Thursday, February 28, 2008
Five Reasons Most Affiliate Marketers Fail
Article directories are full of articles about how to succeed as an affiliate marketer. It often seems like I can't get away from websites telling me they'll give me the secret to becoming a millionaire in fifteen minutes. And the number of affiliate marketing courses out there is growing all the time.
So why isn't everyone a successful affiliate marketer? After all, there's all this advice out there. Even if most of it is rubbish, with enough searching and by taking advice from reviews sites it is possible to find the good. But beginner affiliate marketers still make the same mistakes, time after time.
So, instead of an article telling you how to become a successful affiliate marketer, here's one telling you how to fail. If you don't make any of these mistakes, you'll be doing better than 95% of beginning affiliate marketers.
1. Sit back and hope you'll be lucky.
You might be. You might also win the lottery. But I wouldn't put much faith in either happening. I am sure that there are people out there who have done nothing but thrown up a website and earned money from it. But there are far more people who have done nothing but thrown up a website and ended up only wasting their own money.
2. Promote products you don't believe in.
Insincerity shines through. People can tell if you're lying. The words sound rehearsed and often like a repeat of the sales pitch. You will probably also end up sick of it, and if you have any conscience at all, you should feel guilty about the fact that you are sending people to a poor quality product.
Another thing to avoid is promoting products you haven't actually bought. Always read a product carefully before you start trying to sell it. Buy it through your clickbank account if you want some money off! But not knowing anything about a product will make you sound phoney, will mean you are unable to answer questions about it, and will mean you are reliant on the author's own sales pitch for information.
3. Expect people to visit the collection of links you claim is a website.
Websites with no content don't attract visitors. Would you? They're even less likely to come for a repeat visit, and you'll have about as much chance of reputable sites linking to you as of winning the lottery. You won't get listed in any directories either, and your search engine ranking will suffer. Good content leads to more visitors and more sales. Pre-selling something well can up the conversion rate dramatically.
4. Treat your visitors and subscribers as cash machines.
They're not. By clicking on your affiliate links, they're making you money. And why should they do that if you give them nothing in return? People don't visit your website or subscribe to your mailing list because they feel like you deserve a bit of extra cash. They do so because they want something, usually information. You have to give that to them.
5. Give up.
Most affiliate marketers give up. They make mistakes, they lose money, they get discouraged, and they stop trying. The success stories are the ones who kept going, who kept believing that it was possible to make a living affiliate marketing. You need to believe the same, and be prepared to work hard for it.
If you avoid these mistakes, your chances of becoming a successful affiliate marketer increase dramatically. Committing any of them is likely to cost you time and money; but even if you have, they are easily fixed. Content can be added to a website, products can be researched more thoroughly, your sales pitch can be adjusted and you can always put in more work than you have been.
Does it sound boring? Yes. Is it difficult and often frustrating? Yes. But seeing your traffic increase, and then watching the sales start to come in is extremely exciting. That feeling alone makes it all worth it. And the money doesn't hurt either! The hardest part of affiliate marketing is always getting started. When you are up and running, word will spread about your site and traffic will grow by itself.
Just don't commit any of the above mistakes, and you will already be ahead of the pack.
Anita Buchan is a successful affiliate marketer who now wants to help others make the same money she does. For honest reviews of legitimate affiliate marketing opportunities, visit http://www.dont-get-scammed.biz
My Psp Downloads - Earn A Massive 75%. ($11 Rebate)
Record Internet Radio With Radio2MP3. ($11 Rebate)
Beginners Bible To Techno Music Making And Selling. ($11 Rebate)
Read This Blog
Read This Blog
Playing Through The Blues. ($11 Rebate)
Read This Blog
Read This Blog
Read This Blog
Accordion Tutor EBook(R) - High Conversion. ($11 Rebate)
Musicians Mastermind Coaching Program. ($11 Rebate)
Guitarists Love Killer Effect Pedals! ($11 Rebate)
High Conversion Hip Hop Rap Record Label. ($11 Rebate)
Read This Blog
Read This Blog
So why isn't everyone a successful affiliate marketer? After all, there's all this advice out there. Even if most of it is rubbish, with enough searching and by taking advice from reviews sites it is possible to find the good. But beginner affiliate marketers still make the same mistakes, time after time.
So, instead of an article telling you how to become a successful affiliate marketer, here's one telling you how to fail. If you don't make any of these mistakes, you'll be doing better than 95% of beginning affiliate marketers.
1. Sit back and hope you'll be lucky.
You might be. You might also win the lottery. But I wouldn't put much faith in either happening. I am sure that there are people out there who have done nothing but thrown up a website and earned money from it. But there are far more people who have done nothing but thrown up a website and ended up only wasting their own money.
2. Promote products you don't believe in.
Insincerity shines through. People can tell if you're lying. The words sound rehearsed and often like a repeat of the sales pitch. You will probably also end up sick of it, and if you have any conscience at all, you should feel guilty about the fact that you are sending people to a poor quality product.
Another thing to avoid is promoting products you haven't actually bought. Always read a product carefully before you start trying to sell it. Buy it through your clickbank account if you want some money off! But not knowing anything about a product will make you sound phoney, will mean you are unable to answer questions about it, and will mean you are reliant on the author's own sales pitch for information.
3. Expect people to visit the collection of links you claim is a website.
Websites with no content don't attract visitors. Would you? They're even less likely to come for a repeat visit, and you'll have about as much chance of reputable sites linking to you as of winning the lottery. You won't get listed in any directories either, and your search engine ranking will suffer. Good content leads to more visitors and more sales. Pre-selling something well can up the conversion rate dramatically.
4. Treat your visitors and subscribers as cash machines.
They're not. By clicking on your affiliate links, they're making you money. And why should they do that if you give them nothing in return? People don't visit your website or subscribe to your mailing list because they feel like you deserve a bit of extra cash. They do so because they want something, usually information. You have to give that to them.
5. Give up.
Most affiliate marketers give up. They make mistakes, they lose money, they get discouraged, and they stop trying. The success stories are the ones who kept going, who kept believing that it was possible to make a living affiliate marketing. You need to believe the same, and be prepared to work hard for it.
If you avoid these mistakes, your chances of becoming a successful affiliate marketer increase dramatically. Committing any of them is likely to cost you time and money; but even if you have, they are easily fixed. Content can be added to a website, products can be researched more thoroughly, your sales pitch can be adjusted and you can always put in more work than you have been.
Does it sound boring? Yes. Is it difficult and often frustrating? Yes. But seeing your traffic increase, and then watching the sales start to come in is extremely exciting. That feeling alone makes it all worth it. And the money doesn't hurt either! The hardest part of affiliate marketing is always getting started. When you are up and running, word will spread about your site and traffic will grow by itself.
Just don't commit any of the above mistakes, and you will already be ahead of the pack.
Anita Buchan is a successful affiliate marketer who now wants to help others make the same money she does. For honest reviews of legitimate affiliate marketing opportunities, visit http://www.dont-get-scammed.biz
My Psp Downloads - Earn A Massive 75%. ($11 Rebate)
Record Internet Radio With Radio2MP3. ($11 Rebate)
Beginners Bible To Techno Music Making And Selling. ($11 Rebate)
Read This Blog
Read This Blog
Playing Through The Blues. ($11 Rebate)
Read This Blog
Read This Blog
Read This Blog
Accordion Tutor EBook(R) - High Conversion. ($11 Rebate)
Musicians Mastermind Coaching Program. ($11 Rebate)
Guitarists Love Killer Effect Pedals! ($11 Rebate)
High Conversion Hip Hop Rap Record Label. ($11 Rebate)
Read This Blog
Read This Blog
Toys R Us Top 15 Toys For The Holidays 2006
Finding that perfect gift for children always seems easier than finding a great gift for adults. Just head to a toy store, pick something out and be on your way, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, its not that easy. Sure, the kids might love the gift right out of the box, but will it get played with months (or heck, even weeks) later?
Thats the question you have to ask yourself each gift buying occasion when shopping for children. Luckily, there are guides and hot lists to help you in your search. For Christmas 2006, there are a myriad of hot toys. If you dont wait until the very last minute to shop, you should have no trouble finding most of them.
To help us, Toys R Us has released a list of the top 15 toys and has provided suggestions for toys in each age range as well.
The top 15 toys, in no particular order, include:
Doras Talking Cash Register (Fisher Price)
Laugh & Learn Baby Grand Piano (Fisher Price)
ESPN Fast Action Football (Fisher Price)
T.M.X Elmo (Fisher Price)
Kid-Tough Digital Camera (Fisher Price)
Sound City Railway (Imaginarium)
Tap Dancing Mumble (Thinkway)
Wii (Nintendo)
Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes (ToyQuest)
Speed Stack StackPack (Play Along)
Mindstorms NXT (Lego)
Designers World (Tiger Games)
My Scene My Bling Bling Styling Head (Mattel)
Power Rangers Deluxe Manticore Megazord (Bandai)
Pink Nitro Notebook (Vtech)
Now, if you are looking for the best toy buys for each age group, heres a sampling of Toys R Us recommendations.
For Babys First Christmas
Lets Play Together Peek N Play Discovery Dome (Playskool)
This is an interactive toy that lets parents get in on the fun, with peek-a-book curtains. Fifteen Activities are designed to encourage hand-eye coordination
Laugh & Learn Learning Bunny (Fisher Price)
This bunny is plush, but hes no slouch. He can help babies learn how to count to 10, learn their colors and textures and other skills. He also plays music.
Laugh & Learn Baby Grand Piano (Fisher Price)
This is one of TRUs hot picks listed above. It teaches colors, numbers and opposites while also teaching about various elements of music.
For children 13 months to 2 years old
Learn & Groove Alphabet Drum (LeapFrog)
LeapFrog always offers innovative toys for young children. This toy introduces the alphabet while also playing music, encouraging physical activity and teaching numbers. Also introduces Spanish!
SmartVille Alphabet Train Station (Vtech)
The train here heads from stop to stop, all while introducing colors, alphabets, numbers, animals and time.
T.M.X. Elmo (Fisher Price)
This new Elmo, which has been flying off toy shelves since its introduction in September, not only laughs, but gets on the floor and giggles until his belly shakes.
Darla (You & Me a TRU brand)
Darla can be woken with a light tap, and will cry for ma ma. Shes a fully interactive doll that also makes realistic feeding sounds.
For children 2 to 4 years old
Kid-Tough Digital Camera (Fisher Price)
This hot pick features big buttons for tiny hands and a rough exterior that helps it hold up to the tough love preschoolers can dish out.
LeapsterTV (LeapFrog)
This console plugs into the family TV for big-screen play. Works with all Leapster software programs and tracks the play of each player, so they can see their progress on the big screen. Good for pre-K to 4th grade players.
Tap Dancing Mumble (Thinkway)
This is based on the main character from the fall-release movie Happy Feet. It dances/taps every time it hears music, or the children talk to it.
For children 5 to 7 years old
Amazing Allysen (Playmates)
This doll is designed to be your childs best friend when her real life friend isnt around. Allysen responds to key commands and comments with lifelike expressions and emotions. She also knows your childs favorites, so she can chat with your child about her favorite things.
Wherifone GPS Locator Phone from Wherify Wireless
This phone will help you keep tabs on your children, as with its GPS capabilities, it tells you the location of your children at all times (assuming the phone is with them).
Pink Nitro Notebook (VTech)
Designed for budding readers, this pink laptop computer reads stories aloud, and has a variety of games designed to help children with literacy and other skills.
For children 8 to 11 years old
Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes (ToyQuest)
Kids can hook their MP3 players up to this toy and manipulate the sounds and play music of their own.
Giga Pets Explorer TV Game System (Tiger Games)
This game that you hook up to the TV takes kids to the Giga World, where they can play games, go on mission and solve the Giga mystery. This also includes a handheld game
Star Wars Ultimate Collectors AT-ST set (Lego)
Kids can build their own AT-ST with the more than 1,000 lego pieces included in this set. TRU exclusive set.
Cathy Franklin is a mother of three and the owner of Toys Store Online. She finds the top family friendly toys for children of all ages that are fun for kids, age appropriate, and inexpensive for any family's budget. http://www.toys-store-online.com.
The Little Black Book Of Band Profit Secrets. ($11 Rebate)
Now Converts Movie Downloads To Dvd! ($11 Rebate)
Music Scores.com. ($11 Rebate)
MP3Must.com. ($11 Rebate)
Elmore Music - New Product! Speed Learning System, Usd $94 Payout! ($11 Rebate)
Dvd Copy Affiliate Wanted! ($11 Rebate)
RelaxingMusicSource.com: Convert For Cheap. ($11 Rebate)
1 IPod Video Converter. Huge Earn 70%. ($11 Rebate)
Digital Streaming Radio On Your Mobile Phone - La Vella Mobile Radio. ($11 Rebate)
Guitar Made Easy. ($11 Rebate)
Mp3 Site, Targeted Traffic? ($11 Rebate)
MP3s Are Hot!! Easy Sales Finally Here. ($11 Rebate)
Rip Your DVD's. ($11 Rebate)
Guitarists Love Killer Effect Pedals! ($11 Rebate)
Piano Lessons With A New Edge. ($11 Rebate)
Thats the question you have to ask yourself each gift buying occasion when shopping for children. Luckily, there are guides and hot lists to help you in your search. For Christmas 2006, there are a myriad of hot toys. If you dont wait until the very last minute to shop, you should have no trouble finding most of them.
To help us, Toys R Us has released a list of the top 15 toys and has provided suggestions for toys in each age range as well.
The top 15 toys, in no particular order, include:
Doras Talking Cash Register (Fisher Price)
Laugh & Learn Baby Grand Piano (Fisher Price)
ESPN Fast Action Football (Fisher Price)
T.M.X Elmo (Fisher Price)
Kid-Tough Digital Camera (Fisher Price)
Sound City Railway (Imaginarium)
Tap Dancing Mumble (Thinkway)
Wii (Nintendo)
Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes (ToyQuest)
Speed Stack StackPack (Play Along)
Mindstorms NXT (Lego)
Designers World (Tiger Games)
My Scene My Bling Bling Styling Head (Mattel)
Power Rangers Deluxe Manticore Megazord (Bandai)
Pink Nitro Notebook (Vtech)
Now, if you are looking for the best toy buys for each age group, heres a sampling of Toys R Us recommendations.
For Babys First Christmas
Lets Play Together Peek N Play Discovery Dome (Playskool)
This is an interactive toy that lets parents get in on the fun, with peek-a-book curtains. Fifteen Activities are designed to encourage hand-eye coordination
Laugh & Learn Learning Bunny (Fisher Price)
This bunny is plush, but hes no slouch. He can help babies learn how to count to 10, learn their colors and textures and other skills. He also plays music.
Laugh & Learn Baby Grand Piano (Fisher Price)
This is one of TRUs hot picks listed above. It teaches colors, numbers and opposites while also teaching about various elements of music.
For children 13 months to 2 years old
Learn & Groove Alphabet Drum (LeapFrog)
LeapFrog always offers innovative toys for young children. This toy introduces the alphabet while also playing music, encouraging physical activity and teaching numbers. Also introduces Spanish!
SmartVille Alphabet Train Station (Vtech)
The train here heads from stop to stop, all while introducing colors, alphabets, numbers, animals and time.
T.M.X. Elmo (Fisher Price)
This new Elmo, which has been flying off toy shelves since its introduction in September, not only laughs, but gets on the floor and giggles until his belly shakes.
Darla (You & Me a TRU brand)
Darla can be woken with a light tap, and will cry for ma ma. Shes a fully interactive doll that also makes realistic feeding sounds.
For children 2 to 4 years old
Kid-Tough Digital Camera (Fisher Price)
This hot pick features big buttons for tiny hands and a rough exterior that helps it hold up to the tough love preschoolers can dish out.
LeapsterTV (LeapFrog)
This console plugs into the family TV for big-screen play. Works with all Leapster software programs and tracks the play of each player, so they can see their progress on the big screen. Good for pre-K to 4th grade players.
Tap Dancing Mumble (Thinkway)
This is based on the main character from the fall-release movie Happy Feet. It dances/taps every time it hears music, or the children talk to it.
For children 5 to 7 years old
Amazing Allysen (Playmates)
This doll is designed to be your childs best friend when her real life friend isnt around. Allysen responds to key commands and comments with lifelike expressions and emotions. She also knows your childs favorites, so she can chat with your child about her favorite things.
Wherifone GPS Locator Phone from Wherify Wireless
This phone will help you keep tabs on your children, as with its GPS capabilities, it tells you the location of your children at all times (assuming the phone is with them).
Pink Nitro Notebook (VTech)
Designed for budding readers, this pink laptop computer reads stories aloud, and has a variety of games designed to help children with literacy and other skills.
For children 8 to 11 years old
Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes (ToyQuest)
Kids can hook their MP3 players up to this toy and manipulate the sounds and play music of their own.
Giga Pets Explorer TV Game System (Tiger Games)
This game that you hook up to the TV takes kids to the Giga World, where they can play games, go on mission and solve the Giga mystery. This also includes a handheld game
Star Wars Ultimate Collectors AT-ST set (Lego)
Kids can build their own AT-ST with the more than 1,000 lego pieces included in this set. TRU exclusive set.
Cathy Franklin is a mother of three and the owner of Toys Store Online. She finds the top family friendly toys for children of all ages that are fun for kids, age appropriate, and inexpensive for any family's budget. http://www.toys-store-online.com.
The Little Black Book Of Band Profit Secrets. ($11 Rebate)
Now Converts Movie Downloads To Dvd! ($11 Rebate)
Music Scores.com. ($11 Rebate)
MP3Must.com. ($11 Rebate)
Elmore Music - New Product! Speed Learning System, Usd $94 Payout! ($11 Rebate)
Dvd Copy Affiliate Wanted! ($11 Rebate)
RelaxingMusicSource.com: Convert For Cheap. ($11 Rebate)
1 IPod Video Converter. Huge Earn 70%. ($11 Rebate)
Digital Streaming Radio On Your Mobile Phone - La Vella Mobile Radio. ($11 Rebate)
Guitar Made Easy. ($11 Rebate)
Mp3 Site, Targeted Traffic? ($11 Rebate)
MP3s Are Hot!! Easy Sales Finally Here. ($11 Rebate)
Rip Your DVD's. ($11 Rebate)
Guitarists Love Killer Effect Pedals! ($11 Rebate)
Piano Lessons With A New Edge. ($11 Rebate)