Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money, and quite easy if you are focused and willing to put in the work to build a profitable business. That said, there are some pitfalls in affiliate marketing that can put a damper on your success, or even ruin your reputation. We’re going to discuss 5 of those cheats today, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been guilty of at least one of them at some point!
Because almost every market is competitive online today, it’s no longer possible to just become a publisher and think you can sit back while the money rolls in. It just doesn’t work that way. If you really want to make money with affiliate marketing, you have to be willing to “learn the ropes” and act on what you learn. If you’re a “newbie” to the affiliate marketing game, this post applies to you too, because you want to avoid these pitfalls. Ok, here we go!
Top 5 affiliate marketing pitfalls and solutions
#1 – Sign up for all programs related to your niche
Many affiliates sign up for all programs related to their niche. While it is a good idea to promote two or three products/services that you think would be useful/valuable to your readers, it is not a good idea to promote 8, 10 or even more products. When you overdo it, your visitors will notice that your site seems too promotional, and search engines will too.
Focus on valuable content and promote some quality products with finesse. Try to choose the offers that best suit the needs of your readers. And remember, you are not “stuck” with the products you choose; you should test to see which products have higher conversion rates.
#2 – Promote products that are not relevant to your website
Search engines pay attention to relevance between your niche, content, and the products/services you offer, as do your visitors. You don’t want to send a mixed message or confuse your visitors. If dog training is your niche, you absolutely do not want content on your site (or banners, ads, etc.) that promotes breast enhancement pills! Your readers may be offended, and that will absolutely take away your credibility.
Stick to content that your readers want, that is on topic. Choose credible affiliate programs that are relevant to your niche.
#3 – Throw advertising rules out the window
We’ve all seen banner ads, emails, and other advertisements that make big (and unbelievable) promises. A buying customer is usually unaware that you are an affiliate; They see you as a merchant and trust you to offer reputable products. As an affiliate, think about the banners and other forms of advertising that the merchant offers before you start using them. If that sounds like a lot of “hype” that you may not be able to deliver on, think twice before using that advertising medium. Never make unsubstantiated claims as it can come back to “bite” you in the form of dissatisfied customers and potential legal trouble.
To avoid this pitfall, simply make sure the language used in product advertising is ethical and avoid overselling. When writing product reviews, as many affiliates do, be honest and transparent, and never steal content from the vendor’s original product site to use in your review. It may be against policy and may also be seen as duplicate content by Google.
#4 – Not Committing Enough Time or Resources to Affiliate Campaigns
No matter how much you want it to be true, you cannot launch an affiliate site, put content on it, links to products, banners, etc. and expect to earn money. Successful affiliate marketing requires enough time, money, or both. The more affiliate campaigns you run, the more resources you need. In order to reach a certain level of success, you need to promote and market your product, which can be done through article syndication, list building, social media, forums, blogs, pay per click ads, and more. plus.
How can you avoid this pitfall? Know how much you can make depending on your lifestyle, job, children, etc. If you need one hour each day for each affiliate campaign, spend “x” number of hours per day based on the number of campaigns you are running. If you don’t have time to manage promotions and marketing yourself, outsource the work.
#5 – Unrealistic expectations – or abandon ship too quickly
You can’t become an overnight success in affiliate marketing, although we’d all love it if you could! Many marketers build a website and start affiliate marketing, only to jump ship when they don’t see results in a week or two. That’s not how it works, especially considering the sheer volume of competition in most markets today. Creating successful affiliate marketing campaigns takes time and patience.
Quick fix? Set realistic goals and keep them small. Let’s say you want to earn $20 per week and grow to where you are earning $50 per week within a 6 week period. This is doable! And once you reach your goal, you will enjoy the satisfaction, which will inspire and motivate you to work harder. Don’t go into affiliate marketing expecting to make $1,000 a week right off the bat. It is simply not realistic and will lead to disappointment.
If you don’t have the patience or feel like you can’t devote your time and energy to affiliate marketing, it may not be for you. If you have patience and are ready for a different lifestyle, one where you don’t have to answer to a boss 5 days a week, affiliate marketing is definitely a way to achieve your dream of being self-sufficient, but it won’t happen overnight. overnight. For me, knowing that it IS possible to reach 5 figures a month is enough of an incentive to keep doing my best!
