We’re not meaning to be negative here, but there are a few common traps that new affiliates often fall into. If you’re aware of them, you can nip them in the bud before they sabotage your business. Following are the Affiliate marketing pitfalls and their solutions.
Affiliate Marketing Pitfall #1: “Analysis Paralysis”
The Pitfall: When you’re a rookie affiliate marketer, it’s easy to get stuck on tiny details Maybe you spend two weeks researching domain names, or you get bogged down and confused by keyword research. Your momentum stalls, time ticks by, and you may end up giving up before you even get started!
The Solution: Maintaining momentum is much more important than getting things exactly right. Treat your first affiliate site as your “test” website, and don’t expect it to be 100% perfect. If you find yourself getting stuck on something or procrastinating over something difficult, try to find a way to move past it. You can even jump into the Webviola Blog and ask, “Is this important?” We’ll let you know!
Pitfall #2: Shiny Object Syndrome
The Pitfall: Almost every new affiliate can admit to suffering from this! It’s the habit of getting distracted by every new product or system that comes along. You might start a project, but you never end up completing anything because you’re dragged off in a new direction by the next “bright shiny object”. You end up with a whole bunch of unfinished projects, incomplete knowledge, no money and no income!
The Solution: If you start a training course, make sure you work it all the way to the end. This is the only way you’ll really get any benefit about it. If you’re following a system, finish it. Half-finished systems won’t make you any money! If necessary, cut down on the number of mailing lists you’re on, or the number of blogs you read. There are hundreds of ways to make money on the internet, but at this point you only need ONE. Choose one, and then give it a chance to work!
Pitfall #3: Unrealistic Expectations
The Pitfall: Many affiliates dream of becoming millionaires overnight. (A lot of people will tell you overnight riches are possible — because they want to sell you something!) Building a great passive income as an affiliate is absolutely possible, and it’s much easier and faster than building a traditional business. But it still takes time and effort.
The Solution: A little perspective adjustment is all you need here.
Think about it this way: Traditionally if you wanted a great income, you’d study to become a doctor (or some other highly-paid professional). You wouldn’t give up within your first month of study, complaining that you weren’t making any money yet, would you? You’d realize that getting to that high salary requires years of study.
As an affiliate, there’s definitely the possibility of earning as much as our doctor friends. (You might even earn more.) And you won’t need to study as long, or incur a crippling student debt along the way. But you will need to put in SOME work and spend SOME time before you get it right. It’s not a total piece of cake, but it’s easier than putting yourself through medical school!
Stick with it, set realistic goals, and view success as a marathon, not a sprint.
Pitfall #4: Going for the “Quick Buck”
The Pitfall: Trying to find “loopholes” or fast ways to get results. You may see products that claim to be “the secret XYZ doesn’t want you to know about,” or that promise to get you onto the front page of Google with just a few quick automation’s.
The risk here is that you’ll invest time or money into something, and it won’t actually help you. It may even hurt your business.
We’ve seen affiliates hop from one dirty trick to the next, always looking for the “easy way”. It never ends up working long-term, and it’s extremely disheartening for them to have to start from scratch every time another quick trick fails.
The Solution: In this case it’s best to stick by the old mantra, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”. If something promises you fast results that you probably don’t really deserve, it will either a) not work, or b) be a temporary boost that won’t work for very long — and then you’ll be back where you started.
Be wary of claims that a particular tool or strategy will result in money pouring into your accounts overnight. Take all sales pitches with a good dose of scepticism. If in doubt, jump online and ask for other people’s opinions in forums. (Don’t trust review sites. The reviews are often written by affiliates!)
Affiliate Marketing Pitfall #5: Building too many sites too quickly
The Pitfall: Building multiple sites straight away thinking, “more sites will make more money.” Then, when none of the sites have been given the full attention needed, they flop.
The Solution: Start with just one affiliate website, and build it like a home. Would you haphazardly lay the foundation? Would you slop the dripping paint brush widely all over the wall so that the carpet is stained? Of course not! Build your website to last. Once it is established and optimized, then move on to the next one.