One of the challenges that I hear again and again from my clients that are affiliate marketers is that as soon as everything is going great, the model changes.  I’ve seen Google change the way they pay.  And, they keep refining the model on how the use SEO.  All designed to shut down many of the automatic features that make affiliate marketing possible.

That’s just one example.  I’ve seen and heard more.  So, does that mean affiliate marketing is a bad business model.  No, it seems to me that as a business affiliate marketing ramps up and closes down faster than a regular business.

Figure that a “normal” business might have losses of 2-3 years before there is any income.  An affiliate marketer typically makes money the first week.  A “normal” business usually hits its stride at about the 7th year.  At that point, the entrepreneurial owner either self-sabotages to blow it up or gets it so systemized that he can step out.   That is, unless the market changes.  I read once a long time ago about a guy making buggy whips.  He was out of business in less than a year once Ford created a car for the masses.  The difference, of course, is back then there weren’t any government bail-outs.  He had to go find something else to do, or else specialize for those few people who still wanted buggy whips.

An affiliate marketer usually has a life cycle of about 6 - 12 months before the model completely changes.

It seems to me that the affiliate marketing model is a great way to create some quick cash, but it’s hard to have a long-time sustainable model because the model changes so quickly.  Plus, the barrier to entry is pretty low.  Once you figure out the next way to make a lot of money, you can make a lot of money in less than a week.  Of course, the model’s going to change on you, so do it quick.