5 Tips on How to be Successful in Affiliate Marketing

You may have noticed a couple of these blogs popping up yesterday and today, referencing Kyle's video from last year. Why the renewed interest in that one particular video? Well, aside from the fact that the information is just as good today as it was then, some of us have re-watched it as part of a group exercise. You may continue to see a few more posts on this topic, but that's great. It is never a bad thing to review, especially when the information is so good. Now, as for my own personal write-up on this, here are my 5 Tips on How to be Successful in Affiliate Marketing

People over Products

It can be easy to lose sight of exactly why we are doing this. Of course, there is usually more than one reason behindthe decision to make a site and start promoting products. Perhaps you are simply looking for a way to improve your finances with a bit of extra income. Maybe you are tying desperately to get out of a job that you don't like and figure that affiliate marketing is a great way to go. Maybe you simply love the product you are promoting and want everyone to know about it. Quite possibly, it's all of the above.

But the one thing to keep at the forfront of your efforts is the people who will be reading what you write. You may have the best products on the market available on your site, but if you are overlooking the fact that there are real people coming to you for information, then you are not going to be terribly successful.

No one likes to go to a website and be met with banners yelling "Buy! Buy! Buy!" in their faces. I don't I am sure you don't, and I am just as certain that visitors to your site don't . Your goal isn't to force products on anyone, bt rather help them find what they want.

No Leash on Your Niche

While you will most likely choose a niche that you are already interested in, or even highly passionate about, take some time to research it. Find out if there is room for it to grow. As Kyle mentions in the video above, he has never managed to exhaust a niche, but you may find that some are a little tight to move around in.

Does your niche have multiple products to review? Are there related topics that can be explored and talked about so that you are doing more than just selling? This ties in with helping people. If you can offer information beyond simply suggesting things to buy, you will be providing a greater service to your visitors.

It's a Marathon, Not a Race

You've heard this before, but it's really something to keep in mind: you are not going to make a perfect site with tons of visitors and tremendous income overnight. You are building a business. Treat it as such. Don't just slap something online and sit back waiting for the money to appear. Invest your time and effort into it. Take the right steps, follow the training, learn what you need to learn and then put it into effect.

Think cumulative gains. Look to the future and know that anything worth doing is worth doing right. Remember that every journey is made up of individual steps. Learn what you need to do, then do it. Then keep doing it. To earn money, you need to sell something. To sell something, you need someone who will buy it. To have someone buy something, from you, they need to find you. To find you, you need to make yourself visible.

The lessons at Wealthy Affiliate are structured in a way to help you reach your goals. Don't skip ahead. Don't look for shortcuts. Do the work. Reap the rewards.

I'm not going to someone in his first week of med school for an operation, are you?

Don't Worry About the Competition

When I was a baby, I remember looking at the toddlers, thinking "man, I'm not gonna bother trying to walk. They're already doing it better than I can!"

Actually, no... I didn't think that. So why would you think that way about your online business?

Yes, there are people who are ahead of you. There are people with more knowledge than you. But the great thing about knowledge is that you can learn everything they did. You can become an expert, too. And who's to say that you won't put that knowledge to better use than them?

No, don't be afraid of the competition. Be afraid for them, because they will have to deal with you soon enough.

Why We Fail

So, if this is something that anyone can do, why do people fail?

Good question.

We all deal to one degree or another with "shiny object syndrome." We get distracted. We focus on the wrong things. We start to doubt in ourselves and our ability to succeed. We get impatient. In all honesty, there are many reasons why we fail. Fortunately, there are even more reasons to succeed. You just have to decide how much you want it, then keep at it until you get it.

You can do this. The people who have succeeded are not better than you. They are not smarter than you. They just know stuff that you don't know yet. But if you want to learn, if you want to reach your dreams, the path is laid out in front of you.

You just need to walk it.

I'm on that path. I'm going to walk as far as my legs will carry me. Won't you join me?