When you’re learning about affiliate marketing, you’re trying to absorb all the information you can about running your own business. You’re picking up tips on starting your own site, how you can promote affiliate links, what programs and networks to join, and so much more. You might feel a little nervous about what you’re about to begin, but you’re ready to start something exciting.
And at the beginning, almost anything is exciting. Once you have your site up and running, it’s a small victory. The first few visitors to your blog put a smile on your face. You’re probably thrilled when you notice you received your first click on a link. But what happens after the novelty of something new has worn off and you get into the tougher parts of being an affiliate marketer?
Hopefully you learned that affiliate marketing is not just a get rich quick plan to making hundreds or thousands within a few months. In fact, it’s not uncommon to wait months or even years before receiving a significant paycheck from affiliate marketing. That is why I always say the #1 barrier to entry is patience! But you know that and you’re okay with that, which is why you’ve followed through with your business and will keep following through… Right? 😉
Every newbie affiliate marketer deals with some relatively common problems, so here they are — and here’s also what you can do about them.
Slow Growth
At first, it’s incredibly tempting to hop onto Google Analytics every day and see how many visitors your site is getting. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to climb out of the single digits in the first couple of months, but it can quickly get discouraging to see this number linger as you continue to put out new content.
The cliche phrase is true: all good things take time. If you’re experiencing a lull in visitors to your site, then don’t fret! The time will come when more and more people will come to you for information, but it just might not be today. You can improve your growth by consistently putting out new content on your site, staying active on social media, promoting affiliate links as well as non-affiliate links, and guest posting on other reputable sites to earn a bit more recognition.
Little Or No Social Media Engagement
Social media is intended to be just that: social. It’s a place to interact with others, ask questions, answer questions, and get in on a conversation. This is why it can be incredibly discouraging to post updates and receive no feedback in return. Social media is not so much about numbers as it is about engagement, and when you fail to engage those who are following you, you might start to wonder if social media is even that important.
It is vital to most businesses today, and in fact you can run an affiliate business off of social media alone! Just because you’ve encountered a road block does not mean it’s time to give up on your Twitter or Facebook.
Instead, focus on creating really excellent, interesting updates. Instead of simply reposting your blog updates, ask questions related to your niche, post funny memes, share interesting videos, share other high quality sites within’ your niche, or ask for opinions through a poll. The more variety you throw out there in the beginning, the more you’ll be able to see what doesn’t work as well as what does.
And you could totally change your social media game plan and still see very little engagement. That’s okay, too. Continue to experiment with different types of updates until you find something that works for you. Especially in the beginning, it’s expected that your business is going to be morphing and changing—so take this time to do some trial and error to figure out what will be best for the future.
Problems Making Sales
Perhaps you’re noticing more and more people visiting your site, but you’re failing to increase your sales at all. Obviously, traffic is good, but engagement, clicks, and sales from your readers are even better. What can you do when your sales number simply won’t budge?
Well, first of all, make sure you’re incredibly clear on what your niche is and who your ideal client is. If this is unclear to you, then it will absolutely be unclear to the people who visit your site, receive your newsletters, or follow you on social media. Hone in on a specific sector of a market that you are passionate about and define the person who you intend to help.
Then you should examine what products you’re promoting and if they fall in line with your niche and what your clients need. The key word here is “need.” Sure, you might like a lot of things when you go to the store, but you usually only get what you need to get. If you can demonstrate the need to have an item and to make someone say, “Yes, I MUST have that product,” then your sales will happen.
Additionally, if you’re a little too sales-focused, you could be hurting your sales. Sounds strange, I know, but it’s true. If all you ever do is promote affiliate links endlessly, people are going to stop listening to what you have to say. You have to also provide them with valuable content that doesn’t relate to purchasing a single thing. This not only keeps people interested but also builds their trust in you, which can then lead to sales later on down the road.
