“Organization is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it’s not all mixed up.”
This is extremely true for any online business. By being organized, you will reduce the stress and clutter that you encounter. This will allow you to be unencumbered and stay focused on your marketing efforts instead of wasting time sorting through a mess.
As you progress with your marketing efforts, you will find yourself collecting more and more usernames, passwords, websites, affiliate links, autoresponder campaigns, etc. There will be a ton of things to keep up with. NEVER ever believe that you can store it all in your memory.
Most people have difficulty recalling what they ate 2 days ago. So, your memory might fail you when you need it.
Staying organized will keep you on track. You’d be surprised at how many marketers have desktop icons smothering their screen and they spend a good deal of time looking for the different folders, images, links, etc.
All these can be a drain on your energy and also disrupt the flow of your thought process. You must have a system where it’s all neatly organized.
One of the best ways to do this is by using Excel spreadsheets. Have one spreadsheet for your usernames and passwords for all the different accounts that you have. In this way, if you ever forget, you will have a reference to look at.
If you do not have Excel, you can use a free program called “Calc”. You’ll need to download it first.
Use spreadsheets to keep track of your tasks, progress, affiliate links, etc. Whatever needs to be recorded down should be in your Excel files.
Take all the outdated infoproducts and reference guides that are littering your hard drive and put them in one folder. You can sort these out by topics in subfolders within the main folder.
One of the keys to staying organized is to have a main folder and subfolders. For example, if you have 3 websites about weight loss, diabetes and hair loss, you should create one folder and name it “My Sites”… within the “My Sites” folders, you will have a weight loss subfolder and a diabetes subfolder and so on.
In this way, your desktop will not be littered with hundreds of folders. You want to minimize the virtual clutter.
Sometimes, good old pen and paper is fantastic too. When brainstorming ideas, you can quickly jot them down in a notebook which you will keep by your computer. Or you may have a written to-do list stuck on the white board next to your computer. Different people have different preferences.
The key to good organization is that you must know exactly where everything is when you need them. Time shouldn’t be wasted wondering where a particular item you need is or what your next task should be.
Have a list that will tell you what tasks you need to monitor on an ongoing basis. If you outsource certain jobs, you will need to know if the work has been delivered. Don’t forget about it or worse, pay another freelancer to do the same work again.
These are just some steps you can take to ensure you are organized when it comes to affiliate marketing. For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned. Remember that and do your best to stay organized all the time.
To your great success on your online business journey, Bob
Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below.