Affiliate marketing can be an incredible way to earn passive revenue online without needing to create your own products.
However, there is one major blindspot rarely talked about.
You ultimately don’t control the products you are promoting. Affiliate marketers earn commissions promoting other companies’ products. This creates risk.
For example, several years ago California passed new online sales tax legislation. In response, Amazon terminated 25,000 California residents from their affiliate program literally overnight.
That meant 25,000 people instantly lost a revenue stream through no fault of their own. Amazon controlled the decision and the affiliates paid the price.
And while Amazon did reinstate the affiliate program for California residents, its still a stark reminder of how things can change quickly.
Affiliate programs shutting down out of nowhere is not uncommon. This lack of control can create major revenue risk even if you pick the best programs and niches.
So while I’m an advocate of affiliate marketing, it is very important you understand and mitigate this risk. And the best way to do that is by building your email list from day one.
Doing so will give you more control and the ability to continue running your business even if one affiliate program shuts down.
Even with this one big flaw, affiliate marketing is still one of the best ways for anyone to make money online.
If you want to learn more about it, check out my free 7 day affiliate marketing crash course. Over the course of 7 days you will learn the fastest way to get started, how to position yourself for success, how to increase sales, and much more.