Aloha Anyahiechi
Affiliate marketing is a popular way to earn money online by promoting products or services of companies and vendors, and earning commissions on sales of those products and services.
While affiliate marketing can be a lucrative and rewarding career, there are common mistakes that can lead to failure.
In this article, we will discuss 7 of those mistakes some affiliate marketers make, and how you can avoid making the mistakes.
Mistake #1: Not choosing a niche.
Some affiliates , especially the newbies often make the mistake of not choosing a niche when starting their affiliate marketing business. Not choosing a niche just like trying to sell any and everything you see on affiliate platforms.
A classic example is selling cement and food stuff in the same physical shop. It doesn’t work that way. You will end up losing customers, and not being able to make adequate sales.
Solution.
To do well in your affiliate marketing business, you must choose a specific niche or audience you want to serve.
This will not only help your prospects know you for a particular thing, it will also help you stay focused in creating your affiliate marketing campaigns.
Mistake #2: Choosing the wrong niche.
One thing is to choose a niche, another one is to choose the correct niche. Some affiliate marketers end up choosing the wrong niche because of a lack of proper understanding of what they want to sell.
All niches are not created the same. Some are profitable, while others are not. Some will make it easier for you to make steady sales and commissions, while you will find it difficult to make sales in some other niches.
Solution.
To solve the problem of choosing a wrong niche, you need to;
i. Research popular niches: What are people already buying? You need to know what is already selling in order to make a good decision about a niche to choose. What people are mostly buying all the time will likely be profitable.
ii. Validate your niche: Validate the profitability of your niche by keyword research to know the number of persons searching for it, this will give you an idea of how profitable the niche will be.
iii. Choose a niche you’re passionate about: Apart from profitability, you also need to choose a niche you’re passionate about, as this will help you stay long enough in that niche. You also need to have adequate knowledge of your chosen niche.
Mistake #3: Promoting Low-quality products.
No matter how passionate you are about a niche, always try to avoid promoting low-quality products, as that can damage your reputation and credibility. It is essential to promote high quality products that align with your niche and audience interests.
Solution.
i. Research products thoroughly: Before you start promoting any product or service, make sure you have adequate knowledge about the products, and have done enough research to find out the quality of what you are promoting.
ii. Choose high-quality products: Having done enough research, choose high quality products to offer to your target audience.
Mistake #4: Not disclosing affiliate links.
Failure to disclose affiliate links can lead to legal issues and damage in some countries. It is essential you disclose affiliate links clearly and transparently.
Solution.
i. Use clear and concise language: Use clear and concise language to disclose affiliate links on all your social media platforms and websites.
ii. Place disclosure prominently: Place disclosures on prominent places on your social media platforms and websites, so that people can easily see them.
Mistake #5: Over-promoting Products.
Yes, you read it right. Affiliate products can be over promoted if all you do is push people to buy, buy, and buy from you all the time. Avoid selling to your audience all the time, and spend some time building rapport and friendly relationships with them.
Solution.
i. Promote products strategically: Promote products strategically and focus on providing value to your audience. When you give them free content that is valuable to them, it will make it easier for them to buy from you.
ii. Use multiple marketing channels: Use multiple marketing channels to promote products and reach a wider audience. Make use of videos, pictures and written words.
Mistake #6: Not optimizing for SEO.
If you use a blog to promote products, not optimizing it for SEO will cost you a lot of sales. Low website traffic leads to low lead generation, which in turn leads to low sales and commissions.
Solution.
i. Use keyword research: keyword research will help you find relevant keywords your target audience are searching online. When you find out the keyword your target audience are searching for, use that knowledge to optimize your blog for SEO.
ii. Create high-quality content: Create high-quality content,engaging content that provides value to your target audience. This will make them connect with, and stay with you for a long time.
Mistake #7: Promoting under people’s comments section.
One common mistake amateur affiliate marketers make is to promote or post their affiliate links under the comments section of influencers and celebrities with large followers.
This can be considered as spamming. As someone who wants to make a success of your affiliate marketing business, you do not post links under people’s comments section.
Solution.
Offer value first: If you must promote your products under people’s comments section, you do not want to do it directly. You can choose to offer value by answering people’s questions under the comments section, and when they ask for more, you can then refer them to the products or services you are promoting.
From the discussion above, affiliate marketing can be a lucrative and rewarding career, but it is essential to avoid common mistakes that can lead to failure. By choosing the right niche, promoting high-quality products, disclosing affiliate links, promoting products strategically, and optimizing for SEO, you can succeed in affiliate marketing and earn a steady income from it.