Many resort to Affiliate Marketing as a way to earn constant income. It is very popular with mothers who don't want to take up regular day job to care for their kids, or those who want additional income while still holding a day job, or even as a main income option for those good at marketing. Even beginners get started with Affiliate Marketing and are ready to put in time and efforts to succeed, making this a very popular and profitable option. If you are looking to get started, or into Affiliate Marketing already, here are few most common mistakes you must know and avoid. The list contains the most common mistakes affiliate marketers make with possible solutions, or ways to avoid it.
Marketing services or products they don't know about
It is understandable you can't buy all the products out there, but you must definitely think about buying products or services you are planning to promote. If you think you can skip that step, it is a very big blunder, not even a mistake! When you don't use a product or service, you don't know about it fully. How can you promote something that you don't know about or trust? On the other hand, when you have used a product or service, you will be able to highlight the advantages and know how to push it through. Remember, you are a person and promoting a product or service, to potential customers who trust your opinion and buy them. You don't want to lose their trust by pushing products that aren't good enough to them, because you did not try or care to know!
Ignoring the Pre-Sell
Affiliate Marketers worry too much about the products or services and are engrossed in promoting or updating their potential buyers about the advantages of the services or products and don't want to mention facts and disadvantages upfront. They go about explaining more about the products or service and answer queries to potential buyers who have a query, which means many probably skipped or did not trust to ask questions. This isn't pre-selling, instead giving vague details about the product or service, which isn't good in the longer run.
Choosing wrong affiliate products
Many affiliate marketers think choosing a tried and tested or successful product is the way to go. But that's not all. The most important aspects you should be checking are time, usability and payout, when picking an affiliate product or service That's the only way to pick a product or service that is suitable and works best. Most programs will need a considerable duration to pick up conversions, and you should be able to allocate that time, which will depend on the product or service you choose. When you do your research, make sure the payout will be suitable for your time and efforts, so you are in for the long haul. Only when you are compensated for your efforts, will you be able to stick around and put in efforts.
Lack of dedication
There's no shortage for affiliate programs, but you must commit to the product or service you pick to get results. Affiliate marketing is not something that clicks right away and requires patience and perseverance, while you wait on the results for your efforts. Make sure you can dedicate that duration and stick to your commitment, while promoting the chosen products or services.
No email list
Having an email list is very important if you want to market anything. Of course, you can always buy a list of email ids and use them. But nothing matches targeted opt-in lists, which you will be able to generate yourself if you have a website and a standard following. This way or that, you need an email list and without it, you are going to lose out on a lot.
Opting for more products or services on the get-go
When you are into affiliate marketing, it is difficult to promote more than just a few services or products at the same time. While more products will earn more commission, it is quite difficult to focus on multiple products and put in equal efforts for all of them. When you don't allocate adequate time for each product or service, conversions will drop and in turn, you commissions. You don't want that do you? Start with a product or two, measure and add more or remove products and services that aren't suitable and just take up enough products or services you can promote, never more than what you can handle.
Not owing an online real estate!
Of course, there are ways to do affiliate marketing without owning a website or a blog, using social media, adverts and even mailing list. However, owning a blog or site wins brownie points and a lot of trust! That is something you need a lot, don't you? If you ever have second thoughts like many others, don't. You will be able to attract and retain your audience this way.
Opting for inferior products or services
Promoting products or services is what you have opted to do, but you must do it right. This is one mistake many do, thinking it isn't going to affect them. Quality is the key if you want to succeed with affiliate marketing. Never ever forget that. If you misguide your followers once, they might never trust your recommendation, ever again. You don't want to lose your valuable leads that way. Pick products or services of value and quality.
Skipping keyword research
When you are into affiliate marketing, you should never ignore keyword research. You will need a lot of traffic and without the right keyword, you will lose out. When you do keyword research you will be able to target your campaigns for the right keywords and get better results. After all, right keywords get you hits, right?
These are just a few mistakes you should be avoiding. There are a whole lot more and we would be discussing them in our upcoming posts. As long as you stick with the basics and not commit these mistakes, you are all set to succeed in affiliate marketing.
