Before you enter any field of profession or passion, there is one common statement that all advisors offer: don’t be afraid of making mistakes, you only learn from them. While this is indeed true, it does not necessarily mean that committing mistakes is compulsory: you’re better off being aware of what’s going wrong.
That being said, here are some common mistakes that most amateur affiliate marketers make.
Picking the wrong product/niche
“Well begun is half done” goes the saying.
Even before entering the field, you face a crucial decision: which product do you promote or indeed, which niche do you pick?
Trust me, going blindly for the top-paying or most popular product is seldom the right decision.
Take some time to research the options available to you, being personally interested in the product you promote makes a world of difference. Pick the one (just one) product you feel would interest people, but more importantly, would hold your interest too.
Picking too many products at once
Affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme, you need to put in the hours and toil away for the results you desire. In such a situation, picking multiple products at the outset divides your attention and the results would not be as apparent either.
Begin with one product and get to know the niche, the market, your customers, and when you feel you have attained a reasonable level of success, move on with the next product.
Not being consistent in your work
Another reason why affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme: if you aren’t consistently churning out articles or doing anything related to your job, you’re out of the race.
Affiliate marketing requires you to dedicate consistent hours: in fact, being inconsistent in your work is one of the top five reasons why affiliate marketers fail.[1]
Also note, your work isn’t just writing articles: managing your social media accounts and being constantly on the lookout for the latest updates on your product and niche gives you the edge over your competitors.
Choosing quantity over quality
An error that is frequently seen among beginners in every field is this: they think putting up ten articles a day ensures growth and maximum reach.
This couldn’t be further away from the truth!
Don’t rush it and write three articles in one sitting. Rather, writing at the pace of one well-written article every two days is much more beneficial to you, improving the website’s overall quality. Once again, quality trumps quantity any day.
Trying to sell rather than help
Ever wondered why they call the profession affiliate marketing rather than affiliate advertising?
Or why do you ‘promote’ your links and not ‘advertise’ them?
A basic difference between these two is that advertising asks you to buy a product, while marketing tells you how the product would help you.
Trying one’s best to maximize sales and being motivated by money is normal, but do so by getting people interested in your products and not just presenting them your links. Coming across as being genuine to your readers makes them loyal to you.
Being hesitant to experiment
By now, you might have gathered one thing about this field that attracts so many people: there is almost little to no investment involved. Almost as if you always had a second chance that came with no cost… oh wait, that is exactly how it works.
With many possibilities of expressing your creativity, it would be a shame if you stick to tried and tested methods.
Try out new combinations, new features, and don’t let either success or failure stop you from exploring. It also adds the element of adventure and fun, adding a bit of colour to your profession.
Not learning from your job
Affiliate marketing is not a destination, it’s a process. It’s a process through which you know more about your product, other products, how marketing works, how people respond to different ideas.
As you make yourself busy with responsibilities, never stop learning from your job. This goes hand in hand with the previous point: the more you experiment and the more mistakes you make, the better you learn going forward.
Have a single distribution channel
A successful website driving traffic and earning money is an affiliate marketer’s dream.
But did you know that there are many ways of driving traffic to your website?
- Social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest)
- Online Q&As platforms like Quora & Reddit
- PPC & retargeting advertising
Another advantage of having multiple sources of marketing your product is that your work does not get monotonous. On social media, you also get to interact with people and exchange ideas, all while promoting your website.
Not tracking website performance
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is an axiom we can all benefit from, but what it does not say is to ensure that ‘it’ is indeed not broken.
Use website trackers to check your website’s performance regularly as it is a big indicator of how your performance has been and what you could change to drive more traffic.
By split-testing a few approaches and trying different styles, you could maximize your profit by sticking to those which work and binning those that don’t.
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