In a recent survey conducted by Marketing Sherpa, affiliate
merchants were asked about the main challenges in affiliate internet
marketing. The clear majority responded that it was finding and
recruiting high quality affiliates.
This is not surprising. Affiliate internet marketing is a great
example of the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of affiliates generate only
twenty percent of the profits while twenty percent of affiliate
marketers generate eighty percent of the revenue.
Why the disparity? Part of the reason is that many people are just
getting into affiliate marketing and have a learning curve to go thru.
That is understandable but a larger reason is that many affiliates
whether beginner or grizzled veteran are making mistakes that are
costing them big time dollars and will continue to do so.
1. Not treating it as a business
Affiliate Marketing has many advantages such as no overhead, no
products to stock or customer complaints to deal with. Just promote the
product and if someone buys you get paid. Great but it is still a
business. That means you must:
a. Set up an action plan and follow thru on it.
b. Set realistic timetables for generating income.
c. Get a website
d. Buy a domain name
e. Research your target markets
f. Brand your affiliate business
g. Write content
h. Advertise
i. Track
j. Keep records
And much more. This is not a hobby. Earning income online is a full
time effort. If you have not done so already set up your office space
and allot specific times in your day where you work on nothing but your
affiliate business.
2. Choosing the wrong affiliate program
Because of the never ending advertising most of us face on a daily
basis, there is a tendency for many affiliates to get caught up in the
hype. They choose a big ticket item because it pays out great
commissions or some product that is being advertised as the next great
thing. There is nothing wrong with this unless you do not do your
homework. Of course you should have some interest in the product but
the more important point is there should be a market for that affiliate
program you want to promote.
Watch the news; check out the forums, read some articles. Ask
questions or conduct surveys on your website. Do not confine your
research to just learning about your affiliate program. Check out the
world around it and how it could affect your target market.
3. Too many at a Time
One of the things top affiliate marketers have in common is focus. The
ability to pick one affiliate program, bring it to profit, put a system
in place so the program runs on autopilot (providing the affiliate with
steady income), rinse and repeat.
But it starts with the one affiliate program. Many affiliates
naturally want to generate multiple streams of income but expending
your effort on five things at once increases the chances of not
achieving any of them. Pick one that has some interest to you and that
you already know has a solid target market, and then follow your action
plan. When you start making a steady profit, then move on to the next
program. Also try to put an autopilot system in place. Getting clear of
the day to day activities of running any online business is the only
true way to grow that business.
Building a money making affiliate business that can run without you
takes hard work and patience with yourself. Do your research, choose
the right program, give all of your attention and effort to it, then
proceed to the next affiliate product. Treat your affiliate business
like a business and you can not go wrong.
