ARE YOU IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP?

Why do so many affiliate marketers fail?

Ask any program owner who uses affiliates to sell his product and they will tell you the same thing over and over ? 20% of their affiliates make 80% of their sales.

Actually the ratio is probably much worse than that, more like 10% make 90%.

So again, why do so many fail?

It's because they don't know the secret of making money as an affiliate. Actually that's not fight at all, because there isn't any secret at all, it's just common sense, and it just needs someone like me writing this article to remind you of the obvious.

The main cause of affiliate failure is that it is free to become an affiliate.

Thus there is no incentive to put in the time, effort and money required to make it work because it hasn't cost you anything.

In my experience that most people situation (including me!) thought all they had to do was join several affiliate programs (the more the better) and wait for the cash to roll in.

When that doesn't happen, they get frustrated, and disillusionment sets in.

Let me tell you a story from my own experience. I was looking at making money on the net, and joined every free thing going. I was then so overwhelmed with emails welcoming me to this or that that I didn't do anything. I actually found myself joining programs I'd forgotten I joined a few days previously!

It wasn't till I bit the bullet, and paid out $80 to buy a ready made website that I started to get it. My wife wasn't too happy that I'd spent $80, but it was too late ? the credit card had been debited.

I was therefore forced to justify my investment to my wife, and to be fair, to myself as well.

That meant I had to concentrate on that one program to make it work. I spent many days bringing it up to speed, and a few dollars on promotion. Within two months I had recovered my $80, and I was happy ? I'd done it!

It was only then that I realised what I had done ? I had blocked out all the internet flak and had concentrated on one thing. It reminds me of the quote from a man on Death Row due to be executed within the next week. He said ?It does tend to concentrate the mind wonderfully?

And that is what you must do. Go to an affiliate website, and you will see just heaps of affiliate links cluttering up the page. People have just stuck them there and expected others to just click on them. You're probably like me ? you run a mile when you see websites like that. No effort has been put into them, and the visitor just shrugs his shoulders and moves on.

So what do you do, if you haven't got the message already?

O.K. get yourself one or two affiliates, certainly no more than three.

? Choose quality products ? don't waste your time promoting junk, or anyone that does buy will never buy from you again.
? Choose products with a high commission rate ? this sounds pretty obvious, but it still needs to be spelled out.
? Buy and use the products yourself ? you will always put more effort into something if it has cost you money. Remember that is what got me started.
? Put the links on your website, with a little promo beside each one, saying that you use the product yourself, state what it has done for you, and that you thoroughly recommend it (as long as you do!)
? Start promoting the product, by advertising your site, writing articles like this, write a review of the product, i.e. an expanded version of the promo you wrote above.
? Delete every incoming internet marketing email without reading them ? do this for at least a week.
? Take the time to actually learn about Internet marketing, affiliate programs, pay per click, advertising campaigns, safe lists ? there's more than enough information to help you out there.
? Go to forums, read and absorb, don't post unless it's a question, and take the collective advise of others on that forum or any other.

It's one thing to signup with a bunch of affiliate programs. It is another thing entirely to know what you should do after you sign up. I hope the above bullet points will help you in your affiliate career.

Here's to your wealth!

? 2006 Peter Phillips
www.money-makingopportunities.com
www.instant-profits-for-you.com
www.article-news.org