A common, inevitable flaw in all successful programs?
The amount of false information that is spread about it. The more popularity that scheme gets and the more that people talk about it, the more the chances are of people spreading fake news about it.
And, over time, the not-so-accurate facts accumulate and embed themselves as stereotypes about the industry: which, simply put, is not desirable.
In an attempt to debunk a few of those to you, here are ten myths that are, well, nothing more than just myths.
Context
- Common Affiliate Marketing Myths Busted
- Easy money, just have a go at it
- Just having a website suffices
- A successful website means I’ve made it
- Increase in traffic means an upturn in sales
- Everyone loves my product
- One good program and I’m set (or) no number is high enough
- Affiliate marketing.. is advertising
- Need smartness to survive
- Too much competition/industry coming to a wane
- Big company needed to make money
Common Affiliate Marketing Myths Busted
1. Easy money, just have a go at it
This one should be obvious but apparently, it’s not, so I’ll go ahead and state it: affiliate marketing is not a quick, simple money-making scheme. It’s not easy, and definitely not quick by any measure. Affiliate marketing requires hard work and perseverance: it is a famous statistic that only 5% of the people who start off on this journey attain success.
A crucial factor that would help you on your journey is passion or interest, so make sure you are fueled by a source that doesn’t run out. If you’re in it for the money, as two-thirds of the marketers today are, your drive to earn the greenbacks must be powerful enough to push you through: it’s not a 100-meter sprint against toddlers.
2. Just having a website suffices
While having a (competent) website up and running does help, there’s still work left to do. Developing relationships with other marketers, learning how to avoid slumps in viewership, experimenting with your content to decide on the best way to use it: a website is just the beginning.
Possibly the most important of these would be getting contacts and looking for opportunities for symbiosis: no one turns down a win-win suggestion. Two people helping each other grow is beneficial for both professional and personal reasons.
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3. A successful website means I’ve made it
It is slightly similar to my previous point, but a different focus: your website only works for you as long as you work on it. You need to keep updating the data you put up on your site to keep up with the changing times. Though you may be experiencing significant traffic now, it doesn’t take long for others to catch up so stay on your toes.
The outdated or wrong information is a big put-off, and with many new websites coming up every day you (and your website) need to stay on top of your game. Try to make your website visually appealing, add interesting facts as you learn them and if you’re out of ideas visit other marketing sites.
4. Increase in traffic means an upturn in sales
No. It doesn’t. Website traffic only tells you how many people have clicked on your website link, not your affiliate links. While there tends to be a high correlation between the two, your sales eventually depend on the quality of your content.
The number of people who reach the affiliate program through your website is directly proportional to the persuasiveness of your content. Therefore, focus on sales numbers and not website visits, and if there’s a particularly large disparity between them consider putting in more effort and research into the content you publish.
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5. Everyone loves my product
Another easy misinterpretation to make would be that all reach is good. While more people knowing about your website is a good thing, the interests of the people differ. If your affiliate company sold books, more potential sales were generated if just one book-lover visited your website rather than ten people with no other interest in life than video gaming.
Take care that the target audience of any publicizing attempts is chosen well, the interests of the people who read your content matter more than just making up numbers to fill up a pretty chart.
6. One good program and I’m set (or) no number is high enough
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but extremities are usually not the aim of any activities. ‘Balance’ is one of the favorite words of humans in general, and that is because the Goldilocks zones feel the best. Don’t limit yourself to just one program, and don’t go about signing up for everything in sight either.
Start with one affiliate program and judge your own ability to manage the website. Remember, making multiple websites requires your undivided attention in parts, it’s not an easy task to go about.
While multiple programs do offer more funds and security, they are difficult to manage and there’s always the danger of going after two hens and not catching either. In conclusion, start with one and venture into another only when you feel comfortable with the concepts of marketing.
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7. Affiliate marketing.. is advertising
The word “marketing” does not make this an advert, affiliate marketing is much more than just placing an ad on a website. The content that you create, the degree to which you convince people that a particular product is reliable, choosing which programs to enroll in, and being invested in that field, it’s a whole different world.
Monetizing a website and trying to make it popular is not affiliate marketing. This field needs you to know and research your products and try to offer your best to people, you have to write on various informative topics rather than clickbait headlines.
8. Need smartness to survive
Affiliate marketing is something that can be learned. Having academic success is not an indicator of your chances of success, but how passionate you are about the subject is. Though having a liberal dose of intelligence and knowledge on the process does help quite a bit, it is not exactly necessary.
Knowing how to reach people and attracting them is a much more important skill than learning a few impressive-sounding technical terms. With just the basic knowledge of how affiliate marketing works, you could build up the rest through learning by experience.
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9. Too much competition/industry coming to a wane
Sure, affiliate marketing is one of the busiest industries in today’s world, but that doesn’t mean you don’t stand a chance. Despite the many websites in business, you could always choose a comfortable niche to ease you into the practice. Lesser competition in an industry is a big indicator of its low desirability: human beings are just too attracted to profits to ignore possibilities.
A parallel misconception is that the industry is on the wane: it’s a thing of the past. This just shows how much it has been advancing, affiliate marketing has been going on all this while under our noses. The increasing subtlety of how one blends affiliate links into articles is the best indicator of its evolution. In fact, studies point at a 10% growth in the industry over the next few years.
10. Big company needed to make money
You don’t need a connection with a big company to have good sales numbers. Remember, people, reading your website only know the product you advertise, not the company that produces it. The number of clicks your affiliate link gets is dependent mostly on your own quality of work.
For example: if your affiliate program is a big site, say Flipkart, but your links are poorly placed in a way that escapes attention, poor sales are going to follow. But if you refine your content and target a particular audience who you know would understand your article, then chances are that they have a positive effect on your sales, the size of the company notwithstanding.
Author Bio
A man who has been in pursuit of attaining a vision -working from home and making money online- Res Marty has been quite successful so far. Now the founder of Affiliate Academy, his initial affiliate marketing journey took off in 2018, and he has been lending his support and expertise on the subject to newcomers ever since. He spends a sizable chunk of his time answering any doubts on affiliate marketing that beginners may have.