well KKibaK - why don't you tell us then what is abslolutely KEY to automate? The actual building of the page? This is not a thread about page design etc. if you need your hand held and don't understand that preselling is something that you have to sit down and think about and do some research on your own, not steal something that someone else has done well then make this your 1 and only post cause you just are not smart enough to sell crack in a crack house! Your post sucks because you say something is wrong but you don't say why or what should be done, thus you are a waiste of a nut!
Okay, I can see I'm talking to someone with the maturity of a 5 year old, but that can still be fun so I'll humor you.
Automation is key in everything. I'm not sure why you mention page design, because that would probably have been one of the less-important components I would have considered.
The thread is about how to run an affiliate campaign, right?
Well, we could spend time looking for keywords manually, or we could turn to automation. You yourself have referenced tools you use--guess what, buddy, those tools are AUTOMATING tasks you would otherwise be doing yourself.
How about bidding on the keywords? Well, you could manage your bids manually and limit your options by time, or you could program (or purchase / license) something to automate the task. There are lots of profitable bidding techniques, of which I'm sure you are aware, that take time if you try to do them manually. Automate and save that time so you can spend it coming up with ideas.
Nearly everything can be automated... and the most (humorously) ignorant part of your post is that you are posting that you shouldn't automate things while you're unknowingly taking advantage of automation right and left.
