When an affiliate marketer starts working in affiliate marketing, he or she usually does it just for money, attempting to run in all directions and trying everything, having no idea about possible mistakes. These mistakes happen a lot, and most of them could seriously damage his or her career in the future.
The 1st mistake – Making money instead of helping
Yes, there is a word “marketing” in the concept of affiliate marketing. But the job of an affiliate marketer is not a question of simple selling. There are landing pages for this purpose.
Newbies are guided by a certain principle when they are testing new affiliates. What principle? They fill pages with links and phrases like “BUY IT RIGHT NOW.” These words don’t help the audience to understand why they have to buy it right now. Obviously, they should do it to produce profit for the marketer.
But the point is people want to hear the opinion of other people before buying. This is the reason why product reviews on Amazon are so popular. These reviews are written by commentators, who won’t benefit if someone buys a product. It would be better to write an unbiased review instead of a “selling” text with trigger phrases. You will get more sales and people will come back for more and more information.
The 2nd mistake – Using too many affiliates
One more mistake that all novice affiliate marketers make: they try to work with every affiliate program they see. There are many ways to make money on the Internet. But when there are too many ways, it is impossible to keep track of them all. Choose affiliates wisely and don’t overburden yourself.
The 3rd mistake – Not testing
Advanced affiliate marketers see through the eyes of the user when they choose a new offer from affiliate marketing funnel proposals. And most of them learned it from their bitter experience.
For instance, nothing destroys trust like spam emails.
The 4th mistake – Not tracking
Jennifer Ledbetter, who is an affiliate marketer, started her career with free pages on the website Squidoo. She used to advertise products from Amazon on those pages, but she forgot to use tracking referral links for each page. It was her mistake. Why? Everything is pretty simple. When you see a new purchase, you want to know where the customer came from. It makes it possible to know which pages have higher conversions. It helps to realize how to scale your advertising campaign.
It is really easy to create a tracking link for Amazon. Log in, open the account settings (button top right), push «Manage Tracking IDs.» You will be able to create tracking links in this window to know which page brought a buyer.
It is great to get paid for customers. But a good marketer doesn’t make money blindly, he or she knows how it happens. And he or she definitely knows how to increase revenue.
The 5th mistake – Not Comparing
One of the best sales tactics (especially for products from Amazon) is to compare the main product (which we promote) to two other products similar to it. People who want to buy something, usually conduct a peculiar selection of candidates. Only a few products remain in the final round of this selection. The point is, it is easier to make a choice when you have to compare two or three options. You most likely do the same. Comparing is one of the most important features in a marketplace. For instance, you can easily compare products on Amazon and systeme.io.
Such articles as “Three best gadgets for a rest at the seaside” help not only readers. It is useful for them, of course, but just think: you are selling three products instead of one!
Later, when you track clicks on these links, you will see which product your audience liked the most and got it up for higher conversion. Let’s conclude: comparing articles are not just popular and useful for readers. They will bring you a greater profit.
The 6th mistake – Lying about earnings to sell
It is a common situation. Those are the people, who complain on forums that they didn’t make a cent on marketing and place affiliate links with the text like “I have Earned My First Million Here” in the caption. Well, or something like this. Don’t be like these people.
If you are a newbie, who wants to promote products online, don’t shout out loud that you made a huge profit. Actually, let’s say it differently. Don’t lie to users! Tell them about the benefits of a product or training, but don’t try to lie because it can destroy your reputation at the very beginning.
The 7th mistake – Being distracted by new and unverified affiliates
It is one of the most serious traps for any newbie in this area. Moreover, even advanced marketers can make this mistake. You work a long time with one affiliate program or in one industry. Later you receive an email, where you read about a new, interesting and more profitable program. You are abandoning your old one and move to the new one.
Sounds familiar? I think, yes. You mustn’t get distracted, anyway. This “new” and “profitable” affiliate program most likely will not turn out so profitable or disappear soon. It will take the time you could spend doing your work. Remember: one finished profitable campaign is better than fifty unfinished campaigns and projects.
