Affiliate Marketing is a great option to earn money online. The top earners make staggering amounts of money, but the truth is that 90% of Affiliate Marketers fail to earn enough money to replace their primary income. Here are 10 reasons why people fail to earn life changing amounts of money online through Affiliate Marketing.
10 – Not having a cohesive strategy
It doesn’t matter what you are trying to accomplish, you need a proven strategy if you hope to succeed. There are a lot of different strategies to earn money online that can work, you need to find one that will work for you and implement it. Many people try to follow too many strategies at once and lose focus. Just dabbling in a bunch of different things won’t get you the result. You need to pick one and follow through on it. The best way to do this is to find people who are getting the results you want and learn from them.
9 – Not focusing on your niche
It seems to make sense, if you can make a little money in one product area, you can make a lot if you promote several different products, but it doesn’t necessarily work out that way. Customers buy from people they know, like and trust. If you want people to buy from you, you have to be established in your niche. You have to establish authority in a specific area. You wouldn’t ask a doctor how to fix your car, or ask your mechanic for landscaping tips. It’s the same for affiliate marketing, you need to focus on an area, become an expert and promote products that relate to your area of expertise. Once you master your niche, then you can branch out, but start with one and focus on it.
8 – Not Collecting emails
This is what we call a rookie mistake. Many beginners get affiliate links and just plaster them all over the internet. Very few customers buy upfront. You need to be collecting emails, building your list and have a strong follow up campaign to warm leads up until they are ready to buy. Most of your sales will come from your email list. It might be the most valuable thing you have as an Affiliate Marketer.
7 – Not doing Keyword research
It doesn’t matter how much good content you create, if you aren’t answering the questions that your target audience is asking, you won’t attract the traffic that you need to generate profits. You need to figure what your customers are searching for and have a tool or strategy to find the best keywords to target. Once you have a good list of keywords, you need to produce content that targets those keywords if you expect to earn money online.
6 – Not getting support
It’s amazing how much you can do as a solopreneur with the tools available today, but we all need some type of support system especially in the beginning. You need a group of peers or even a coach to help keep you accountable and up to date with the latest trends and tools. Don’t try to go it alone. Find a Master Mind group or hire a coach to help you break through to the next level.
5 – Not knowing your audience
Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Some people will relate to you and others won’t, that’s just human nature. Every transaction online is still between a buyer and a seller, even if it’s an automated transaction. If you want to sell more, you have to know your buyer. What are there deepest desires and greatest fears? Try to identify their biggest source of frustration? What keeps them up at night? Think about their likes and dislikes. What pop culture references will resonate with them? Get a real sense of your target customer and write to them and speak to them when you create content.
4- Not Learning about Marketing
Marketing is a skill that can be learned. Take the time to learn it and practice it. Learn about copywriting, SEO, advertising, how internet traffic works, etc. I used to think that some people were just marketing geniuses and that they had a skill that I could never learn. The truth is some people are exceptional at it because they have put in the time and effort to become that way. The best marketers still go through the process of developing and refining their ads. They test their landing pages to see what converts at the highest rate before spending a lot of money on ads. They also track their results and monitor their ad campaigns and adjust as needed.
3 – Not being consistent
Consistency, consistency, consistency! Being consistent might be the most important factor in success. This is the most important rule for any goal. You have to keep showing up and doing the work. If you want to get fit, you have to workout consistently and you can’t stop working out and then expect to stay in shape. You can’t learn a skill, never practice it and expect to maintain it or improve at it. You have to consistently put in the work. Create a schedule for yourself and stick to it. Create work hours and goals. Spend time every day learning and creating content. Set short term and long term goals, create plans to achieve them and hold yourself accountable.
2 – Giving up too soon
Most people underestimate how long it takes to build a business and give up too soon. The truth is that most online businesses fail because the owner gave up. The internet is full of people making noise. If you want to be heard, you have to do all the right things and do them longer than most people do. If you just stick with it longer than most people do, you will eventually get results and earn money online. This is why it’s so important to choose a niche that you are passionate about and to have a good support system.
1 – Blocking your Own Success
When I started my first business, I accepted the idea that the biggest constraint on the growth of my business was me. The number one factor holding back your growth, isn’t the economy, competition, or a lack of time and money. It’s your mindset. Your attitude and beliefs about what is possible for you are the main factors limiting your success. Spend some time figuring out why you want the things you do. Figure out what limiting beliefs you have and challenge those beliefs. Replace them with empowering beliefs.
My best advice
Be sure to have fun. I talk a lot about putting in the work, but if you choose a niche you are passionate about and focus on serving your customers, it can actually be a lot of fun. If you are serious about learning how to earn money online, find a program or coach that has proven success and dive in. The best program that I have found so far is the Entre Blueprint created by Jeff Lerner. I was skeptical at first, but the more I watched his videos, the more I came to believe that Jeff is the real deal. I was very impressed with the training and have been consuming as much of his content as possible since then. You can learn more from the link below.
