Follow Along: Going All-In on Affiliate Marketing with a $500/Month Budget

[btaliat]

Hey everyone,


I’m brand new to the forum and hope you and your families are doing well. I’m here to connect, learn, and share my journey — and hopefully create something valuable for others in the process. I’ve been in deep research mode for months, and now it’s time to put things into action.


I’ve spent the last 3–6 months doing what I can only describe as obsessive research — 18-hour days reading, studying, and taking notes. I wanted to avoid being that person who jumps into a forum without putting in the work first. This will be my first real attempt at building and running affiliate campaigns with a modest budget of $500 per month, and I plan to post regular updates here so others can follow along, learn from my mistakes, and hopefully see a few wins.

The Dilemma: Hosting & Tools​

My first big decision point is whether to go the “old school” route — VPS or CDN hosting, self-built landing pages, ripped pages using tools like Adplexity — or use an all-in-one builder like Builderall. I’ve heard both hype and horror stories about all-in-one platforms, so I’m trying to figure out what professionals are using right now.


I’m leaning toward something reliable and fast, possibly Liquid Web or FastComet if I don’t go with Builderall. But speed, flexibility, and tracking accuracy are non-negotiable.

My Starting Stack & Setup Plan​

A. Tracking – Considering Binom for click and conversion tracking.
B. Hosting – Still deciding (see above).
C. Spying Tool – Adplexity is on my radar, but I’m open to cheaper alternatives so I can free up more money for ad spend.


Traffic Source: 100% Facebook Ads for this phase.


Affiliate Networks: Planning to work with Advidi, ClickDealer, and ClickBank. I want networks with active managers who can provide insight and help me spot promising offers.

Offers & Niche Focus​

I plan to start with three offers in different verticals:

• Travel
• Automotive
• A third that could be healthcare, insurance, or retail (still deciding).

The idea is to get a feel for how different audiences respond and where I can find a profitable angle.

Landing Page & Ad Testing​

For each offer, I’ll create three versions of the landing page:

1. Control – My baseline design.
2. Variation 1 – Change one major element (image, headline, etc.).
3. Variation 2 – Another change to test against the control.

Then I’ll run Facebook ads to each variation to gather data.


I’m still looking for advice on how long to run each test before making a decision. I know FB can run ads for as low as $1–$5/day, but with a tight budget, I need to be smart about when to scale and when to cut.

Funnel Structure​

Here’s my planned funnel:

1. Traffic from Facebook ads.
2. Click goes to squeeze page (email opt-in).
3. Collect email for future campaigns/verticals.
4. Redirect to offer-specific landing page.
5. User clicks CTA → goes to offer.
6. Conversion.

This way, even if they don’t convert on the first visit, I can market to them via email later.

The Challenge & Mindset​

COVID has left me unemployed with bills piling up and a family to support, so this isn’t just a casual experiment — it’s all-in for me. I’ve run my own business before and worked as an audio/video production engineer, so I have skills in marketing, sales, and UX/UI. Now, I want to bring those skills into affiliate marketing, cut through the misinformation, and see what’s possible on a limited budget.


I know the industry changes fast, and that’s why I’m sharing the journey here. The plan is simple:

• Start small.
• Gather data.
• Optimize.
• Repeat.

I’m hoping this thread becomes a solid case study for others starting with limited resources. Updates coming soon as I make my final decisions on hosting and launch the first campaigns.