Avoid These Affiliate Mistakes
Avoid These Affiliate Mistakes
Because affiliate marketing gives everybody the opportunity to make money online it is one of the most effective and powerful marketing techniques used by most internet marketing businesses. Affiliate marketing programs are easy to join or set up if you want to start your own.
However, like all businesses, there are lots of pitfalls in the affiliate marketing business. Committing some of the more common mistakes in affiliate marketing could cause a lose in your profits.
1st costly Mistake: Choosing the wrong affiliate program.
The desire to make money online quickly could cause some internet marketers to forsake investigation of the affiliate program. They just want the money quickly. Sometimes they just join the first program that comes along.
They might see that a product is “hot” or in high demand. Then without considering if the product even fits their marketing model or effort, they jump on board. Not really considering what is involved in using that product as a part of their online business.
If you are truly interested in a product and don’t know if well enough to understand how it will work and fit in with your efforts, the chances are that you will not be able to figure out how to implement it into your affiliate internet business online.
Find a product that appeals to you and that you know that you can promote honestly and with no reservations. Also, don’t forget to insure that you make a good commission from your efforts.
2nd Costly Mistake: Joining too many affiliate programs.
Because affiliate programs are easy to join many, probably most affiliate marketers join too many affiliate programs. They may think that this will increase their income.
However, in many cases all it does is increase the affiliate marketer’s debt. He will soon find that he does not have the time to implement all of the programs. All they do is fill up his hard drive.
Now, there is nothing wrong with having several affiliate programs to help you to create multiple sources of income. But you must make sure that you can sustain them. Will you have time to promote all of the programs? Can you really stay focused if you are involved in lots of affiliate program efforts?
For most people, it is probably better to focus on one or two affiliate programs that pay a good commission.
If you are also trying to develop your own products, that will also take time. So, don’t join too many affiliate programs. Concentrate and fully develop a few and you will likely be able to avoid the common overload syndrome that many internet marketers suffer from.
3rd Costly mistake: Not buying the product or service and trying it out.
If you are going to effectively and convincingly promote a product you must know what it is. The best way to know the product is to own it and read or use it. You could forego purchasing the product it you have absolute confidence that the owner of the affiliate program only produces and markets quality information.
In addition you will actually be much more convincing in promoting the product to your opt-in list if you try the product first. You will have a better chance of converting your readers into customers.
It is easy for internet or affiliate marketers to make these mistakes or at least overlook these areas. However it is important to consider these areas and take the time to insure that you avoid making these mistakes in your efforts to make money online. Your affiliate internet business online will be more successful if you avoid these mistakes.
To Your Online Success,
Lonnie Minton
Tagged with: affiliate internet business online • affiliate marketing • internet marketing • make money online
Filed under: affiliate internet business online • affiliate internet marketing • internet marketing • make money online
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Disclaimer: Links that are in this post or other posts may lead to one or more of my affiliate links. If you click on them and purchase I will get compensated because I recommended the product(s) to you. Rest assured that I will never recommend anything that I don’t personally believe in. In addition I always welcome your questions and feedback.
Lonnie,
Great info. I think that is where a lot of newer marketers get hung up. They hear that affiliate marketing is a good way to generate an income and they jump in to several niches, or products without doing much research on them or purchasing the product first.
This generally leads to some kind of failure and they then get a bad taste in their mouths about the IM business in general.
Keep up the good work…
Ron
Ron Barrett´s last blog post..Relationship Marketing – It’s All About Perception – Part III
Well I agree and disagree with some of the points. Yes it is mandatory that you try things before promoting them. That is key and a step people often skip. Know the product.
But…
You can promote quite a few affiliate products from a wide variety of authors. Yes the big ones are Clickbank and PayDotCom but I probably promote over 25 different affiliate programs in the IM arena alone. Any product I use I promote if I possibly can and that does not count all the various traffic sources that may have an affiliate portion to them.
That does not count any of the niche areas that have on average 3-5 affiliate programs that are in each niche.
Yes starting out you can grab too many of you just grab affiliate links and don’t use the programs but as you grow your business you will grow the networks you support as long as the products work for you.
Mike Paetzold´s last blog post..Overcome the stumbling block
I tend to agree with Mike on the number of items you can promote. If only to have a variety to promote to your list. While its good to repeat a promotion, and you will tend to do better by repeating, you readers will want a variety and they will have a variety of interests at various times.
Earl Netwal´s last blog post..How Do You Create Your Own Ethical Bribes?
Thanks for the comments Mike and Earl on the number of affiliate programs to promote.
I guess I was speaking from where I am now. I don’t have a large network or marketing effort. I don’t have time to promote to many programs. Maybe as time goes on and I don’t have to spend as much time on each effort, I can promote more affiliate programs.
Thanks for the advice.
Lonnie
Lonnie Minton´s last blog post..Avoid These Affiliate Mistakes
Great Tips Lonnie!
Like Mike mentioned above, ClickBank makes it easy to become affiliates for many different products. So in that sense it may be ok to be affiliates for many products.
But I do understand what you mean. Many beginners join every affiliate program they can, but then get overloaded with things to do.
Joel Osborne´s last blog post..Are You REALLY In Control? – Product Creation Success
Lonnie,
Great post.
Mistakes I have made and till make.
It easy and often very tempted to sign up as an affiliate.
But then what… There is a lot more to become successful.
The right approach, the right selection, the right niche..
Not so easy. Therefor there are so many books written on the affiliate marketing!
Thanks,
Fred
Fred Lotgering´s last blog post..Product Creation Success Package by Joel Osborne
Great points, Lonnie – especially your point about what level a marketer is at (in your response to Mike). At first, best to focus on a few core programs, then add in more as you become more proficient at it.
One of the best models that’s emerging is niche affiliate marketing sites – using a niche blog to attract targeted traffic in hotter niches, and promoting affiliate products both on the blog and in an autoresponder e-course set up just for that niche. Once in place, they run on autopilot, other than sending them traffic from time to time.
Doug Champigny´s last blog post..Best Blog Installation Software Is Free!
Thanks Lonnie,
I have been guilty of all three of these in the past. I have joined affiliate programs in the past that I can’t even remember how to get to now.
While I do agree with Mike and Earl on some points, you also have to have a way to keep track of all the affiliate programs that you have signed up for.
It is also good to know ahead of time whether the product or service is going to be continually available or if it is a one time shot for a couple of weeks and then shut down. This will determine how you will market the product or service.
I do agree with Doug in that you should definitely start out with just a few affiliate products and build them up over time.
Thanks for the great tips!
Brett McEllhiney
Brett McEllhiney´s last blog post..Build a Niche Marketing Business – Step 15: Track It!
Lonnie, bonjour… It’s a popular view, as shown by many of the commentors above. But it’s not one to which I subscribe.
I don’t buy traffic, I don’t send out spam emails, I don’t engage in questionable or black hat tactics, I seldom seek JV partners, I never seek inbound links, I blog when I feel like it, my SEO happens automatically,
I don’t solicit sales, sales just happen.
Kevin Phoenix´s last blog post..Personal Financial Rescue Plan
A great post Lonnie… and thanks.
I particularly agree with the point that you make regarding don’t try to sell what you don’t use yourself. How can anyone try to persuade others to use a product if they themselves don’t use it.
As for the numbers of products or programmes to promote, I think having just one concentrates all the effort.
Thanks again
Kevin
Kevin Phoenix´s last blog post..Personal Financial Rescue Plan