But when I checked out my bank account today and compared it to what’s currently on my American express. I find my self trying to figure out where all this money has gone since its not sitting in my bank account. Where is it?

Well this brings us back to network payment terms. Something which I feel is often over looked when you are working on your accounting at the end of the month. Some networks offer weekly payments, some bi-weekly, and some monthly. Heck if your joining a new network it might be even longer to start off with as they don’t know you well yet and are still checking your traffic quality. Then of course there are the weird ones like CJ and PepperJam which use different systems altogether. It can all be quite confusing if you are running traffic on several networks. You also need to note if your going to be paid by Wire, or Check as each option adds or removes time.

My advice to any new affiliate marketers is to make a spreadsheet of the networks you are running traffic with and make a note of each networks payment terms. If you are on a tight budget and are floating costs on a credit card this is extremely important. If american express wants its money at the end of the month and your not getting paid for this months traffic until mid the following month you better have a savings to back it up.

You also may need to limit the networks you work with because of this. I try to only work with 4-5 networks at any one time since I have established relationships with them and I have better payout terms with them. This consolidation helps me cover my ppc costs by having traffic at two major networks with weekly payouts. These 2 networks cover 100%+ of my ppc costs so I am able to pay my bills as they come in with out worry. But this also means that the majority of the profits are now riding on the other networks I work with and their various payout terms. 

So where is my money? Its coming… just seems as though its not here yet. Its best to check these things at the end of the month, just make sure not to lose track of where your money is and when your going to get it.

I was 100% sure I was going to have to get a job when I moved up since I wasn’t making enough to live on just extra spending cash. And then the day before we moved a campaign I was running exploded on content for no other reason than its age. Google finally trusted me and let me into a giant honey pot which I raped furiously for several months until they banned me for that very same campaign.

During those months of easy money I did jack shit all day. I was spending money left and right, eating out and not working any more than depositing money and refreshing stats. I was a fool. After I got banned and the money vanished I still had plenty to hold over my lifestyle for many months so I wasn’t to worried. I haven’t done jack shit from March to September other than spending money.

It wasn’t until September I started to watch that money go out faster than it came in. I got back to serious work and have increased my revenue dramatically these last few months and my company is now back in the green with profits.

Its been a strange lesson to learn, but I finally get it. The idea is not to be a one hit wonder and retire for a year at a time. The real success in this business is making a profitable campaign and moving on to the next and the next. If I had stayed the way things were I will never do as well as some guys in this business.

My advice to you is to stay on track and keep working. Do not let little success hold you up because they will always die and you will have to start over. I have learned a lot in this past year but I really wish this would have kicked in sooner.