A lot of people think that affiliate marketing is just a way to make easy money.
The reality is that, yes, it can be an easy way to make money after you’ve put in a lot of hard work and time into what you’re doing.
This is why so many new affiliates don’t last. They get started thinking that it will be a simple endeavor to make an extra couple of hundred or thousands per month, and end up disappointed when they don’t make much their first month.
But ask anyone who’s been an affiliate marketer for a while now and they can attest that it is possible to start an online business as an affiliate. It’s an investment of time and effort, but in the long run it can pay off. It’s important, though, to not make some of the common mistakes many people make when they’re just starting out.
Falling For “Get Rich Quick” Schemes
Of course, everyone wants to make money, but remember what your mom used to say: if it sounds too good to be true, it is.
People who promise you’ll make thousands within your first month or two of affiliate marketing are preying on the hopes and dreams of others. They may make promises to you if you buy one of their products first, they offer affiliate courses without offering a sneak peek of the content, and they are ultimately scamming you.
If you want to get into affiliate marketing, you’re already in a great spot. Affiliate Marketer Training aims to provide you with helpful and honest advice about this career path and how you can make money doing it. We don’t make empty promises, but we do provide you with advice and tips so you can make affiliate marketing work for you. Also, Affilorama also offers excellent videos and tools to help you on your way as well.
Focusing On Selling
While your ultimate goal is to make sales, pretty much anyone can admit that they hate being sold to. This is the exact reason why car salesman get such a bad reputation—even if they’re simply making small talk, you can sense their underlying motives. People vastly prefer personal interactions, feeling like they’re getting useful advice for free, and would rather be given the option to purchase but not feel pushed to buy something. So how can you strike a balance between what your audience is interested in and your big goals?
Instead of trying to encourage people to buy, buy, and buy some more, give them interesting and helpful content. Don’t just send out affiliate links; instead, give them honest product reviews, give insider tips, and encourage audience engagement. This generates a bond and increases their trust in you, making them much more likely to want to buy products and services you recommend.
Joining Every Affiliate Network
While it can be tempting to try and make money on any and every affiliate platform, don’t spread yourself too thin. The truth is, not every affiliate program will be a good fit for you. Some may include products that don’t suit your audience while others not offer a very generous affiliate percentage.
Choose affiliate networks that suit your audience and also suit you. There are many different affiliate networks available and it’s definitely wise to have different streams of affiliate income, but a few well-selected networks is much easier to manage than all of them.
Failing To Track Links
For every page you promote a product or service, make sure to use a unique link that you can track. Why? Because then you’ll know where your sales are coming from.
You might think this isn’t a big deal. True, it won’t affect your sales—once it’s made, it’s made—but it will give you limited options to grow and really go into high gear with some of your most successful links. By creating a unique tracking ID, you then have a much better understanding of where your commissions are coming from. This then helps you understand what pages and products are working well and it gives you the option to scale that campaign.
Not Disclosing Affiliate Links
If you fail to disclose that your links are affiliate links, you can actually get into some serious legal trouble. The FTC, or Federal Trade Commission, makes it very clear that you must indicate that you’re using affiliate links and/or if you have received a product in exchange for a review.
“The FTC has enforced and will continue enforcing its consumer protection laws to ensure that products and services are described truthfully online, and that consumers understand what they are paying for. These activities benefit consumers as well as sellers, who expect and deserve the opportunity to compete in a marketplace free of deception and unfair practices.”
Basically, by admitting that you receive a small kickback from someone buying this endorsed product or service, you’re promoting and taking part in fair business. By not doing this, you won’t face fines, but you could potentially have to give up any of the funds you have received from those links. Additionally, you could lose all trust from your audience.
As a full disclosure, I am not aware of any affiliate marketer that the FTC has taken action on, even multi-million dollar affiliate marketers. However, the FTC could choose to enforce the rules at any time.
So, the bottom line is: be honest. Consumers may weigh your reviews and promotions differently because they’re affiliate links, but if you share products that you believe in, services that are valuable, and content that is useful, you will still have a loyal following.
