If you’re wondering, does affiliate marketing still work, and if can you still make money from it Well, I got you covered.
Well, to put it simply – yes, affiliate marketing still works just like any kind of business out there. There are so many people who are still making a good income from affiliate marketing. However, making money off affiliate marketing is not an overnight process or a get-rich-quick kind of thing. It takes time, effort, commitment, and persistence to make it successful.
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Does Affiliate Marketing really work?
Affiliate marketing does work, it’s just that you won’t make money from it instantly. It will take you a fair amount of time, effort, and hard work especially when you are just starting out.
This is because the competition level in the affiliate marketing industry is VERY HIGH.
That being said, the only legitimate way to rise above the competition and succeed with affiliate marketing today is to put your audience’s needs first.
Rather than just trying to make money from them.
What do I mean by that?
Well, I mean – You should first focus on helping your audience by providing VALUES that help solve a specific problem they are having challenges with so you can build TRUST with them.
Why?
The thing is… Online people only buy from people they know, like, and trust.
And also…
People hate to be sold to
If all you do is sell to your audience without helping them with their needs first.
Guess what?
You’re really going to find it difficult to rise up to the top.
So, to make your affiliate marketing work, focus on building TRUST with your audience first, and don’t try to make money from them.
If you do that the outcome will be much more rewarding.
As I said earlier, affiliate marketing is not an easy get-rich kind of stuff, it requires a skill set to be successful at it.
So…
The only way to make it work for you is to be willing to learn everything you can about it, put in the work, and stick with it for the long haul.
A large number of people who attempt affiliate marketing fail simply because they’re lazy and don’t want to put in the necessary work that will lead them to success.
Though it may take you a year or more before you start getting tons of traffic and sales coming into your business.
However, it’s worth it in the end.
Here Is Some Myth About Affiliate Marketing:
- It quick way of making money online – A lot of people were told that affiliate marketing is a quick way of making money online. And when they don’t make money from it in their expected time, they say this business model doesn’t work.
- You don’t have to do anything – Some of the so-called gurus out there deceive people that the moment you sign up with an affiliate program as an affiliate, set up your website, that’s all, you don’t have to do anything and you’ll start to see money rolling into your bank account. That’s a lie, if you don’t put in the work don’t expect results.
- It’s easy – People buy into the lie that making money online with affiliate marketing is easy.
- Affiliate marketing becomes more effective if you use multiple marketing channels.
Sorry… It doesn’t work like that.
Let’s look at what affiliate marketing is.
What Is Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a process or marketing method where you promote other people’s products or services either on your blog, YouTube channel, or social media for commission.
You find a product you like or have used before, you promote it and when someone clicks on your unique link and purchases the product, you get paid which is termed as commission.
So, there you go…
For those of you who don’t want to put in any work but you want to earn instant money with affiliate marketing.
Well, you’re missing steps, unless you PROMOTE a product, you won’t make money from your affiliate marketing business.
And selling that product comes with you doing a little bit of MARKETING (ideally, on YouTube, blog, or social media).
And if you just sit down hoping for the money to come automatically without doing anything then you’re only setting yourself up for failure.
So, what are you trying to say?
Well, I mean, you need to put in massive work before you can succeed with affiliate marketing and if you’re not ready to do that, then goodbye, find something else to do online.
- P.S: I have another post where I share with you in detail what affiliate marketing is and how it works… You can check it out here.
Reasons Why Affiliate Marketing Does Not Work For 97% Of People
There are so many reasons why affiliate marketing does not work for some people. Below I share a few of them with you.
#1. Promoting Poor Quality Products
A lot of people focus on making money to the extent that they promote any product they come across, without even knowing if that product is of good quality or a good fit for their audience or not.
Or if it going to help solve their audience’s problem, pain or not…
Remember…
Affiliate marketing is a VALUE game.
If all you focus on is to make money, and you’re not putting your targeted NEEDS up front, well, you’re missing out on steps.
Over time, your audience will find out.
And as they find out what you’re recommending to them is not of GOOD VALUE, they’re not going to TRUST you again.
And if they don’t trust you again, they’re not going to purchase anything you recommend to them in the future.
And if they don’t purchase your offer, you won’t make money in your affiliate business.
#2. People Are Not Willing To Learn
Affiliate marketing is a BROAD topic, very competitive and saturated.
However…
“The best way to succeed with affiliate marketing or rise up to the top is to commit to learning everything you can about affiliate marketing and also focus on learning the right way to market a product to the right audience”.
And also…
Learning from other affiliate marketers who are already successful with what you are doing.
Why should I learn from other affiliate marketers? Great question!
Well, learning from other affiliates who are already successful with what you’re doing can help you acquire a lot of skills
And help you avoid tons of mistakes as you journey your way to affiliate marketing.
However…
A lot of people do the opposite, they think they know it all and they can figure out everything by themselves.
So, they try to do everything themselves.
And at the end, they end up focusing on the wrong thing which leads many of them to fail.
- P.S: To learn affiliate marketing, I have another post where I share with you where and the best ways to learn affiliate marketing… You can check it out here.
#3. Affiliate Marketing Does Not Work For People Due To A Lack Of Patient
Lack of patience is one of the main keys to why affiliate marketing does not work for the majority of people.
Most people approach affiliate marketing as the solution to their financial problems.
Or as a quick way of making money online.
People think getting into affiliate marketing is A DONE DEAL.
They think if they set up their affiliate website and write a few product reviews and place their affiliate link within the post.
That’s all.
They are going to start making tons of money in a few days or a month.
And if that doesn’t happen as they expected, they get discouraged and give up.
Well…
I want you to take note of this… Online, there’s nothing like overnight success, everything takes time.
So…
Just be patient, commit to learning everything you can about affiliate marketing, and also take massive action toward your business.
#4. Due To A Lack Of Focus
A lot of people want to do anything and they end up succeeding at nothing.
In my opinion, I strongly believe, focusing on too many things all at once is one of the main reasons why people fail with affiliate marketing.
A lot of people focus on too many methods of making money online.
And they end up not really taking any EFFECTIVE ACTION on none of them that will literally lead them to success.
People try to master every method of making money online they come across without really focusing on one thing till success.
And at the end…
It leads them nowhere but rather they overwhelmed themselves and end up not having any success with none of them and they give up ad say this is a scam.
IMPORTANT: Focus on one method of making money online and go all in till success. Don’t jump from one thing to another.
#5. Not Providing Enough Value
People don’t visit your site with the intent of buying a product, rather they came there for a solution or answer to their problem or pain.
However…
A lot of people nowadays are so eager to make money to the point that they even forget to HELP the people that they’re trying to sell to.
As I said early on, affiliate marketing is a value game.
If you don’t FIRST focus on helping the audiences’ whom you’re going to sell your product to.
By providing valuable, relevant, and high-quality content that helps solve a particular problem they’re having challenges with.
Well, chances are that they won’t TRUST you…
And if they don’t trust you.
Guess what?
They won’t buy what you’re recommending or promoting to them.
They will assume you’re just trying to make money from them.
Why?
Well, online, people normally hate to be sold to.
And the only way to get them to buy your offer is when you build TRUST with them.
So…
If ALL you focus on is to make money without putting your audience’s needs FIRST (I mean not building trust with them).
Well, I’m sad to say, you won’t go far…
I WANT YOU TO TAKE NOTE OF THIS…
You only make money if you help another individual achieve his/her goals and the more people you help the more money you’re likely to make.
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7 Strategies To Make Your Affiliate Marketing Business Successful
Affiliate marketing has transformed over the years.
Spamming your affiliate links across social media or writing a bunch of product reviews doesn’t work anymore.
Now, everything is about building TRUST with people and you do that by proving helpful information that helps solve real problems people are facing.
Focus on helping people instead of just trying to make money from them.
If you approach affiliate marketing that way, you can absolutely make your affiliate business way successful without even investing your hard-earned money in any crappy courses out there.
Here Are Some Strategies To Make Affiliate Marketing Work For You:
1. Take Time To Pick The Right Niche
One of the biggest mistakes you can possibly make in your affiliate marketing journey is picking a niche or topic you’re not at least passionate about or interested in.
For instance, you’re passionate about “The home theatre niche”.
But, because you see other people making huge money in the “Health and fitness niche”, you also decided to go for that niche instead.
Okay here is the thing, now that you go for that niche…
It’s likely that you don’t have any knowledge about health and fitness.
Even if you do, it’s not that much.
And now…
You’ll have to spend tons and tons of time studying and learning everything about this new niche.
And here is the thing…
The time you’ll spend learning about this new niche, the chances are that you’re leaving huge money on the table.
Why?
Well, because the people who are already in that niche before you, probably know MUCH more about the niche than you do and they’re always going to be ahead of you.
You can’t compete with them…
So…
If you ask for my advice.
I’ll recommend…
You pick something you’re at least passionate about and are interested in.
And more importantly, pick something that you have a little knowledge about, that way you can be able to create content that will attract people.
If not so…
You’re going to really struggle with content creation (which is the key to your success).
And also not be able to stick with it for the long haul when the going gets tough and probably end up giving up.
I believe you’ve heard this saying before…
[bctt tweet="Where Focus Goes Energy Flows."]
So, find something you’re passionate about and go all in.
2. Select Quality Affiliate Products
There are so many fake and good products out there. Make sure you take your time to do thorough research before picking one.
Also…
Make sure the product you pick is congruent (it has to match) with your niche and it has to be of good quality that will help solve your audience’s problem and pain.
That said…
To find affiliate programs simply hover over Google and type (your niche+affiliate programs) and you’ll discover some really cool ones.
Here is an example:
However…
You can join one of these popular affiliate networks below:
- JvZoo, etc
P.S: I have another post where I share with you How To Know If Affiliate Program Is Legit, Safe or Not… You can check it out here.
Also…
If you want my #1 recommended program, check out my Resouce Page… This program offers high-ticket products meaning no more small commissions.
It also has a team that does all the high ticket selling for you and also offers a one-on-one coach that works directly with you.
3. Target The Right Keywords
Now, as your product is ready, the next thing you need is to figure out what key phrases, information, questions, or terms people are typing into search engines (Google).
When looking for answers to specific questions related to your niche and the product you’re an affiliate for.
So what’s the benefit behind that?
Well, so, that you can be able to attract the right audience, traffic, leads, or potential customers who may be interested and more likely to purchase your product.
Now…
To be able to figure out what information or answer people are actually looking for, that’s relevant to your niche and product.
And also key phrases that are easy to rank on search engines.
You’re going to need keyword research tools.
There are a handful of free and paid keyword research tools out there.
You can choose from paid keyword tools such as:
SEMrush – This keyword research tool is an amazing tool with a 7-day free trial. It helps your sites in terms of SEO, content quality, PPC, and competitive research.
It also had amazing features such as:
- website analysis (both yours and your competition’s)
- site audits ( it makes sure your website is optimized for search… etc)
LongTailPro – This is also an amazing keyword research tool that provides you with a lot of helpful information on various keywords, including:
- You get hundreds of keyword suggestions.
- Your competitor’s analysis base on 13 matrices.
- search volume for keywords and how difficult or easy it will be to rank.
- other keyword suggestions you could create content around.
“You can easily generate tons of organic traffic to your website if you optimize keywords naturally into your post without trying to spam your users”.
For free keywords research tools, I recommend:
- Ubersuggest
- Google Keyword Planner
4. Create Quality Content
This is where you serve your audience or ideal customers. It is often said, content is king, yes, that’s true but that is halfway true.
However, “quality content is indeed king”.
You can’t become successful with your affiliate marketing business without first helping others.
Remember: Business is all about helping and solving other people’s problems, pain and challenges.
If your business doesn’t involve helping and solving people’s problems…
Guess what?
You don’t have a business.
As I said earlier – affiliate marketing is a value game…
You can’t sell your product or achieve your desired goal without first doing the work, and online that work is content creation.
So, to put it simply – make sure you focus on producing valuable and high-quality content for your target audience to consume on a daily basis.
If you do that over time, you’ll start to see rapid growth in your business.
IMPORTANT… Be sure all your contents are congruent with your affiliate offer and niche.
Why do I have to create content instead of just focusing on sales? Great question!
This is simple, first and foremost – providing valuable, genuine, high-quality, and useful content will help attract qualified or quality leads or readers to your site or video.
And also, it’s what is going to make people click on your affiliate link and purchase the product you’re promoting.
Take note!.. Without content, be expecting failure in your business.
5. Embrace Product Reviews
To get the most out of the product you’re promoting as an affiliate, I’ll suggest you embrace product reviews.
However…
Not just any crapping product review.
Make sure you produce honest, personal opinions, authentic, and valuable reviews about the product.
Taking this approach I believe can really help you drive tons and tons of ready-to-buy customers to your review content.
And this can literally help you sell more products as an affiliate.
Now, the best way to write PERFECT, honest reviews about the product you an affiliate for.
I mean reviews that people can’t find elsewhere online.
A review people can TRUST and after reading they will quickly decide on buying the product through YOU…
Is to first of all, buy the product and use it yourself, and then give your own personal helpful opinion about it.
I think this is the best way to go about product review.
That said…
Another way to also go about this is to gather helpful feedback from customers who have already purchased and used the product.
And as you write your review, you can then feature those feedback in the post.
This could be either in a blog post or a YouTube video.
Is it really necessary to create product reviews?
“Well, I’ll say no. However, online, people are very skeptical when it comes to buying stuff online (especially products), so, in my opinion, I think the only way to gain their trust is to write a genuine review about the product you promote”.
Key takeaway…
In your review, don’t just talk about the good side (pros) of the product.
But also, you want to talk about the bad (cons) side as well.
Why?
When you do that, it raises some level of trust in the eye of people, which might eventually lead to sales.
People love the fact that you’re being HONEST.
As a result of that – some people will simply want to buy the product through YOU simply because of your honesty.
IMPORTANT: We’re here to make some cash right? So, don’t forget to place your affiliate link to the product in your review. This makes it easy for the customer to make a buying decision.
6. Offer Bonuses On Your Product
If you’re in the affiliate marketing space, this is very vital for your success.
Offering bonuses on your product…
You’re more likely to get tons of new idea customers to your offer than anyone else in your niche who is not offering bonuses on their offer.
However…
Make sure the bonuses you’re giving away for free should be something that’s relevant to your niche.
And also something that’s valuable and will help solve the needs of your customers.
Why all this? Wait I’ll tell you why!
Okay here you go – it drives and attracts people to make buying decisions without any hesitations.
Furthermore…
It also helps you sell more other products you have. People will always want to visit your site and purchase something simply because of the free gift they will get.
Again…
This freebie should be something that is relevant to your niche.
And it has to be valuable that solve a problem because it wins the attention of a customer.
In my opinion, I think one of the best places to offer these freebies and attract ready-to-buy-customers is to leverage platforms like:
- YouTube
- Facebook.
- Instagram.
- Forums like Quora/Reddit.
- Pinterest, etc.
7. Focus on Email Marketing
Email marketing is by far one of the best strategies for making money online with affiliate marketing.
And also one of the effective ways of scaling your business.
If you build an email list of target audiences and follow up with them through an autoresponder on a daily basis.
And then build trust and relationships with them over time, you can absolutely START to earn a very significant income from your affiliate marketing business with just a push of a button.
Remember: Only if you build the Know, Like, and Trust factor with your list over time.
By the way…
What’s email marketing? “To put it simply – email marketing is a process of sending email messages to a targeted audience or ideal customers and trying to convert them into buyers or lifelong potential customers”.
To build your own email list, you can simply start by collecting email addresses from people that visit your blog.
How?
You do this by first creating a lead magnet (freebies).
And as your freebie is ready, you’ll then need to create a form and link the freebie to it the form you’ve created.
And then embed this form in your post or your site sidebar.
And before your visitors can get access to this free gift, they have to give you their email address for exchange.
And as they opt-in their email address.
Their email contact is then stored on your list and you can then deliver the free gift to them as promised.
The free gift gets delivered automatically if you set up things properly.
Now…
To get all these things done successfully, you need Email Software like, (eg, Aweber, LeadPage, GetResponse…. etc ).
But the one I’ll recommend you go for is GetResponse.
Why…?
“GetResponse is one of the world’s greatest email marketing software that helps you in terms of selling or sending targeted email to your audience or client”.
It has both landing pages and effective autoresponders that make it easy to market or sell your products.
GetResponse has amazing features that you can expect from online marketing such as webinars, landing pages, campaigns, marketing automation… etc.
At the time of writing this post, I still use Getresponse and my experience with them was amazing.
You can read my review of GetResponds Here.
OVERVIEW:
If you can follow those steps above exactly and you don’t give up, success is bound to happen for you in the long run.
If you’re ready and want to learn step-by-step how to build a profitable online business leveraging the power of affiliate marketing… check out my Resource Page for my #1 recommended program.
This program offers a high ticket affiliate product meaning no more small commission, also it has a team that does all the selling for you, it also offers one-on-one coaching.
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READ NEXT:
- 10 Silly Mistakes To Avoid In Affiliate Marketing
FAQs
Is Affiliate Marketing A Profitable Business?
“Yes, affiliate marketing is absolutely profitable as more and more companies are getting their product and services online. And there are people who are making decent incomes simply promoting these products online as an affiliate. However, you need proper planning, consistency, effort, and time to get results out of it”.
- [Learn More Here]… Is affiliate marketing still profitable
Can You Make A Living Off Affiliate Marketing?
“Absolutely yes, you can make a living online with affiliate marketing. There are people who are making a full-time income with affiliate marketing. However, you need to have a good understanding of marketing. You need to create valuable content and focus on driving tons of quality traffic to your offer and be patient, everything takes time”.
- [Learn More Here]… Can you make a living off affiliate marketing
How Much Can A Beginner Make In Affiliate Marketing
To put it simply – “there is no specific amount of income designed for you to make as a beginner at affiliate marketing. There are so many beginners who are earning a decent income from affiliate marketing and there are some beginners who do not achieve anything. However, with good content that helps your end users and a minimum of 500 to 2,500 unique visitors per day, you can make an average of $450 to $3,200 per month”.
Is Affiliate Marketing Dead?
“Well, the answer to that is no. Affiliate marketing is not dead, it’s here to stay for years to come, however, the old form of promoting affiliate products has changed. Now everything is about SEO ‘blogging and YouTube’ and building an email list. These are good ways to promote affiliate offers”.
Which Social Media Is Best For Affiliate Marketing?
Well, there are several social media platforms out there that you can promote your affiliate product on, and get great results (stern).
However, you need to first define who your target audiences are and where they mostly hang out.
And once you have a clear understanding of who there are and where you can find them, then you can go ahead and select your desired platform”.
“To put it simply – there are so many social media platforms out there that you can choose from. The best one to go for depends on you, your niche, product, target audience, and sometimes your marketing experience (stern).
However, social media platforms like YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram are considered to be the best when it comes to promoting affiliate products.
Is Affiliate Marketing Still Worth The Effort?
Well, to put it simply – yes, affiliate marketing absolutely worth the effort because it has helped me to build an online business that provides me stable income every single month. However, it’s not an easy or quick way of making money online. It takes time and a lot of effort to make it worthwhile.
- P.S: You can read more here on is affiliate marketing still worth it
CONCLUSION!
To close the curtain on does affiliate marketing still work?
The answer still remains yes, affiliates still work. The only problem is that a large number of people who start affiliate marketing quit too soon, however, the actual business model works perfectly.
“The best way to succeed with affiliate marketing is to be willing to put in the work, effort, consistency, and commitment to learning everything you can about affiliate marketing”
And as you learn, you need to take action on what you learn.
And if you can do that.
Guess what, success is in your future…
Though along the way you may encounter difficulties. Don’t let that stop you, press on! until success.
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