- Going From Noob To Spammer
- Not Having A Digital Homebase
- Not Modeling What Works
- Trying Everything At Once
- Not Tracking Your Progress
- Not Setting Goals
- Getting Distracted
- Being Scared To Spend Money
- Putting Sales First
- Promoting The Wrong Stuff
1. Going From Noob To Spammer
The business model for affiliate marketing is basically suggesting or promoting products or services and getting paid a commission when people purchase through your affiliate links. When people first discover this there is a very common tendency for them to spread their affiliate links all over the Internet.
I understand this because I made the same mistake. I thought if I have more links in more locations the chances of me getting a commission will increase. Unfortunately it just does not work like that. Spreading affiliate links without providing any value has a very low conversion rate.
On top of the fact that it does not convert very well this strategy also reduces your credibility. The average person uses the Internet every day and they can tell the difference between helpful information and spam in a matter of seconds.
If you want to be successful at affiliate marketing I recommend creating unique and helpful content that you can add related affiliate links to. The strategy has a much higher conversion rate than just spamming links.
2. Not Having A Digital Homebase
When I started trying to be an affiliate marketer I was on a shoe string budget so I did not want to spend money on anything. I started every type of social media account and spammed like crazy.
Doing this did nothing to create trust between me and my prospects. It also took a lot of time and effort and yielded nothing as a result.
Not only was this a very unsuccessful tactic most social media platforms will not allow you to post direct affiliate links and will actively block them.
Creating a homebase on the Internet can solve a lot of these problems. Your homebase could be a website, a blog or even a YouTube channel.
It just needs to be a chunk of Internet real estate where you can brand yourself, share content, and earn trust. After that, then you can recommend products or services.
3. Not Modeling What Works
I have to admit this mistake has stolen more time and effort than any other mistake. I thought I could figure it all out on my own. I spent years testing this and trying that hoping I would discover a new and innovative way to be an affiliate marketer.
If I had simply spent a fraction of that time studying how others have managed to become successful at affiliate marketing I would have been much better off.
If others have found a way to be successful affiliate marketers there is nothing wrong with modeling what they have done.
I am not saying copy or steal others work! I am saying you should model successful strategies because they been show to work for others.
If you would like to learn more about the tactics and strategies I use as an affiliate marketer check out my 7 day $7 course – Affiliate Marketing Jumpstart Week. The link for this online course is below.
https://yourhelpfulaffiliate.com/courses/affiliate-marketing-jumpstart-week/
4. Trying Everything At Once
Making money online can be a bit like being a kid in a candy store. Every strategy seems appealing at first glance so you just wanna try a little bit of everything.
When I started trying to make money online I jumped from referral programs, to drop shipping, to MLM, to affiliate marketing and never really nailed down any of them.
I recommend picking one and sticking with it until you see success. Because if you can not be successful with just one of them what makes you think you will not be successful trying to do all of them at once.
Now this blog is specifically about affiliate marketing. And you can fall into the same type of trap picking affiliate programs. There are a lot of affiliate programs out there. That does not mean you have to sign up for every one.
Trying to manage and promote to many affiliate programs can quickly lead to disorganization and confusion. It can become very difficult to track and keep up with this amount of information.
This is why I recommend doing a good amount of research before you pick what affiliate programs you will become a member of and start promoting. It is much easier to keep track of a small number of affiliate programs that you have researched and understand.
Honestly I still have trouble with this mistake. Every time I discover a new affiliate program I am always tempted to sign up for it. This is something I am actively working on getting better at.
At this point I do not actually know how many affiliate programs I am a member of and that is not good. You want to have a number that is manageable that way you can actually track your progress.
5. Not Tracking Your Progress
This can be an easy mistake to make. A lot of new affiliate marketers do not think about what kind of data they should be keeping track of. Creating a simple Excel sheet to help you keep track of your important data is a good way to remedy this mistake.
Simply decide how often you would like to keep track of specific data points and then keep track of them. Examples of the type of data you should pay attention to are-
- Business costs
- Website visitors
- Affiliate link clicks
- Conversions
- Income
- Hours worked
- Conversion rate
- Website bounce rate
- Most popular content
Keeping track of this type of data and how it changes as you progress can help you understand what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong.
I spent years without paying attention to any of this information. This mistake left me without an understanding of how my business was actually performing.
It also becomes much easier to actively attempt to improve, for example, your conversion rate if you know what it has been and what it is now.
6. Not Setting Goals
Goals can be in incredibly powerful tool to help you move toward success. However most new affiliate marketers do not set goals for themselves.
I highly recommend setting goals that seem easy to complete in the beginning. As you become more and more successful you should increase the difficulty of the goals you set. Doing this will help push you towards success and help youKeep track of what you actually need to do.
7. Getting Distracted
We are only human and distractions are everywhere. If you actually want to be successful as an affiliate marketer you need to learn how to be your own boss.
That means developing self discipline and time management. This also means learning to actively deny yourself from being distracted. The more time you focus on actually working on your business the sooner you will become successful.
For me this meant giving up video games and spending the time I would have been playing them working on my business. You would be surprised how much “spare” time you can create by actively removing distractions.
8. Being Scared To Spend Money
I am sure you have heard this saying.
“You have to spend money to make money.”
– Unknown
This does not mean you have to spend thousands of dollars to be successful. What it does mean is if you are afraid to invest in your own business it is not a real business.
I tried to do affiliate marketing with spending any money for years with no success. When I finally decided to invest in myself and my business everything changed. It just became more real. I had skin in the game and needed to see a return on my investment. This made me work harder and smarter towards that end.
If you do not take your business seriously why should anyone else?
Investing in the creation of a website can have a huge effect on the future success of your affiliate marketing business. This is one of the biggest and best decisions I have made for my business and I only wish I had done it sooner.
The second best investment I have made for my business was in an online course. There are many online courses that say they will show you how to make money online. I think I have found the best one!
This online course is unlike anything else out there. It is taught by two guys who have been successfully make money online for over a decade. They do not use tricks or deception. They will show you how to create a successful online business of your own using affiliate marketing in just 24 months.
To learn more about this course check out the links below.
https://yourhelpfulaffiliate.com/project-24-what-you-should-know-before-you-sign-up/
https://yourhelpfulaffiliate.com/income-schools-project24-day-1/
9. Putting Sales First
I get it. You want to make money, but if you make that your number one priority people will see through it right away. Your content will be spammy and not useful to anyone.
Focus first on a problem you can help people solve and actually be helpful. This will help you gain trust and people buy from people they trust.
I constantly see new affiliate marketers complaining about how it is too hard. It is because of this very mistake. They have their eyes on the finish line but have missed to start.
10. Promoting The Wrong Stuff
Many new affiliate marketers often choose affiliate programs based on the commission that is paid per sale. I personally feel like this is foolish.
When you pick your affiliate programs I suggest picking products and services you know something about. It is even better if you have used them yourself.
People are actively looking for reviews and comparisons. If you have personal experience with the products or services you are promoting your content will be ten times as valuable.
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