This article came up when I saw one of the AdSense ads showing on my site that proudly proclaimed “Affiliates: $537 per day - Quit your job with ClickBank”.

Woah, hold on there. If anyone thought that it’d be a great time to go and quit their job to become an affiliate marketer I would strongly recommend against it. Here’s why:

• Affiliate marketing is volatile - You have no way of knowing where the market is going to go in six months, a year, or five years. Just because you managed to make $5,000 last month does not mean that it’s going to stay that way. Websites fluctuate in traffic, popularity, and relevance all the time- I’ve had sites that were making $200 a day drop to less than $10 a day for seemingly no reason.It will take work, patience, persistence, and a bit of ingenuity to ensure that your income continues to grow. Until you’ve got $10,000 in a bank account and all of your expenses paid, do not quit your day job. Why throw away a solid income for hopes and dreams?
• Affiliate marketing is competitive - We’re talking about a business where you won’t even be able to tell your friends or family what your websites are. Any competition that you bring up inadvertently could be taking away from your income, and if you are spending money to make money (PPC advertising, for example), that can really take its toll on your profits.Unlike the job landscape in your area, affiliate marketing can be done from anywhere in the world. Are you comfortable having competition from people in Thailand, Brazil, India, China, the UK, the United States, Canada, and any other internet-enabled nation? If not, stick to your day job.
• Affiliate marketing is fast-paced - Once you have your marketing campaigns going and the traffic starts coming in you are either going to be making money or not. There are no wait times, rest periods, of times when you can kick back and take it easy. This is a business that runs 24/7.

All of that being said, I should mention that I’m not a complete hypocrite for working full time as an affiliate marketer. There are many reasons why you should take up affiliate marketing full time:

1. Affiliate marketing is lucrative - There is no other business where you can start up and make $500 that day. My first website made me over $10,000 in profit over the course of four months, and it was little more than eight pages of text and a few images. If you can find a way to get people to do what you want them to you’ll be able to make limitless amounts of cash.
2. Affiliate marketing is evolving - This is a business that is never the same from day to day. If you love trying out new things and seeing what works and what doesn’t, affiliate marketing is for you. You’ll be able to see marketing methods and sales techniques change on a day to day basis, and if you’re good enough, you’ll be leading the pack.
3. Affiliate marketing is fun - I really enjoy what I do. I wake up, go to the gym, set up a few websites, and then check my affiliate stats. Knowing that I’m being paid to work out at the gym really makes my day

The reality is that an offline job is a reliable, steady income. If you are making some money as an affiliate, why not continue to supplement your offline income and grow your online income? Until it comes down to the day where you’re making $8,000 or more a month online, stick to your day job.