affiliate marketing is a great way to make money. You’re in control, you can work from home, there’s no boss or customer service hassles, your earning potential is sky-high, and there’s an almost infinite array of products to promote, so you’re sure to find something that matches your interests. So it’s no surprise that every day new people are waking up to the idea of making money on the web. However, the journey from newbie to successful affiliate can be a tough one, especially if you don’t avoid the many pitfalls that await the unwary. Here are four of the most common mistakes that new affiliate marketers make, so you know what to avoid!
Buying Too Many Internet Marketing Products
Many people have fallen prey to this mistake, and it has the potential to be financially devastating. The net is awash with enticing sales letters, all promising to show you the latest and greatest way to make money as an affiliate, and warning that you absolutely must buy now, or this super-special low price will be gone forever the next time you visit the site… You know the deal! And those that buy all this stuff often end up paralysed by information overload.
The truth is, many of these products are excellent, and many are garbage. Even most of the good ones are superfluous – there are many ways to succeed as an affiliate, and many business models to choose from. You don’t need to buy every guide under the sun – you just need to get one good one from an author that actually walks their talk (and doesn’t just make money by selling make money products), and then follow that method until you are making the income you desire. As your business grows, you’ll find that other tools, services and information become necessary, but you don’t need all that when you’re starting off. So develop some tunnel vision and stop letting yourself be distracted by every new offer that comes along.
Distractions
Talking of distractions, when you’re working online, the world’s biggest distraction of all – the internet – is just a mouse click away. Many people sit down to work with the intention of spending a few hours on their affiliate campaigns, and then realise they’ve spent all that time checking email, checking stats, browsing IM forums and blogs (you’re ‘learning’, right?), watching videos, reading the news… In other words, doing everything but productive work (which basically comes down to writing content and building links).
It’s not always easy to stay focused in the face of such distractions, but you absolutely must discipline your attention if you want to succeed as an affiliate. Set aside some specific time for all that general surfing, and devote the rest of your work hours to actual work.
Perfectionism
Perfectionism is the kiss of death to online success. Some people are so concerned about getting every little detail of their campaign right, they don’t actually get anything online. When you’re obsessing about creating the perfect site design and the perfect copy (all backed up by perfect market and keyword research of course), progress is painfully slow.
Now that’s not to say you shouldn’t care about quality – of course you should, and creating top quality content will benefit you in the long run. But when you’re first starting out, you have to learn before you can be great, and the best way to learn is by doing it – by creating content and putting it out there, even if it’s not as good as you’d like. That way you can learn from your mistakes, and – importantly – be making sales along the way (because believe me, you don’t need a perfect site and outstanding content to make sales – you just need to hook your visitors up with products and services that benefit them).
Discouragement by Others
Many new affiliates manage to avoid or overcome the above pitfalls, and yet still don’t succeed. Why not? Because they let themselves be swayed by the negativity of others. Most people don’t know anything about making cash online, and as a result have some pretty ill-informed opinions of it. They think we’re all spammers, scammers or porn merchants, and if you talk to them about your new web ventures, they’ll start tarring you with the same brush. Or they’ll just tell you that it’s impossible, and ask why can’t you just be happy with a ‘real’ job anyway?
If you get encouragement from the people in your life, you’re in a great position, But if not, you simply have to learn to dismisstheir negative opinions, and not let them sway you from your path. This can be hard in the early months, when the chances are you’re doing a lot of work and not seeing much money to show for it. You probably may your own doubts about your ability to succeed, and it’s not pleasant when they’re amplified by the doubts of others. But if you keep on persevering, you will make money, and the sceptics will be silenced. In the meantime, consider not discussing your online endeavours with others, unless you know they’re supportive – it’s just easier that way.
These are by no means the only traps that new affiliates fall into, but they’re among the most common. One way of steering clear (or getting out) of such pitfalls is to join Wealthy Affiliate University, where you’ll find all the top quality information and tools you need to succedd as an affiliate, plus the most supportive and newbie-friendly online forum I’ve ever seen (a great place to ‘talk shop’ when those in your life just don’t understand!). For more info, read my detailed Wealthy Affiliate review here.
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