Is it really true that 95% of affiliate marketers fail?
I personally don’t believe that number but many of the Guru’s lately have been sending out emails stating it as a fact.
I would agree the failure rate for people starting out as affiliates is high but only because a majority fail to act. They didn’t have a plan and or didn’t follow through consistently. It takes time to build up traffic to a site or money if you are using pay per click.
When many new affiliate marketers do not see instant success they just drop the ball.
Starting out as an affiliate can feel overwhelming:
Which product do I pick?
How do I build a site?
What domain name should I get?
How do I create content?
What do I have to do to get traffic?
The first thing is you have to treat your affiliate marketing venture as a business. If you treat it like a hobby you can expect little or no returns. Make a plan and set goals for yourself.
Keep the goals simple and try to reduce the tasks into bite sized chunks you can complete in an hour at a time.
Picking a product to promote can be a crapshoot, unless you do your homework. This means buy the product, check out the customer service. Really look at the website.
Would you buy from them?
List the reasons why you desire the product or why you think others will want it. Write your own review of the product. Take a video of the package when it arrives, show what is inside and how you use the product. Just from doing these three things you now have content for your site.
Selecting a domain name can be done based on keywords or phrases or by general topic. Use Instant Search in Google or the related Keywords areato come up with creative ideas. You could also go for something more generic if you plan to offer several products. Keep it short and easy to remember. And don’t sweat it, domains are only ten bucks you can always get another one for other projects.
Building a site has never been easier even if you do not know a single thing about HTML. If you can work in WORD you are golden. I advise starting with a WordPress site.
Why do I recommend WordPress to start?
WordPress is easy to use and has plenty of help information. There are lots of books you can pick up on the subject as well. If you at least have $25, buy your own domain and use inexpensive but very good hosting companies like GoDaddy or BlueHost.
Installing or setting up WordPress is not difficult with either host it is just a matter of point and click and follow the install wizard’s prompts. If you have no money to start with you could create a site at blogger.com for free. Starting with Blogger.com would be a good idea to do just to get familiar with the interface. Blogger.com has video tutorials and lots of ready to use templates.
Building content for your website is a matter of knowing who your potential visitors are, what they are looking for and giving it to them. To get an idea of the demographics I use Quantcast.com. If you can’t find the merchants site listed in Quantcast try the a competitors site or check Alexa.com to get ideas.
Remember, when it comes to effective affiliate marketing, you’re not alone. The very same questions you had about the product, others are also asking about too.
Answer those questions in articles, videos or blog content for your site.You don’t really write just for the search engines, you want to write useful and engaging content for the user. This is important because the user buys the products – the search engine does not. A well written FAQ on your product is going to get indexed by the Search Engines and you will
attract visitors interested in buying.
Don’t try to SEO the heck out of an articles or posts the first time around. You can always go back in and make subtle changes to wording to focus your content better for specific keywords or phrases. The important thing is you have quality content. Set goals for creating fresh content at least once a week. It could be something as short as posing a question about the product and answering it. A top ten reason list why you need this product.
How do I get traffic?
This is by far the most frustrating thing new affiliates deal with. You can’t just build it and expect people to come. You have to actively promote your site. The Good news is it really is a matter of slow and steady persistence. Don’t expect an avalanche of traffic after you build the site. You need to use channels like YouTube, Forums, Groups on LinkedIn, Facebook, Article Sites and post comments on other blogs related to yours.
For Youtube you create videos.
In LinkedIn and Facebook you’ll want to join a few groups that are
potentially your ideal buying audience or your perfect customers. It is so
important to participate in the conversations. Don’t just spam your
website or product to others but remember that you are engaging in a
social community. Ideally, you want to put a little bit of your own heart
and personality into your writing, so readers and group members feel
comfortable
Forums are fantastic because you can participate in the conversations, offer advice, ask questions and your signature link to your site will be visible. This will create links back to your site and make others aware of your website and knowledge.
Article sites like EzineArticles.com are excellent places to submit your articles to. You can expect a steady stream of traffic from the links to your site in the author signature box.
Comment on other peoples blogs related to yours. Post comments on what they wrote and offer your opinions. Offer real information not just comments like “nice post”. This will not only help you build inbound links but you may even get the chance to be a guest blogger on their blog. For more information on using blogs to create traffic I recommend
Michael Campbell’s Goobert method.
Last but not least you do need to submit your site to the search engines and directories. The best way to do this is use the word press plugin to create a sitemap. It will automatically notify the major engines of your blog. I also recommend free services like Pingler.com
If you are just getting started in Affiliate Marketing, then give your
attention to these essential areas first. In doing these things, you will
begin your journey on a much more successful note.