My affiliate marketing journey took an exciting step forward yesterday.
I had another mentoring session with John Thornhill, and we made some important decisions about the future of my online business.
We discussed what I should focus on during the next 30 days, how to make better use of my time, and something I’m particularly excited about: my upcoming product, which we’re aiming to launch before the end of 2026.
We now have a clearer direction for that product, and it will focus on one of the biggest challenges I’ve experienced myself: generating traffic to an affiliate offer.
But before getting into that, here’s my latest business update.
Affiliate Marketing Journey Update: Nearly $1,700 Earned
Since my previous blog post, I’ve welcomed another subscriber to my email list.
My total affiliate earnings remain unchanged at just under $1,700, all generated through ClickBank.
Naturally, I’d love to see another sale come in, but I’ve learned that progress in affiliate marketing doesn’t always happen in a straight line.
Sometimes several things happen in a short period.
Other times, the earnings stay the same while you’re working on improving your website, creating content, attracting visitors, or building relationships with potential customers.
That’s simply part of the process.
The platform I’ve used to generate my ClickBank earnings so far is ClickBank Profit Club, created by my mentor, John Thornhill.
You can join ClickBank Profit Club for free here if you’d like to explore how the system works.
There are optional paid upgrades, but you don’t need to purchase one just to get started.
In my previous blog post, I shared a $90.39 ClickBank affiliate commission.
That was an encouraging result.
However, today’s update isn’t primarily about another commission.
It’s about planning the next stage of my business and making sure I’m working toward something meaningful.
And that’s where yesterday’s mentoring session comes in.
A Productive Meeting With Affiliate Marketing Mentor John Thornhill
Yesterday, I had another meeting with my mentor, John Thornhill, an experienced affiliate marketer who has built a successful online business over many years.
It was an extremely productive and inspiring conversation.
One thing I particularly appreciate about working with John is that he always wants to keep things moving forward.
Our discussions are not simply about coming up with interesting ideas.
We review what’s happened since the previous meeting, examine the progress we’ve made, and decide what needs to happen next.
That approach really appeals to me.
When you’re building an online business, there are countless things competing for your attention.
You can spend time writing blog posts, creating videos, studying search engine optimization, posting on social media, experimenting with new tools, and researching different products.
The problem is that being busy doesn’t automatically mean you’re making meaningful progress.
You also need to decide which activities deserve your time.
And sometimes, you need to stop doing things that aren’t producing the results you’d hoped for.
Yesterday’s session helped me think more clearly about those decisions.
We agreed on the next steps in my affiliate marketing journey, including what I should concentrate on during the coming month.
We also made an important decision about my own upcoming product.
Here are the three areas I’m particularly focused on.
1. Building a More Focused Affiliate Marketing Strategy
Over the past few months, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time creating and sharing content.
My blog has become an important part of my daily routine.
I usually start with my own notes and ideas, then use AI to help structure and develop them into articles.
After reviewing and publishing the final version, I adapt the content for social media.
This approach has become noticeably more efficient.
Writing blog posts and preparing social media content now takes less time than it did when I first started.
That’s encouraging because it leaves more time for other activities.
However, I’ve also learned that sharing content across numerous platforms can become surprisingly time-consuming.
Facebook, LinkedIn, Substack, X, Pinterest, and other channels all compete for attention.
And although I enjoy experimenting with different platforms, I need to think carefully about which ones are actually helping me grow my business.
One of the subjects John and I discussed yesterday was exactly that.
Where should I spend my limited time during the next 30 days?
It’s an important question.
My goal isn’t simply to publish as much content as possible.
I want to attract people who are genuinely interested in learning about affiliate marketing and building an online business.
That means paying attention not only to the number of visitors but also to how those visitors engage with my content.
Some platforms might generate more traffic.
Others might send fewer visitors who are more interested in what I have to say.
Understanding that difference is becoming increasingly important to me.
Why Consistency Still Matters
Although I’m reviewing where I spend my time, I don’t intend to abandon the process of creating useful content.
My blog is an asset I want to continue developing.
Each article gives me another opportunity to share my experiences, answer questions, and potentially attract visitors through search engines.
Some articles may take months before they begin appearing regularly in relevant search results.
Others might never attract significant traffic.
That’s why I believe it’s important to combine consistency with a willingness to learn.
My affiliate marketing journey is still at an early stage, and I don’t expect everything to work perfectly straight away.
But I do want to become more efficient with each passing month.
2. Developing My Own Traffic Generation Product
This was probably the most exciting part of yesterday’s mentoring session.
John and I agreed that my upcoming product should focus on helping people generate traffic to their offers.
It’s a subject that has become particularly relevant to me.
When I first started learning about affiliate marketing, getting an affiliate link was relatively straightforward.
Finding a product to recommend wasn’t necessarily the biggest challenge either.
The difficult part was getting people to actually see the offer.
And that raises an important question.
How do you generate traffic when you’re starting from scratch?
What if you don’t have an established website?
What if your social media accounts have very few followers?
What if you haven’t built an email list yet?
Those are exactly the circumstances many beginners face.
I’ve experienced some of those challenges myself, and I understand how frustrating they can be.
You can spend hours working on a website or preparing promotional content, only to discover that very few people actually visit.
That’s why the direction we’ve chosen for the product feels particularly interesting.
A Traffic Generation Method Designed for Beginners
The idea is to develop a method that can also be used by people with little or no previous experience.
Someone shouldn’t necessarily need a large audience or an established online business before they can begin.
Of course, that doesn’t mean generating traffic will suddenly become effortless.
Building an audience and attracting relevant visitors usually takes work.
And I certainly don’t want to suggest that anyone can follow a few simple steps and immediately start earning large commissions.
Instead, the aim is to create something practical that helps beginners understand what to do and where to start.
Exactly how the method will work is something John and I still need to develop.
We’re not at the stage where I can reveal the complete system.
But we’ve now agreed on the general direction, which is an important step.
Our target is to have the product ready for launch before the end of 2026.
It’s a very exciting prospect.
Having my own product has been one of the longer-term goals of this affiliate marketing journey.
And now that goal is beginning to feel more concrete.
Why Relevant Traffic Matters More Than Random Visitors
One thing I’ve learned is that not all website traffic is equally valuable.
Imagine attracting hundreds of visitors who have no interest in your content or the products you’re recommending.
Those visits might make your analytics reports look impressive, but they won’t necessarily help you build a business.
Now imagine attracting a smaller number of people who are genuinely interested in your subject.
They might spend more time reading your articles.
They might subscribe to your email list.
And some may eventually decide to explore a product you recommend.
That’s the type of audience I’d like to develop.
For me, effective traffic generation isn’t simply about increasing the number of visitors.
It’s about attracting the right people and giving them a reason to stay.
That principle will be worth keeping in mind as we develop the upcoming product.
3. Improving My Email Follow-Up Sequence
Another priority today is working on my email marketing.
Since my last update, I’ve gained one more subscriber.
Every new subscriber is encouraging, particularly while my audience is still relatively small.
I’ve also been reminded recently that a subscriber isn’t just another number on a dashboard.
Behind every email address is a real person with their own interests, ambitions, and questions.
Some people might only be curious about affiliate marketing.
Others might be actively searching for a way to build an online business.
And a few may be ready to invest in additional training or support.
That’s why I want my email sequence to provide useful information rather than simply send promotional messages.
A Special ClickBank Profit Club VIP Offer
Today, I’m planning to update my automated email follow-up sequence with a special VIP upgrade offer for ClickBank Profit Club.
John has confirmed that this particular offer will remain available for the foreseeable future.
That means I can introduce it as part of my existing follow-up process rather than treating it as a very short-term promotion.
I think that’s a much better approach.
Subscribers should have time to learn about the platform, understand what it offers, and decide whether a paid upgrade makes sense for them.
The free membership remains an accessible starting point.
Then, for people who want to explore additional features and membership benefits, there are optional paid levels.
I’m looking forward to incorporating the VIP opportunity into my email sequence.
Building Something Beyond Individual Affiliate Commissions
Another program I’ve explored is Coaching Profit System.
Where ClickBank Profit Club has been the starting point for my affiliate earnings, Coaching Profit System represents another possible step toward developing an online business and building something of your own.
You can read more about Coaching Profit System here.
For me, the long-term objective is about more than earning occasional affiliate commissions.
I’d like to build valuable assets, develop my own products, and gradually create a business that can grow over time.
That’s one reason yesterday’s conversation about my upcoming product was so motivating.
It feels like another step toward that larger goal.
What I’m Doing Today to Keep My Business Moving Forward
After yesterday’s inspiring mentoring session, today is going to be a fairly ordinary day.
I have a one-hour shift at my regular job.
I’ll also take my usual cycling ride.
Exercise has become an important part of my daily routine, and I enjoy having something that gets me away from the computer for a while.
After that, I’ll spend time sharing today’s blog post across my social media channels.
I’ll also work on the new email follow-up sequence and make sure the VIP offer is introduced in a way that makes sense for my subscribers.
None of these tasks is particularly dramatic.
But that’s something I’ve come to appreciate about building an online business.
A lot of the work consists of relatively small activities repeated consistently.
Writing another article.
Publishing another post.
Making an improvement to an email sequence.
Reviewing the statistics.
Learning something new.
And occasionally, having a mentoring session that helps bring everything together.
I don’t expect every day to produce another sale.
But I do want each week to move the business a little further forward.
What I’ve Learned From My Affiliate Marketing Journey So Far
If I had to identify one important lesson from the past few months, it would be that progress doesn’t always appear immediately in your earnings.
My total income is still just under $1,700.
That hasn’t changed since the previous blog post.
But other things have changed.
My email list has grown.
My content creation process has become more efficient.
I’ve gained more experience with analytics and tracking.
And now, John and I have agreed on a direction for my own product.
Those developments matter too.
In fact, some of them may prove more important to my long-term business than an individual affiliate commission.
I still have plenty to learn, particularly when it comes to attracting more visitors and understanding which marketing activities produce meaningful results.
But I’m enjoying the process.
And having an experienced mentor who continually encourages action makes a real difference.
Looking Ahead: The Next 30 Days and Beyond
The next month will be about continuing to build my existing business while making progress on the plans John and I discussed.
I’ll keep creating content, working on my email list, and trying to attract more relevant visitors.
At the same time, we’ll be developing the concept for my upcoming traffic generation product.
There are still plenty of questions to answer.
What should the method include?
How can it be made practical for complete beginners?
What will people need to get started?
And how can we make the learning process as straightforward as possible?
Those are some of the things I’m looking forward to exploring.
I don’t know exactly what the finished product will look like yet.
But the prospect of creating something useful, based on a problem I’ve experienced myself, is genuinely exciting.
I’ll continue documenting the process on this blog as things develop.
Hopefully, before the year is over, I’ll have a new product of my own to introduce.
Until then, my affiliate marketing journey continues.
One article, one subscriber, one lesson, and one step at a time.
Start Your Own Affiliate Marketing Journey
If you’re interested in learning more about affiliate marketing, you can explore ClickBank Profit Club for free.
It’s the platform through which I’ve generated my ClickBank affiliate commissions so far.
You can start with the free membership, learn about the opportunities available, and decide whether any optional upgrades are right for you.
Join ClickBank Profit Club for Free
My updated email follow-up sequence will also introduce a special VIP offer for those who want to learn more about upgrading.
Whatever stage you’re at, remember that building an online business takes patience, consistency, and a willingness to keep learning.
Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you make a qualifying purchase through those links, at no additional cost to you. My earnings reflect my personal experience and are not a guarantee of similar results.
