What in the World Am I Supposed to Do Today?
Affiliate Marketing Beginner Series
Part 1: 3 Surprising Reasons Affiliate Marketing Feels So Confusing
Part 2: Affiliate Marketing: 3 Smart Ways to Stay Focused
Part 3: 3 Wins for Better Affiliate Marketing Almost Daily
Missed the first two parts? Read Part 1 and Part 2.
You sit down at your desk, and one big question hits you:
“What in the world am I supposed to do today?”
The funny part is, the answer may be a whole lot simpler than you think.
You may already have the tools.
You may have training.
You may have your affiliate link.
You may even have a list of good ideas.
But when you sit down to work, your brain goes blank.
Or worse, you start doing six things at once.
By now, you know how that goes. Before long, an hour is gone and you’re wondering what just happened.
Been there.
Done that.
Probably had a cup of coffee while doing it.
That’s why a simple affiliate marketing routine can help.
A Routine Takes the Guessing Out
You don’t need a fancy schedule.
You don’t need a wall chart with colored boxes.
And you sure don’t need to work eight hours a day.
You just need a few simple things you can do again and again.
That’s the beauty of a routine.
You don’t have to wake up every morning and ask:
“What should I do today?”
You already know.
You sit down.
You do the work.
Then you move on with your day.
That saves time.
It also saves brain power.
And some days, we could all use a little more of that.
Keep It Simple: Learn, Create, Connect
A good affiliate marketing routine can come down to three simple words:
Learn. Create. Connect.
That’s it.
You don’t need ten steps.
You don’t need a giant checklist.
The idea is to learn one useful thing, create one useful thing, and connect with one real person.
Wait. Didn’t Part 2 say to pick one thing?
Good question. Learn, Create, and Connect aren’t three new projects. They’re one small routine. Inside each one, you choose just one task: one lesson, one piece of content, one person.
Let’s break it down.
1. Learn Something You Can Use
Learning is good.
But as you saw in Part 1, learning all day and doing nothing with it?
Not so good.
It’s easy to fall into that trap.
So when you learn something, ask one simple question:
“What can I do with this today?”
If you learn about headlines, write some headlines.
If you learn about traffic, do one traffic task.
If you learn about follow-up, look at how you can use follow-up in your own business.
Learning should lead to action.
Otherwise, it’s just more stuff rolling around in your head.
And most of us already have enough stuff rolling around up there.
2. Create Something Useful
Affiliate marketing needs people.
People need some way to find you.
That’s where content can help. Content is just anything you share to help people.
You don’t have to write a book.
You don’t need to make a Hollywood movie.
You just need to create something useful.
That could be:
- A short blog post.
- A simple social media post.
- An answer to a common question.
- A quick tip.
- A short story about something you learned.
- A post about a mistake you made.
That’s content.
Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.
If you know something that could help another beginner, talk about it.
Plain English works just fine.
In fact, plain English often works better.
People don’t want to read something that sounds like it was written by a lawyer sitting in a boardroom.
They want help.
Give them help.
3. Connect With Real People
This part matters more than many beginners think.
Affiliate marketing isn’t just links, websites, emails, and tools.
It’s people.
Real people.
People with questions.
People with doubts.
People trying to figure things out.
Connecting can be simple. You can:
- Reply to a comment.
- Answer a question.
- Leave a helpful comment on somebody else’s post.
- Follow up with someone who asked you something.
- Talk to a person who seems interested.
You don’t need to pitch everybody you meet.
Please don’t.
That gets old fast.
Just be helpful.
Have a real talk.
Be a normal person.
That alone can go a long way.
Try the 30-Minute Affiliate Marketing Routine
If you’re busy, here’s one way to try it.
Start with 30 minutes a day on affiliate marketing.
As a starting point, break it into three parts.
10 minutes learning
Watch part of one training, or review one thing you need to know.
10 minutes creating
Write part of one blog post, make one short post, or work on tomorrow’s content.
10 minutes connecting
Reply to people, leave one helpful comment, or follow up with one person.
That’s it.
Thirty minutes.
No drama.
No giant plan.
No need to clear your whole day.
If you have more time, great.
Use it.
If you only have 20 minutes, use 20.
The 10-10-10 split isn’t a rule.
The point is building something you can repeat.
Have a Plan for Busy Days
Some days go sideways before breakfast.
The phone rings.
The car needs something.
The dog gets sick.
Somebody needs help.
Life happens.
That’s why you need a “minimum day.”
Ask yourself:
“What is the smallest useful thing I can do today?”
Your minimum day might be:
- Write 200 words.
- Make one post.
- Leave one helpful comment.
- Work for 15 minutes.
- Follow up with one person.
That small action still counts.
It keeps you moving.
And it helps you avoid the old trap of saying:
“I don’t have enough time today, so I’ll do nothing.”
Nothing is hard to build on.
Something is a lot better.
Keep a Little Record
Remember the notebook from Part 2? Keep using it.
You don’t need a fancy tracking tool.
A notebook will do.
At the end of the day, write down what you did. Something like:
- Wrote 400 words.
- Made one post.
- Replied to two people.
- Watched one training lesson.
- Followed up with one person.
That little list can tell you a lot.
After a few weeks, you may start to see patterns. Certain posts may get more replies. One topic may get more clicks. You may notice that you enjoy writing more than making videos.
That’s useful information.
You’re learning from your own work.
Don’t Build a Routine You Hate
This one is important.
If your plan makes you miserable, you won’t stick with it.
If you hate making videos, don’t build your whole affiliate marketing plan around making five videos a day.
If you only have 45 minutes, don’t make a three-hour schedule.
That’s like buying shoes three sizes too small and hoping your feet will get used to them.
Build a routine that fits your life.
Not somebody else’s life.
You can always do more later.
First, make it easy enough to keep going.
Finish Something
There will always be more to do.
Another post.
Another tool.
Another lesson.
Another idea.
Another platform.
It never ends.
So don’t measure your day by all the things you didn’t finish.
Pick something.
Finish it.
A finished blog post is better than three half-written ones.
A finished lesson with one action taken is better than five lessons you only watched.
Done feels good.
Done gives you something to build on.
Your Action Today
Write this down:
Every day, I will spend ___ minutes learning, ___ minutes creating, and ___ minutes connecting.
Keep it doable.
Keep it real.
Then try it for the next seven days. That’s the same seven-day test from Part 2, with a little more structure.
Don’t change it every five minutes.
Don’t add 12 more steps.
Just work the plan.
Affiliate marketing gets a whole lot easier when you stop asking what to do every day.
You already know.
Learn something.
Create something.
Connect with someone.
Then come back tomorrow and do it again.
Simple?
Yep.
But simple gets done.
Remember those nine open browser tabs from Part 1?
Close eight of them. Pick one thing. Finish it.
Want Help Knowing What to Create?
The “Create” step can be the hardest part. It’s tough to make something useful every day if you don’t know what to make.
The program I use comes with a calendar of 30 days of content ideas, along with free training and a ready-made setup. It isn’t the only way to start, and it may not be right for everyone.
I put together a no-hype review that covers what I believe it does well and what you should know before joining.
Affiliate disclosure: My review contains affiliate links. If you join through one of those links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. For more information, see the FTC’s guidance on affiliate disclosures.
Read my honest CB Profit Club review.
That wraps up this three-part series. If you missed the first two parts, you can read Part 1 and Part 2.
If you have a question, concern, or topic you’d like me to cover, please leave a comment below. I read and answer the comments myself, and I make every effort to respond within two business days.
Until next time—stay steady, ignore the hype, and keep moving forward one step at a time.
Bill “One Simple Plan” Marks
