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Reconceptualizing Affiliate Marketing Expenses

by David Cooper

Every dollar we spend on our business is a dollar less we take home. We all like to run tight ships and keep expenses down to a minimum. We regularly look for ways to improve the bottom line by eliminating or reducing expenses. We won’t consciously cut corners in a way that compromises quality or integrity, but every other sunk cost is fair game. After all, one of the greatest benefits of being an affiliate marketer is the low overhead. No products to stock, no retail space to lease. Keeping costs low is all part of the plan.

It can also lead to disaster. That’s because too many affiliate marketers have a difficult time distinguishing between expenses that can be reduced and critical expenditures that are actually great business investments. Let’s look at a few costs that we should mentally recast as investments.

Outside talent. Unless you have found a way to combine vast knowledge with some way of stretching time, you probably rely, at least in part, on outside talent to help you get things done. You might hire a copywriter to put together that perfect ad for the next newsletter. You might snag a freelance coder to help you with the back end of your site. You might have a graphics design expert at your disposal when you need the perfect header. The expertise of this “extended family” gives you the opportunity to do the things you do best and to produce quality results. Improved performance and better time management offset the money you spend on outside help.

If you compromise too much in this area in order to save a few bucks, you risk reliability problems, performance issues, and the prospect of having to do the “whole thing” over again. Take care of your outsourced labor and maintain good relationships with critical suppliers.

Product purchases. Sometimes it seems as if the best possible target demographic for an informational product is other sellers of informational products! Affiliate marketers don’t just sell, they buy. Some of them might wonder if they don’t buy a little too much. While it doesn’t make sense to invest in every new piece of marketing software or every single ebook discussing new ways to increase sales, your purchases in this area can be valuable investments in knowledge.

Doctors and lawyers have continuing education programs in order to stay on top of advances in their fields. Other professionals have special certifications and training courses. Affiliate marketers, on the other hand, are left to their own devices in terms of increasing their knowledge base. The smartest, and most successful, marketers won’t compromise on obtaining the best possible new information and products to help them do their jobs. You can’t buy everything, but you can’t afford to clutch your wallet too tightly as new trends and advances march on by you.

Go ahead and trim expenses in order to improve your bottom line. However, don’t carve too much off critical areas including outsourced expertise and continuing education. Pay your experts and buy the best products. Those are investments in your success, not expenses to be eliminated!

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