I'm Stuck!
Ever feel stuck here at Wealthy Affiliate? I certainly have. There definitely are, as I have heard many say "those hickups" along the way.
Have I had more than my share of honey? I don't think so, I just want some money.
I have signed up to several affiliate programmes. One of them is Share-A-Sale? (Anyone else on board with them?) Anyway, I have looked into several merchants and applied to be an associate (affiliate); but I never hear back from them. How do I know I am officially accepted with my information linked to my account so that when placing affiliate links into my blog, I can get paid for it?
One of them I have applied for is Walmart. I have signed up, but I have not heard back, making it official so that I can start making money. Any thoughts?
In the meantime, I am continuing my blog writing and posting, creating content, but don't feel like I can go any further with the training since I cannot do what is instructed until I have at least one official affiliate merchant who wants me. Perhaps I simply don't have enough content yet. I don't quite have 20 posts yet, but I hope to be there very soon.
Well, Wealthy Affiliate friends, any thought?. I am stuck. Would someone please be my Christopher Robin and get me out of here!
Recent Comments
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I'm with share-a-sale. Some merchants do take ages to get back to you. But you should eventually get an email to say whether you have been accepted or declined. You can also check on your dashboard who you are with and who you have applied to, (if it's pending). I'm also with AWIN and I know that some people I've applied with there haven't replied for months and then suddenly, out of the blue, I get accepted. Another thing you can do, is send them a message asking about your application - which could speed things up.
By the way, amazon don't just drop you. You only need to get one sale in the first three months I think, (unless they changed it) - and even if you don't, you can reapply immediately. Amazon is one of the best affiliate programs for newbies, without a doubt.
Thanks. At least we get an idea how long we can expect to get some kind of reply. this sort of thing looks like it take some time to gain rank and reputation.
I know the feelng, Robert. Just keep writing I suppose. Once you get enogh traffic - Google Analytics - people will want to pay you - Advertisers, Affiliate Companies, etc., for that traffic.
That is a good thought. So the best way to create traffic is to have a lot a content. Is that, in your opinion, the best way?
Go to merchants> seek merchants>take keywOrd and in list click + sign on right... it unfolds properties of merchant one of them auto-approval
Good luck
Amazon was my first thought, but I have heard from others that unless you are generating significant traffic on your site and getting sales, they will drop you. I wanted to wait till later to add Amazon and start out with a small-business-friendly company.
I have been with WA for 3 1/2 months. Amazon did accept me right away, but I do have to have 3 sales within 180 days. I got a letter from them reminding me that I have 90 days left to get the 3 sales. Luckily I have 2 sales, so I am hoping to make it.
Hi Robert.
I applied to share-a-sale myself, it took me a few days to hear back from them. How long ago did you sign up?
Usually you will just receive an email from them within a week or so. Do you get lots of emails from WA? It could be that it's lost within the mix.
Amazon is a good affiliate program because you can start earning
straightaway. HOWEVER, if you don't achieve 3 sales within 3 months you may be denied access to their program so I would recommend waiting until you have some traffic coming in before you do so.
You can 100% carry on with the training even though you're not signed up to affiliate programs.
IN FACT, it may even be beneficial to your site; if you carry on creating quality content WITHOUT affiliate links Google will understand that you are NOT a spam site and your content deserves to be read, leading to better rankings.
However if you use too many affiliate links as a new site, you run the risk of being perceived as a affiliate link 'hub'; and your rankings may now do as well.
I received some good advice from a high up member here at WA to wait until you're getting consistent traffic (maybe around 500 views to a given page in a month) before you start concentrating on optimizing affiliate links.
You said you only have 20 posts- the one thing that is emphasized the most in training is the consistent creation of content so I'm sure you can achieve this.
Come back when you have double that number of posts and you may be ready to implement affiliate links with noticeable results!
Hope some of this helps.
PS: That Winnie the Pooh story always cracks me up :)
Hi Robert,
as btwil kins suggested, the best way would be to concentrate on completing the course and building contents. Money is going to come anyway- once your shop is full of excellent items.
For a change, please go through my blog on this topic-
coping with feeling overwhelmed : coping with feeling overwhelmed Warm Regards,
Gaurav Gaur
I appreciate your thoughts very much. Share-A-Sale got back with me in just a couple days, but then we are to pick merchants within the Share-a-sale network that we want to become an affiliate of. I have not heard back from any of those merchants yet, including Walmart, who is part of Share-A-Sale.
Yes, I am being as consistent as I can. I post another post one or twice a week, depending upon the post. My posts probably take longer than same because I do a fair amount of research, secure images, and even draw a lot of my own illustrations.
I do not place affiliate links in every post, but I do link to Youtube videos for educational purposes, at times, to enhance and help the people reading the blog post. If the blog is about making a bean bag frog, and I mention using the tracing transfer method, I may link to another blog or Youtube video that explains this process for those who may not know what it is and who want to learn. I hope this would not be detrimental to my rankings.
Thank you for your encouraging words. Glad you liked this post.
Okay, that makes more sense.
Once or twice a week is just fine for now Robert, as long as the posts are good quality and targeting good keywords.
You sound like you're putting a lot of effort into your posts, which is good, because Google will begin to recognize this and reward you for it.
Google is getting always becoming more advanced and is focusing more and more on how you interact and cater to your audience, so you sound like you are in the right position moving forward.
Does your site have a function to directly order from you? From what I can recall of your site, you already have an etsy shop.
Do you promote this shop from within your blog and have you considered combining the two functions?
If you're linking to YouTube videos, why not consider embedding a couple in the post itself? Embedding a video or two can also help with rankings.
If you're linking to another authority blog in your niche, than that's good too! Make sure you include INTERNAL links too, to your other posts. Doing both of these should HELP not HURT your rankings. Internal linking looks really good when Google crawls your site, and linking to authority sites tells Google you know what you're talking about.
When you link to other sites, make sure you check 'open link in new tab' because otherwise they may not come back to your site, and your bounce rate will go up.
You sound like you're on the right track. I'm in a similar position to you too; still waiting for a big 'breakthrough' but from implementing these things I have managed to hit page 1 for a number of search terms.
Again, hope some of this was useful and (to anyone) feel free to correct me if I got anything wrong!
Benji
Hi Robert,
I am with share a sale and have had no trouble, did take a couple of days to come through whilst they checked me out.
Regards
Stuart
Great to know. Share-A-Sale got back with me in just a couple days, but then we are to pick merchants within the Share-a-sale network that we want to become an affiliate of. I have not heard back from any of those merchants yet, including Walmart, who is part of Share-A-Sale
Yes we all get that we feel stuck feeling. Here's just a suggestion you can sign up for amazon and start their 180 day probation period as you wait on other affiliates.
Also you can still move on in the courses you don't have to stay there waiting on affiliates.
Keep moving and keep learning.
Have you tried Amazon Associates? They seem be very fast at approving people. As long as you have a website, which you do. I didn't have much content when I signed up and got approved. Hope this helps, Deanna
Have you tried CJ dot com? They are an associate program and have tons of different companies!
No. I had not heard of them. I will look into that. Anything for craft supplies, cloth, fabric, dollmaking?
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Hi Robert!
I am with Amazon associates much better commission than Share-A-Sale I think. Amazon requirement is 3 sales within 6 months. For UK store, you are given 1 year to make that sales. Just make it visible in your website that you are participant in their associates program. I was able to make 3 sales in 4 months. You can do it too.
There are many affiliate programs out there. Just apply for the ones that are related to your niche so you can be approved easily.
Just continue writing good content to increase your traffic.
Thank you for the encouragement. Means a lot.
sounds like good advice. Thanks