Do you Belong to any affiliate programs?

Do you make money ONLY when you make a sale?

Throw out those affiliate programs NOW!

Bet you think I am crazy, right?

Let me tell you why I am not!

My name is Vicki Ballard and I have been online for over 4 years. Up until just a while ago, I made nothing substantial.

I belonged to affiliate programs too!

I put my ads all over internet and offline as well.

I used FFA's, classifieds, ezines and every other way I could think of to promote my product, and to get that SALE.

Now you say, "well geez, I do that too."

Have you reached financial freedom yet? because it sure didn't work for me!

WHY?

Because I only made money when I made a SALE!

"And isn't that how it's supposed to work?", you ask.

Yes and No!

Yes, you want to get that sale. But, if you stop making sales, what happens? Your income STOPS as well!

In order to "REALLY" start Making Money Online, you need...

Here it comes! Are you ready?

You need RESIDUAL INCOME!

Start with all money you have coming in (your job, selling your work, your rich uncle, etc.). Subtract all money going out (art supplies, car payments, mac and cheese, etc.). What's left is your profit.

If your profit is enough to live on, fabulous! Skip right to next month's article....

If your profit covers all your art costs (canvas, paper, paints, classes, etc.), congratulations! You're breaking even.

If your profit is ... uh ... a NEGATIVE number ... you've got a bit of work to do. But it IS pretty simple. And I'll show you exactly what to do.

But first, let me give you a little incentive to follow through. Here are seven ways a budget can help you become a better artist - AND sell more artwork:

1 - YOU'LL BE MORE FOCUSED ON YOUR ART. If your attention is on how much money you need - or how much money you don't have - it's not on your art. So do a budget. You'll see right away how to improve your financial situation. And that'll give you much more free attention for your art.

2 - YOU'LL HAVE THE TOOLS TO CONTINUE WITH YOUR ART AS LONG AS YOU LIKE. If you're spending more than you're earning, it won't be long before you run out of money to pay for your art. A budget will show you changes you can make - NOW - so that you'll be able to support your art in future.

3 - YOU'LL VALUE YOUR WORK EVEN MORE. The price you put on your artwork defines your income (the money coming IN from your art). Understanding your budget will help you price your work in a way that'll support you as an artist.

4 - YOU'LL NEVER DISCOUNT YOUR WORK. There are lots of reasons that you should never discount your work. Your budget is yet another! Once you see how important every dollar is to your profit, it'll help you stick to your prices - no matter how persistently someone haggles with you. (To learn more about why you should never discount your work, check out article "How much? You decide," here.)

5 - YOU'LL IMPRESS YOUR BUYERS AND COLLECTORS. When you have a budget (the basis of your art business plan), you'll be more professional. And that's pretty impressive to collectors! Just see how your sales increase once you start handling your art career as a business, rather than a hobby.