Common Affiliate Marketing Mistakes

Updated: May 23, 2022

Common Affiliate Marketing Mistakes

If you really want to succeed with affiliate marketing, you will want to avoid some of the more common affiliate marketing mistakes.

First, realize that you are going to make mistakes. Every newbie does. Smart affiliate marketers learn from professionals who have gone before them. This helps you get ahead in that learning curve that we all face. This article is designed to help you avoid some of the most common affiliate marketing mistakes.

Here is my list of common affiliate marketing mistakes:

Not Building A List From Day 1 A big misconception is that you can get rich by just throwing up a sales page and driving traffic to it. This is a massive mistake and I see it happening every where I look. Email marketing, when done properly, generates a massive return on investment (ROI). People expect me to say that because I own an email marketing company. So, let’s look at what the Data and Marketing Association (thedma.org) breaks it down:

Banner advertising, done correctly, creates good results.

Mobile advertising, done correctly, creates good results.

SEO is energy well spent.

Email marketing, when done correctly, generates $40 for every $1 spent. Why? Because, when you do email marketing right, you are building a relationship, adding value to your subscribers, and establishing yourself as a credible professional in your industry.

Trying To Get Money First Years ago, I learned a valuable lesson from an incredibly successful sales broker I was meeting with. He said to me, “Brian, I never think about the money. I focus on solving my client’s problems. When I get that right, the money just comes.” I see a lot of affiliate marketers so focused on trying to get the sale that they aren’t really providing any value. They aren’t building a relationship or solving a problem. They are focused so much on getting the sale that the prospect starts feeling “sold to” and bails on the conversation.

Instead of being so focused on making the sale, focus on adding value. Show prospects that you can actually help them. Add value first. We offer our 30 day free trial as a way for prospects to experience the power of email marketing in their own business. When they experience the thrill of generating online leads, following up, and closing more sales, they are more than happy to become paying customers. Many of our customers have been with us since we opened in 2000.

Impatience This is a big one. I hear from new affiliate marketers all the time asking, “How long will it take me to earn $_________?” The answer is always the same and they never like it. It really depends. If you are brand new to affiliate marketing, it is going to take you longer because you have more to learn. If you have some experience, you can expect results faster. These days, I can send out an offer and literally start making money in minutes. But, I can do that because I have spent years building my lists and building my credibility.

How much time you spend on your business will also be a factor. If two people become affiliate marketers on the same day, and Affiliate 1 spends 20 hours per week learning and marketing while Affiliate 2 spend 3 hours per week, guess which one is going to start making money first. If you expect to simply fill out a form for any affiliate marketing system and then watch the money come rolling in, you are 100% deluding yourself. Be prepared to do some learning, put in some work, and exercise some patience.

Failing To Invest In Your Own Success I run across people on a regular basis that tell me they can’t afford to do affiliate marketing. Many times, these same people spend way too much money on fast food, bad coffee, hanging out at the bar, going to movies, etc… I’m not saying these things are “bad” or “wrong”. The reality of it is that if you are saying you can’t afford to start doing affiliate marketing and you spent $50 at the bar last night, you need to adjust your priorities for a while. Take that same $50 and put it in to your business. This is one of the biggest affiliate marketing mistakes I see. It prevents far too many people from ever getting started.

Failing to Reinvest In Your Business Among the most common affiliate marketing mistakes I see, when someone does get that first affiliate marketing sale and doesn’t put any of that money back in to their business, they are setting themselves up to fail. The best way to build your business is to feed it. When you earn some commissions, spend some of that money on more advertising, training, or both. I’m not saying to not pay yourself. You absolutely should. But, when you are first starting out, put some of that money back in to your business so your business can grow.

Being Afraid To Fail Failure is a part of the process of becoming a successful affiliate marketer. I don’t really refer to it as “failing” so much as “learning”. When I run an ad campaign that falls flat, I could say, “I failed. I should quit.” Or, I could say, “Well, that didn’t work. Let’s make some adjustments.”. Ever heard of a company called Amazon? Did you know they lost money for the first 14 years? 14 years of what many would call “failure”. They were learning, testing, developing, marketing. We all go through the same process on a much smaller scale.

If fear of failure is going to hold you back, I recommend not getting in to Affiliate Marketing.

Believing There Is a Secret There is no shortage of ebooks, downloads, videos, and webinars offering to show you the “secret to success” … for a price. Here is the reality: There is no secret. Money is made when someone is willing to exchange their money for something they feel has value. This is why we focus on adding value. When you add value in the form of products, services, or information, you can trade that value for money. A sale is made. There are things we can do to become more efficient, more profitable, more effective. But none of it is really a secret. Be prepared to learn. Be prepared to put in the work.

Are you making any of these common affiliate marketing mistakes? Now is the time to stop! Make a point of learning new things, applying that information, and building your affiliate business to whatever level you desire.

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