Are you building a business or just trying to make money?  It is a question I ask a lot of times when talking to guys starting out in internet marketing.  The normal answer is both but that is not true for most of the affiliate marketers out there.  If you are trying to build a business then you are already trying to make money.  Most affiliates in our game fall into the other category, they are just trying to make money.  The difference is if you are trying to build a business then you have to consider how what you are doing today can possibly impact you and your business in the future.  If you are just trying to make a dollar then you do what you have to do without consideration for anything else.

There are some positives to both and depending on what your true intent really is one will be a better fit for you.  At first, like most all internet marketers I fell into the just trying to make a dollar side (even though I thought I was in the building a business camp).  I did whatever I needed to make a dollar and whatever it took to make the extra dollar.  I soon realized that this mindset does not translate into a long term business that can scale.

So as an affiliate marketer, what mindset do you have to have to start to really build your business?  First things first, treat your business as a true business.  Taking legal steps to make sure your business is protected and in good standing with the government including incorporating (or whatever you choose) and having the proper licenses for your locale.  Next, get your financials in order including finding a CPA (before tax season) that you can explain your biz to and he can in-turn help you understand what you need to do to save the most when it comes to paying the man.  I hate both of these parts of the business so much that my first hire was to handle all my “corporate” duties, financial dealings and legal issues.  So I could focus on marketing.  – true story.

Now that you are treating your affiliate marketing like a business, you have probably already started to change your mindset a little.  To build a business you have to think about the future and how each thing you do can possibly effect your ability to do business in the future.  This doesn’t mean you can’t do some of those slightly shady tactics that you all know and love but you at least have to think how that will effect the non-shady deals you have running.  That’s probably the biggest difference in the mindset – you have to think of your campaigns from every one’s perspective – that is some serious thought.  And not just your perspective and the consumer perspective but how about the advertisers perspective and the traffic sources perspective.  Even seasoned affiliate marketers sometimes over look the last two but you should not.  If you take the time to look at what you are doing and weigh how it will effect those four groups then you will truly know how each campaign or action you take can effect your business.

Good luck bros.   J-Cash.

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