Affiliate Marketing Lies

Today’s Marketing Monday, I talk about something that is a pet peeve of mine because it hurts those who offer legitimate programs and also those who are sincere about finding a way to make money online with affiliate marketing. So I expose top lies about affiliate marketing. It’s an issue that I take personally and you should also is the out right lies some marketers use to “sell” their products, offers, or services. And once a lie starts to circulate as a fact, then misconceptions begin to quickly form as well, making it all the more difficult to discover the truth through the smoke. My experience with customers has also shown that when someone is burnt by a “seller” of a particular product or service, then all sellers in that market tend to become targets of mistrust and doubt with that person, which is unfair and hard to overcome, but understandable. So to clear the air and expose these sleaze-ball tactics, I have decided to write this article which covers the top lies about affiliate marketing and help you really know more about it.

“Affiliate Marketing is Easy to Do”

Just like any other business endeavor, it takes work. So this is most definitely a lie. It takes time and skill to develop the ability to see profitable markets and how to tap into them alone. However, a more accurate way to state it would be that affiliate marketing is easier to do than other forms of business or other ways of making money online. The reason is that you are not having to develop your own product or provide the complete customer service for it. Your focus is just promoting (selling) it. But again, once you get into the how to promote it, where to promote it and to whom, you quickly find that is not as easy as you were led to believe either. Knowing your market, knowing the product you are promoting, knowing your customer and what they want all take time, knowledge and energy.

“Anyone Can Do It”

This is lie number two (2). Of course some promoters or sellers want to include as many people into the fray as possible to increase the number of sales they make, that’s why they want to make you believe it. But does it make it true because they state it in all their promotional materials? Of course not. Even though we all have similarities, we all have our differences (both in strengths and weaknesses) as well. To say that anyone can do affiliate marketing is just bad altogether. The underlying truth about affiliate marketing, for the most part, is that it is mostly based on commission sales (how you get paid) and that you are on your own (independent contractor), period. Not everyone is cracked up for sales or working on their own. Yes, anyone can learn to do sales or to work independently, some much faster than others. But some people just hate the whole idea of sales and then struggle to make it as an affiliate marketer wondering why they are failing at it the whole time. Finally, if this statement was really true, then why do those promoters of this philosophy have in their disclaimer (often found in small print at the bottom of their sales page), that your results may be different than the results given here (i.e. that you will not do as well if at all).

“With Affiliate Marketing, You can Make LOTS of Money Quickly”

OMG! This is the biggest whopper of them all (or close) for beginners. Once in a blue moon (which happens only once per year), you will hear about some newbie who has hit the affiliate lotto jackpot. And instantly this quickly spreads all over the Internet. Instead of this being taken as a freak of nature, it become the poster child for the normal, the expected and then promoted as such. With that said, there are exceptions but that is the point…. exceptions! If you sell a product priced at $6,000 and earn a 75% commission, you just made $4,500 in one sale! That’s a four figure moment. But wait, my point is just that – it was for THAT MOMENT. My question is, can you do it again? Will you do it again over and over? If so, then you will make LOTS of money and can make it quickly. But if you are like most just starting out and promoting a $7 to $17 product (which most do), how many sales would you need to make to earn that same $4,500 at a 75% commission? The answer (assuming the $17 item at 75%) is 353 sales to make $4,500! But it just doesn’t stop there. Most conversions for sales are around 2%. So that means as an affiliate, you would need to generate enough targeted traffic (interested visitors) of 17,650 people through the sales offer to make those sales! How many newbies are going to generate that amount of traffic let alone being targeted traffic? Enough said.

“You Don’t Need to Spend Any Money to Start”

Really? Then why are you Mr. Marketer selling that knowledge to your unsuspecting prospect for a fee if it doesn’t require any money to start? The fact you are selling them this idea just nullified it! You need money to start, period! If you are planning on making money online (or anywhere), then you are considering going into business. I have not found a business that one could go into that didn’t require at least some amount of money to invest. A better statement to the truth would be, you don’t need a lot of money to start. Yes, you can join affiliate marketing programs for free, start promoting them online for free with your free affiliate link, but that is pretty much where the free ends. Anything beyond that will cost you something if not more.

Is Going into Affiliate Marketing Even Worth it?

When you look past the lies, look at the real possibilities available to you and discover that there are thousands of affiliate marketers that really do make a living online, then the truth will lead you to make a better decision for yourself and loved ones. Like anything else worthwhile, affiliate marketing success does take time, it takes effort on you part including gaining the knowledge and experience. In addition, it can be quite rewarding both financially and in what you do. Affiliate marketing is adaptable where you can find profitable markets that not only provide a valuable service to others, but also a distinguished position for you. What struggles are you currently facing with affiliate marketing or your online business? Leave me a comment below… I just may have a solution and I’d love to help!