The world of an affiliate marketer can be an exciting and successful one, if one only has the time, effort, and determination to put into it. If you’re new to the world of affiliate marketing, or are considering getting into it, it can be a fun and rewarding opportunity to make money promoting products and services you love, and working on your schedule, at your own pace, answering only to yourself. Who wouldn’t want a piece of that pie? As great as all of that sounds, there are ins and outs to consider with an affiliate marketing career, just as any other career has, and knowing what to do and not to do can help a great deal, especially when you’re first starting out.
Affiliate Marketing No-Nos
Too Much Selling, Not Enough Helping
While it’s true that a part of being an affiliate marketer is to market products, your main goal is to let others know what’s good and bad about the product through honestly reviewing the product and answering any questions. Let the product sell itself. That’s why they give you affiliate links – be honest with your readers and let them make the decision to buy the product based on what you’ve told them and why you’ve told them they need it, and if they do, they’ll use your affiliate link to do so, so you’re getting the credit. As I’ve said many times in the past, the way I sell products or services online is through the CTPM process.
Too Many To Start
Don’t worry about getting as many affiliate partners as you can at first; as with just about every kind of career, you’ll need to get your feet wet before you just dive in headfirst. Once you have a feel for how the world of affiliate marketing works, you can apply for all the affiliate partnerships your heart desires. Until then, choose your affiliate programs wisely and try not to completely overload yourself.
No Experience
Especially when you’re starting out, your best bet is to promote products you’ve used before, or have had some run-in with prior to your promotion. Nothing breaks someone’s trust more than being led to purchase a product that turns out to be no good, and if you have experience with the products you’re promoting and are honest in your promotion or review of the products, you can avoid these situations almost all together. It’s important to keep in mind that not everyone will have the same experience you did, but for the most part your honesty will keep your readers coming back for more.
Not Tracking
One thing that will help you in the long run with your affiliate marketing career is knowing which links and sites are getting the most traffic, and which are generating the most revenue. To do this, you will need to keep up with your affiliate sales, and most websites that offer an affiliate partnership also give you the ability to track your sales and commissions as you make them. Knowing how you made the commission is a great way for you to see what’s working and what’s falling flat, so you know which methods to capitalize on in the future, to further build your career.
No Comparisons
One great way to sell a product to an audience is to have something to compare it to. For every product out there, there will undoubtedly be another one or two or even three like it, and if you are able to compare your product to these, it can greatly benefit your readers. This is especially helpful if they have their decision narrowed down to a couple options, because it allows them to see the product, not just from the company’s eyes, but from a fellow customer’s as well (yours), and this goes a long way in selling a product.
“Make Money Online” Products
I’m sure you’ve seen these all over the internet, especially over the last decade or so. Products promising to make you thousands – even millions – of dollars within a short amount of time, if only you are willing to invest in their training courses or products. These, as I’m sure you’ve also learned, are almost always (actually, yeah, always) scams, and are a waste of the customer’s time and hard-earned cash. You can, of course, always talk about the benefits of online courses and training for the niches of the internet career they’re going for, but you should never, ever try to trick people. Your best money (and by best, I mean the most) will be made through honesty and integrity, not scams and false promises.
Shiny New Opportunities
This can happen whether you’re new to affiliate marketing, or have been in the game for a while, but it’s all the same, and is always just as tricky: You’re checking your inbox, and suddenly a headline of an e-mail catches your attention – and it’s disguised as a great new opportunity to make money online. These will come by with varying frequency, and are always going to be what we talked about before: Scams. Nothing with affiliate marketing comes easy – in fact, nothing really comes easy – and affiliate marketing in particular is a career which requires self-motivation, focus, and time invested, and for many, these are skills you have to learn along the way. The general rule of thumb is that anything that promises riches practically overnight is something to be avoided…and you and your career will thank you for doing so, every time.
