Make Money with Affiliate Marketing
Many people enter, but very few succeed when it comes to affiliate marketing. Why is that?
Like a magic potion or wonder pill, affiliate marketing has been introduced to many as the quick and easy miracle solution to your money woes or employment problems.
And like the snake oil salesman of yesteryear, many people jump at the chance to buy a bottle of this marvelous elixir from those who peddle it. Then become even more desperate or altogether disenchanted when the potion they were sold doesn’t work as promised, if at all.
I’ve been there, I know because I have a cabinet full of disappointments with a number of affiliate marketing programs that I have bought over the years, all promising to lead me to the path of quick riches and instant online success. But then I stopped chasing those peddlers and got smart.
But the question remains, ‘Can I really make money with affiliate marketing?’
The answer is, ‘Yes!’. Affiliate marketing does work and has done more than just make money. It has provided a respectable living for those willing to put in the effort and develop the skills needed to succeed.
But to succeed, you must realize that affiliate marketing is more than just signing up to promote some popular merchant’s product or service in exchange for a big percentage commission. And it doesn’t happen overnight.
Need to develop actual marketing skills
There are actual marketing skills required to succeed with affiliate marketing. Sales and promotion are just part of the mix but not the entire scope which many focus on only.
Market research
There are many aspects to it like market research; which is discovering the who, what, where, why and how of that market and potential customers. It is learning to know the how and what you can do for them and then the method(s) used to reach out to them.
Then there is market selection which is the market you want or have an interest in promoting like the dieting market for example. But an extremely important factor is that there is a market where money can be made.
It is understanding that you are looking for those who have a problem and you have their solution. So like Internet marketing, affiliate marketing has to do with providing solutions for problems that the people in your market are willing to pay for.
Selling skills
In addition, there are skills required relating to sales. If you cannot sell, then you have several choices to make. You can learn those skills and develop them. You can hire someone else to do your sales, which means you are more like a CEO and not an affiliate, or do something else altogether.
Am I getting through to you yet? Are you beginning to realize that affiliate marketing, even though it easier to do than other occupation choices, is not a walk in the park when you are just beginning out and have done none of the about before?
Before I completely convince you that affiliate marketing should be scratched of your list of money making opportunities, there is hope. Sorry if I’ve crushed your misconceptions about affiliate marketing with my dose of reality. But I’m only being honest and give wake up calls to all the subject I write about.
Not all hope is lost when it comes to affiliate marketing. It doesn’t require a college education or degree. But it does require dedication and determination. It can be taught to others without years of having to learn it the hard way.
Need for a proven program or system
There are real short-cuts to success when you follow a proven program (system) along with gaining the experience from those who have gone before you.
The answer is sticking with someone who is trustworthy, knowledgeable, and who genuinely wants to help you avoid the pitfalls and mistakes they made. That is why coaching and mentoring programs have become so popular today, because they work.
However, the biggest problem with coaching and mentoring programs (like most things) is finding the right one, the right fit as I call it with a person or program that can take you to the promised land.
One that’s reasonably priced
Not only that, but to find one that is not so ridiculously priced (priced as though they are a real college program without the degree) like many of the ones that are currently offered online today.
At the same time, you can’t expect to get great help by those who have earned their stripes for free. Especially when they have put in the effort to developed proven methods over time. They’re not just going to give it all away cheaply or for free.
How serious are you?
If you are SERIOUS about making money online and want to establish a continuous stream of income, then you must be willing to invest in your future by finding and paying for it.
If you don’t believe this to be true, then like me, you can spend years of putting together piecemeal information, try and fail at many things while losing tons of money in the process, quit, or decide right now to invest in a complete, systematic training program that works!
Another major element, besides finding the right mentoring program, is taking into consideration the person who is buying that program, you.
Sadly, most people don’t stick with a program long enough or do what is asked (the assignments or action steps) before jumping ship and diving into something else. This is a recipe for disaster, not success.
Personal belief system
The problem as I see it is actually based on a person’s belief system, a strong belief that there is an instantaneous way to make lots of money, and it’s this bogus belief that is stopping this person from success.
Let me be brutally honest with you… other than lotteries and inheritances, there are NO real “get rich quick” schemes! Other than con-jobs and illegal ones available to you or anyone else. The faster you realize this and get it in your head, the better off you’ll be and the greater chance you’ll have for success.
To be successful, requires work, effort, a proven system, planning, determination and dedication to get it done. Without these things, I highly doubt you will find success in anything let alone with affiliate marketing!
The smart way
The smart way to achieve success faster (not instantaneously) is getting a coach or mentor who can help you through to completion with a program that has already been proven to work. So you don’t have to reinvent the wheel all over, just adapt and modify the system that is already in place.
