There is no question that affiliate marketing can be one of the most lucrative jobs on the planet if done correctly.

Many internet marketers have made millions by starting out as small time affiliate marketers. However, just as with any profession, there are also a thousand ways to mess up any chance of success.

Here are some common, yet deadly, ways to become a big failure at the affiliate marketing business:

Quit too soon:

Here is the real scoop on affiliate marketing- Anytime you quit, it was too soon. Affiliate marketing ALWAYS works. However, it can take a lot of time to get your business rolling. It can take months to see any income. It can take many months to learn all you need to know to be a success.

Then, once you know all of that, there is more to learn! Never quit when it comes to affiliate marketing because it will always work out eventually. The key is to keep plugging along working a little bit at a time on your business. Write articles and do the other necessary tasks every day and you will start to see success.

Don't write enough:

The key component to being successful in affiliate marketing is writing every single day (or having someone write for you). Submitting articles on a regular basis is so vital to your business. This keeps the search engines happy because you are providing valuable, fresh content. It also brings more traffic and backlinks to your site.

Losing Focus:

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes affiliate marketers make. This is when you start a niche and then jump to another one before you even know if the first one was good.

Once you are more experienced, you can work in multiple niches successfully. However, when you are new to the business you should not be jumping around from niche to niche.

Start with one niche, work it to death and then assess its progress. It is very easy to get distracted by every new shiny opportunity, but keep your head down and remain focused on the goal at hand.

Everyone who tries affiliate marketing wants to be a success, but it does take time and a lot of work. This is not an overnight get rich quick scheme. It takes studying, learning and application of the information to make it a success.