If you found out about affiliate marketing from a friend or from online somewhere, there’s a chance you have preconceived ideas about it that are likely to be false.
We’re not saying you shouldn’t set your own expectations. But it’s important to set the right expectations so you don’t end up discouraged and give up before you’ve even given yourself a real chance. So, let’s debunk a few myths surrounding affiliate marketing:
MYTH 1: Affiliate Marketing Is Easy
You may have heard people say that affiliate marketing is the easiest way to start an online business. After all, you just need an outlet to promote the products and affiliate links and you’re all set to go.
While that might sound like something a 10 year old can do, the truth is that there’s so much more to it. Like we’ve mentioned earlier in previous articles, affiliate marketing is a kind of business where all your efforts may or may not reap the results you want.
Just because you’ve joined affiliate programs and own a blog or website, doesn’t mean you’ll achieve overnight success. You need to know how to convince visitors what you’re promoting is worth their money.
Good marketing sense is also a must-have if you want to promote effectively. People need to feel without even meeting you that you’re someone they can trust. It’s up to you to inspire that feeling through your product promotions.
MYTH 2: More Traffic means More Money
It’s common to think that more hits to your website automatically guarantees more sales. So people make the mistake of writing crappy content, overuse ad copies, and adding as many click baits as they can just to get people on their site.
There’s never been a more stupid way of making money from affiliate marketing. Smart affiliate marketers know that you can generate great commissions even with just a small amount of traffic that is highly relevant to the offer you are promoting.
It’s all about what you say, who you say it to and when you say it.
1,000 highly relevant visitors to your site is worth more than 100,00 irrelevant visitors. Don’t ever fall into the trap of thinking more traffic is all you need to increase sales.
MYTH 3: Affiliate Marketing Is Dead
Some may think that affiliate marketing is a thing of the past, and you don’t really have a chance at succeeding at it today.
There are generally two reasons why people would say it’s dead:
- They tried it and failed. Therefore everyone else is destined to fail at it too.
- They don’t understand it well enough.
The thing is that affiliate programs will always exist because companies will always be releasing new products and wanting more sales.
Having an affiliate program lets companies scale up their marketing and access audiences they otherwise would have to pay thousands to speak to via more traditional marketing channels. And because there are always new products, there will always be new niches for people to get into. It’s a never-ending marketing cycle
MYTH 4: Your Posts Will Immediately Get Tons of Likes and Shares On Social Media
If you’ve been blogging for awhile you probably already know this. Unless you’re a celebrity, it’s crazy to think your posts will automatically go viral.
The chances are good that your posts won’t get the exposure you want without working hard at promoting them and spreading awareness. It’s no different for your promotional content. You have to work hard to get it out there.
MYTH 5: Only A Few Niches Are Profitable
Another myth you shouldn’t make the mistake of believing is that only some niches are profitable and the rest aren’t. That’s the mentality of people who have no clue how marketing works.
The truth is that ALL niches can be profitable if you know how and where and to whom to promote your offers. Even if you’re promoting pens and notebooks, which are rarely considered popular affiliate products to promote, you can still get sales if you have good marketing sense.
Put your focus on connecting buyers to the right products at the right time. That may mean focusing on selling to school teachers rather than to blue-collar workers. Think about the audience you have (or want) and connect them with the right products. Get creative and use your imagination. You can make any niche profitable if you set your mind and heart to it!
MYTH 6: It’s All About Earning Commissions and Sales
Contrary to popular belief, affiliate marketing isn’t all money and sales. Of course, that’s the good part, but remembers that if you do join affiliate programs and promote products on your site you will have to take a lot of other things into consideration.
You have the content, SEO, link-building, social media marketing, website optimization, and everything else in between that you will need to learn to make money from it.
MYTH 7: Affiliate Marketing Is On the Decline
As we’ve mentioned above, affiliate marketing will continue to thrive and flourish so long as companies want to stay in business. And companies will always want to stay in business.
Don’t automatically buy into anyone who tells you that affiliate marketing isn’t worth doing. Do your own research and really understand if what others tell you is true or not.
Remember, people who are quick to give up never make it anywhere in life. It’s the people who are determined enough and resourceful enough to reach their goals, whether it be in life or affiliate marketing, that make the impossible possible.
MYTH 8: Just Having Content Is Enough
Content creation is the first and one of the most important steps in affiliate marketing. And while it’s true that having content on your site is what drives your affiliate marketing, the work doesn’t end there.
You’ll also need to spread your content and get people to really engage with your site. If your content sheds light on things they’re confused about or solves a burning problem, they won’t hesitate to follow your product recommendations.
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