have a visual. Your why is what will drive you to reach those goals and be successful in the end. You also must have the mindset that you can and will achieve that goal. Never give up! I will tell you, it feels good to achieve these goals and dreams. Once you have been able to take down a "why" and replace it with a new one, you will see what I mean.

I'll share mine with you. I first started looking for ways to make money online because I wanted to quit my job. I wanted to be in control of me and I didn't want anyone to have that kind of control over me again. I wanted to define when I would take off work and control which hours and days I worked. It was a freedom I had never known and wanted to experience.

Well, I reached that goal and let me tell you, it's wonderful! It's everything I had hoped it would be and more. Sure, I still work, but I'm working for myself - not someone else.

Another why came into my life a few months ago. My mother has diabetes and has to have her eyes checked yearly. At her doctor's appointment, she was told she had the beginning of cataracts in both eyes and the beginning of glaucoma in one eye. Scary stuff, right? Well, once she found out she needed laser treatment surgery for it all, she found out that the insurance, which they pay $1600 a month for, will not even pay for the surgery!!!

For $1600 a month, you would think that insurance would pay for just about anything. And before anyone comments, that is the cheapest but best insurance my folks can afford. They have their own business and are not at retirement age yet.

I have kicked everything I have and that I know into overdrive. All of the surgeries combined will run close to $10,000 and I want to be able to give her the ability to have them done by Christmas. This is my goal. I can't stand the thought of my mom possibly going blind and I want to do whatever it takes to see that she doesn't. This is my "why" that is driving me to the point of exhaustion.

I've shared mine with you, so let's hear yours, what is your "why"?