subject: Affiliate Marketers And Their Common Mistakes [print this page] Affiliate marketing is one of the most powerful ways for marketers to earn money online. Affiliate marketers do make some common mistakes and I hope to educate you right now on a few of those. Just as my last article went into what affiliate marketing was, and how to get into it. Remember to be careful.
You need to remember, just like anything in life there are ups and downs. As in your business, nothing is perfect. If you read the following mistakes, and choose another road unlike many others you will be prosperous. I present to you Affiliate Marketers and their common mistakes.
The First Common Mistake
Many affiliate marketers that are in their early states of their internet marketing business are starving. They have been an internet marketer for less than 60 days and hear the latest "guru" talk about the latest "hot" program. These "newbie's" want to jump on every last program that everyone is talking about that is industry changing material.
My Advice
My advice for the first common mistake is to do your due diligence. Check out the program or the supplier online, and how much in demand is this product or service. Also pick an affiliate marketing program product that you will enjoy talking about, proud about, and use. Can you really honestly promote a product that you hate or everyone else does? If the company has burned thousands of people in the past and now you promote it; what does that do to your brand? Your brand is you, people will remember you for what you have done and how you treated people. People will not want to do business with you if they hate the company you are affiliated with.
The Second Most Common Mistake
Many affiliate marketers try to join way too many different affiliate programs. While in theory you may be thinking the more I join the more money I can make. This does sound good, but it actually backfires on you. What happens is that you become a "Jack of all trades and a master of none." With too many irons in the fire you end up forgetting one.
This is what I've seen people do, they start out joining three or four affiliates within their first 30 days of business. They may spend $500 to become affiliates with four different programs, make a few advertising or marketing runs, and make few bucks. So let's say they make $50 and then invest in two really small, low cost affiliate programs. Now they have six programs to try to promote. They are overwhelmed and since we all have the same 24 hours in a day they have no extra time and all their affiliates start failing.
My Advice
My advice is to build your business and marketing the same way you would a house. You start with really good land, build a foundation, and continue one board and nail at a time. If you just throw your business together, it is like building a house on sand. You want to become an affiliate with a company that has a great product or service and has a proven track record.
With the internet still being pretty young and the internet marketing/affiliate marketing idea improving all the time, you have time. We all know the internet is not going anywhere and it is constantly going to improve. Take your time and do you due diligence, it pays to investigate.
The Third and BIGGEST Common Mistake
If you are an affiliate marketer you have got to invest and actually use the product or service. If you do not use the product or service how will you really educate people on the benefits. Just alike I always tell people "features tell, benefits sell!" Have you ever been at a store and asked an employee the differences between two products? In your amazement this employee starts reading the description card under each one! Well, !@#$% I could have done that, a kid can read those description cards.
My Advice
First, see if you can sign up for a free program. Many companies in today's environment offer a free program, and then after a bit of time offer a discounted fee to sign up. This does two things for you:
Allows you to become fully educated of all the pro's of the program and any opportunities (remember, nothing is perfect). If you try the free program first, this is a "lead" for the company. Stay a "lead" for 30+ days and watch them offer you a discount to sign up. Wa-lah, I saved you money! You also become one of the credible and living testaments of the product and service.
In any business you are building a relationship with people. If you come across honest, creditable, and very sincere you will trigger people to become intrigued.
While I Know These Mistakes
I have learned these mistakes early on in my marketing business. I now only focus on a few very good merchants that I am affiliates with. I was fortunate unlike many others that have spent thousands of dollars and years later trying to break even. While not only investing thousands of dollars, they also spent hundreds of hours with little to no return.
Don't jump on every bandwagon that gets drown across your computer or Smartphone. Don't believe every so called "guru" that sends you a message on Facebook. Remember that good old gut feeling you sometimes yet? If you do your proper investigations and do affiliate marketing correctly you will become prosperous.
