I get emails on a regular basis asking me how I go about starting a website and making money with affiliate programs. The reader will usually send me his or her website details and tell me their story and I’ll go take a look at what they’re doing.
The mistakes I see these Newbies making are ones that have been made countless other times by countless other Newbies. It’s not that they set out to deliberately do the wrong things because many are taking the advice of so called Guru’s. What they don’t understand is that these Guru’s aren’t making money either. These Guru’s make money selling stuff to Newbs just like them.
Here are a few tips on how to improve your income with affiliate programs.
First, take a long hard look at the affiliate program you’re pushing. Is it really something that the masses will want? If you pushing a specialty item, you have to know that many people may not want to buy your new and improved Chia pet.
Another mistake I see is Newbies trying to out sell major companies. Sure, the Internet is a great equalizer, but you have to have the experience and resources if you plan on taking on a big corporation with a nearly unlimited advertising budget. You’ll be better off targeted something that isn’t being sold 24/7 over radio, TV, print media and Cable outlets.
One of the biggest mistakes I see Noobs make is that they give up too soon. Affiliate marketing is a long term project and you should never enter this business thinking you’re going to strike it rich over night. When I start a website, I expect it to take at least 6 months to become productive if it’s in a low competition market. 12 to 18 momths if it is in a very competitive market. Sure, you can take a shortcut and use pay per click ad programs like Google Adwords, but you’d better have deep pockets and know what you’re doing!
What type of traffic are you targeting. This is the second problem I see affiliate marketers doing. They go out and drive the wrong kind of traffic to their websites. Some people are really good at getting tons of Social Media types to their websites. Just one problem. Social Media is known as a poor converter. They’re generally a high tech, web savvy crowd who uses the Internet more for reading and entertainment than purchasing. You need to be targeting those who want to buy your product, not traffic you can push to your website because it’s easy. There is a big difference and you need to know what it is.
Finally, another thing I see Noobs do is that they fail to pre-sell their products or services. Sure, everyone wants a Plasma TV, but why should they buy the one on your website rather than go to Wal-Mart or Best Buy? When someone lands on your website, your sales page should be written in a way that it will entice them to buy the product right then. If you don’t know how to do this, take a few courses in copywriting or hire it done.
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