10 Affiliate Marketing Mistakes

byDaveSw

5.6K followers

Updated 7 years ago

Hi, Everyone...

We learn so much here on what to do as affiliate marketers, it can be overwhelming, especially when starting out...Today I want to discuss things we as affiliate marketers need to stay away from, as opposed to what we should do...

These mistakes can cost us time, money, and effort. They can keep us from achieving success in the time we have envisioned, and they can get us in a funk about online marketing in general...

10 Mistakes Affiliate Marketers Make

(1) Choosing The Wrong Niche

The main thing you have to do is selecting a niche that you will be able to monetize. You also should have an interest, or at least be willing to devote the time and effort to become an expert in it.

A lot of time is invested in all the work to get a website up and running, and then in creating relevant, engaging, and entertaining content. Choose something you're going to really not mind working in, and hopefully will even enjoy doing.

Do the research on a niche to make sure there is a large enough audience, there is something to monetize, and this target audience is interested in the products and services in the niche.

Look at other websites, use Google search, do keyword searches, look at the social platforms, check out forums, ask others their opinion, and then select your niche...This work at the start will save you a LOT of heartache later possibly...

(2) Traffic

New affiliate marketers hear all the time that they need to generate traffic, lots of traffic... While you need website visitors, you need the ones that are interested in what you have and the products that your will promote. Just traffic in and of itself is not enough.

What you are looking for is qualified traffic. This is website visitors that will take action on your offers. We learn here the power of search engines and the content we write focuses on what people are looking for (keywords)...

Marketers sometimes forget the power of using good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for their posts and website, and instead count on luck or hope, or writing what THEY find interesting in the niche.

Knowing what the competition is doing and whether or not you have a chance to compete for the keywords is an essential part of the SEO process..At the end of the day, quality will always beat quantity when it comes to traffic...

Do not forget other good sources for quality traffic AFTER you have taken care of the SEO. Think about getting traffic from sources such as:

• A Variety of Niche Communities (Forums, FB Groups, Membership Sites, etc.)
• Use Social Media Platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.)
• Consider Off-Site Marketing (If appropriate)
• Paid Advertising
• High Authority Sites - Quora, Blogger dot Com, etc.

By adding in links, helpful comments, synapses of your posts, becoming an authority on these platforms, you will get the kind of traffic you need..

(3) Sales

I hear and read a lot about the sales end of affiliate marketing. It is an important outcome you most likely are looking for as an affiliate marketer...Generally people do not understand why they are not getting sales...

I think it comes down to just a couple of things: Either you are not getting the right kind of traffic, or your offers are lacking in one respect or another. It is simple...

Unless your data set is large enough, you will not be able to measure what your true conversion rate may be for an offer you have created. I think a minimum of 1000 website visitors to your offer will get you more accurate data on how the offer is converting. So that 1000 visitors is the number to shoot for, then see what conversions look like.

If you have less traffic than that, or your actual traffic is less than what you expected, go back and work on the traffic first. Once you have the numbers, you can more accurately see what may be going on with your conversions.

Before you even start looking at traffic numbers and conversions, make sure your offers and messages are congruent throughout your process (some people call this a sales funnel)...

By this I mean make sure that you match the intent and keywords, and design and copy throughout, so the prospect understands and is where they intended on being when they clicked your link to the sales page...

(4) Writing Content

There have been a LOT of posts about how to create content and training as well here on Wealthy Affiliate. Many people still have problems getting something together in spite of the training.

Preparing good and effective content is an issue for a lot of people. You're not alone.

You generally start by choosing a keyword phrase to focus on, then you sit there with a blank screen and try to come up with something. Not easy for many people...

My solution is to write like I am having a conversation with someone across a table from me. I write the content in a way that they would be able to comprehend..I make it light enough but with detail (like this post) in the hope that it will hold their attention and they will be ready to take action...

(5) Sales Copy

Think of sales copy as a limited-time sales pitch, as in you have the attention of the reader for a limited period. Your whole focus is to present the offer in a matter-of-fact manner, using strong words and short sentences to keep their attention and get them to take action on your offer.

Focus on benefits, not features. Certainly you want to add in the what and the how, but it is the why that will get you the sale. How is what you have or are promoting going to solve a problem or a need for the reader?

I have posted a tutorial on creating effective sales pages here:

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/elements-...

(6) Time Management

If you want to be an affiliate marketer and have success, you will have to learn how to manage your time. Especially if working from home, where the distractions are many, you must discipline yourself to get the work done...

Becoming (successfully) self-employed is hard work. Plan your work and work your plan. Spend time on learning new skills, but do not neglect the other tasks that are required to build your business.

Often affiliate marketers are not allocating their time in a manner that will allow everything to get done. Then they get frustrated, stress levels rise, and affiliate marketing is not fun anymore, it is a chore...Eventually they are failing, and they give up...

I have some detailed training on this as well that may help you:

https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/seize-the...

(7) Affiliate Commission Payment

Make sure that you have an agreement in place and a means to get paid set up. Sometimes I read about payments being delayed (I too have had this happen) and even having to chase merchants or product developors to get paid.

My advice: As you learn which merchants and platforms are reputable, stay away from those that are questionable or hard to work with. I have no desire to chase my money always, it is a waste of time and I lose the money I could be making doing other work.

Make sure your links are working and that PayPal or your bank account is set up to receive payments. Try to use redirect links so if the links for an affiliate program change, you can control it from one spot as opposed to having to change the link on 10 different locations across the Internet...

(8) Building An Email List

This is something that seems daunting, especially to the new affiliate marketer. The best way still to this day to build a solid relationship with people is through an email newsletter and later by sending out promotions.

Certainly video marketing, live streaming, webinars, and social media platforms are also methods to consider and add to your marketing strategy, but email marketing is one of the cheapest and most effective marketing strategies...

How do you do this? Look at the training that you have here. Ask questions if you need to, and as soon as possible, get a system in place to capture leads and start building that relationship...

(9) Getting Bogus Affiliate Marketing Advice

Let's face it. There are 1000 people out there trying to sell you a promise of millions in a day if you only buy their $99 a month course or membership. Unfortunately, most of it is simply not worth the money.

Here you are in luck. As a member of Wealthy Affiliate, you get the straight story and great guidance on how to properly set up and then scale up your online business. Many of the skills you learn here can also be translated into other forms of online marketing segments...

This is one of the top mistakes you can make in the Affiliate Marketing business, but will avoid as a Wealthy Affiliate member...

Now for the last one and the biggest one in my mind...

(10) Distraction

Some people say shiny object syndrome, some say money wasters, some say lack of focus...Whatever term you choose to use, it boils down to distraction. It is human nature to be enamored with things - tools, products, software, and similar that take you away from the focus of your business and they are BAD.

There are some of all the above things that you will need. Take a good hard look at whatever it is you are considering buying and using for your business. Does it do what you need? Is it's cost versus benefit acceptable? How will it help you? How much more money can you make REALLY if you buy it?

All these questions if answered truthfully will save you hundreds of dollars and so much time, a valuable resource. You will find that over time, you will know what is good and what is not...

CONCLUSION

So there you have it...My top ten mistakes you can make as an affiliate marketer. I have no doubt that there are others that members here can list as their top mistakes, and I am looking forward to reading about them in the comments!

Have a great day and I believe in you ALWAYS!

Cheers!