subject: Three Common Mistakes in Affiliate Marketing and Why You Must Avoid Them [print this page] Three Common Mistakes in Affiliate Marketing and Why You Must Avoid Them
Affiliate marketing is one of the quickest and easiest ways to start making money online. It does not take a huge upfront investment, you don't need lots of marketing knowledge to get started and it can be done in your spare time.
Generally affiliate programs are easy to join, have a clear and structured commission system and are open to anyone. The fact that they are so easy to get started makes it very tempting to dive straight in without giving enough thought to the business you are starting but do this at your peril.
Here are three common mistakes that people make in affiliate marketing and how you can ensure you avoid them:
1. Don't choose the wrong affiliate products to promote.
As bizarre as it may sound some people limit their research' into affiliate marketing to searching the internet for something that interests them and then signing up to promote the very first affiliate product they find in this niche.
Others jump on the very latest bandwaggon and sign up to promote something which is nothing more than a passing fad while others only consider commission rates to decide upon the right product.
In none of the above cases is there even a suggestion of a coherent business plan involved and the efforts of these would-be affiliates are almost certainly doomed to failure.
If you choose something just because you like it then you may get lucky and find that lots of other people like it too but you may also find that there is no real market for the product in question.
Also the first product you find to promote may not be the best because even if you hit on a popular niche, you are asking for a double dose of good fortune to find the best product in that niche first time round.
Choosing a bandwaggon product won't work either because in no time at all something new will come along and the product you are promoting won't be nearly as popular as it once was.
If you decide on commission rates alone you might have a product that pays well but does not sell well so your overall return will be rather disappointing. It would be far better to choose a product that came with just half the commission but had ten times the sales volume.
2. Never sign up for too many affiliate schemes at once.
There is a tendancy to be a bit like a child in a sweet shop when you get started in affiliate marketing and this leads you to pick products and programs almost at random.
The logic is that as the schemes are free to sign up to then you maximize your chances of earning commission by promoting a large range of offers all at once.Now while this sounds tempting, it also means that you run the risk of promoting a lot of products rather badly and therefore lose potential sales as a result.
Instead it is far better to choose one programme carefully and promote it as well as you can, taking care to really put time and effort into this product to gain as many sales as you can. Onlywhen your first project is up and running you should choose another product to promote and that way you will give yourself the best chance at success.
3.Failing to know enough about the product or service you are promoting.
You simply cannot know too much about the product you are promoting, only too little.The very best way to gain a full understanding of the product in question is to buy it yourself, use it and get to know it inside out.
Yes this is an additional investment on your part but if you are totally familiar with the product then you will be best placed to promote it in a convincing and authoritative manner.
Because you have first hand experience of it, you will understand exactly how it works and what the key benefits are so that you can point these out to other potential customers.
Equally, if buying the product is a routine part of your affiliate business it could also help you avoid costly mistakes. You might, for example, buy the thing and discover that it is nowhere near as good as you were led to believe. Then you obviously do not want to be an affiliate for this product and have saved yourself a lot of time and effort promoting something which is only likely to disappoint.If it came with a money back guarantee then send it back for a full refund and look around for something better to promote instead.
These three tips alone should help ensure that you don't make the same costly mistakes that so many other affiliate marketers have done and will continue to do. The time you spend at the outset laying the groundwork for your affiliate business will pay dividends in the long run.
