The early stages of building an affiliate marketing business are rarely discussed in detail. Most published accounts focus on the results — the monthly commission screenshots, the passive income milestones. The first three to six months, when revenue is typically zero, receive far less attention.
According to multiple accounts shared in communities like Reddit's r/Affiliatemarketing and various industry forums, the emotional arc of a new affiliate business follows a recognizable pattern. The first month tends to be characterized by enthusiasm — selecting a niche, building a site, publishing initial content. By month two, when traffic remains negligible, doubt sets in. Month three is widely described as the inflection point where the majority of new affiliates abandon the effort.
Those who continue past this period often report a gradual shift. Around months four or five, individual pieces of content begin to gain search rankings. Traffic grows slowly, then compounds. The first commission — often a modest amount — serves as proof of concept rather than meaningful income.
In the AI tools space specifically, the affiliate model has evolved in a notable way. Many AI software companies now offer recurring commissions rather than one-time referral bonuses. This means an affiliate who refers a customer to a tool with a monthly subscription continues to earn a percentage of that subscription for as long as the customer remains active.
Several affiliates have publicly documented their journeys in this space. The strategies that appear most frequently in successful accounts include writing detailed, honest product reviews based on personal experience; creating comparison content that matches high-intent search queries; and building trust through transparency about both the strengths and limitations of recommended tools.
The model requires patience and consistency. A single well-written review may generate only modest traffic initially, but over time, a library of quality content creates a compounding traffic asset. The affiliates who report the strongest results tend to emphasize authenticity over promotional language — a counterintuitive approach in a field often associated with aggressive marketing.