1. Myth: Affiliate marketing is really easy
Despite what every “make money from home” douchebag wants to tell you, it’s not going to be easy to make money doing affiliate marketing. Do you think all you need is a website and affiliate links? Just like any other type of business, you need to invest time and money in order for it to work. And no, just because you have a website and affiliates to work with, you will not be successful overnight. The biggest challenge for those who are in this business is to develop a website.
Content is key. You need to have the right content that your visitors need and that attracts more visitors. You must consider SEO and proper keywords. You must also have resources to use, such as videos, links, and written content to support your website. Finally, you must also be capable of promoting your materials and content on social media the right way.
2. Myth: Much traffic also means much money
Yes, high traffic helps, but it is not all about that. You do not need to have much traffic for conversion. As long as the traffic to your website is coming from high-quality visitors, your conversation rates will go up. By high-quality visitors, I mean the people your content is aimed at, providing a good match between the readers and the products described and offered. You have to cater to a very specific demographic that is looking for something. In the case of affiliate marketing, you do not want to send random traffic to your website. You want to send laser targeted people to your website where you will give them what they are looking for. Just remember that when you match a niche demographic to a product/service that is in need, you are almost always guaranteed to make money. It’s as simple as if someone goes to Foot Locker looking for running shoes.
3. Myth: Affiliate marketing is dead
No, affiliate marketing is not dead at all! It is just changing and the trend today is a lot different when it was first conceptualized. Newer trends are more restricted and affiliates are now refrained from practicing link-spamming while banner displays are reduced. To me, this sounds like a good thing!
Google’s Penguin algorithm update radically changed the affiliate landscape, forcing affiliates to stop link-spamming practices, offer unique website content, and limit displayed banners. Gone are the days of mass-produced ad banner sites, full of the latest deals and offers. Failure to comply meant certain death as Google moved your site to the bottom of the search results.
Google’s algorithm is also strict about contents as well as SEO practices and websites who fail to comply with the standards are shifted to the last part of the search results page. Banner ads are restricted simply because they are not compatible with mobile phones these days. The sizes of the images used alone are not as effective as they used to. Today banners are replaced with text links that you can find between blogs you read. A growing number of marketers are yielding cash like never before with a market and ever-increasing, limitless opportunities. In today’s market it is achievable to obtain literally any type of product or service and almost every manufacturer is searching for marketing help from affiliates.
To me, it sounds like affiliate spamming is dead and that affiliate marketing is very much alive.
4. Myth: Your social media posts will automatically get many likes and shares
In order for your posts/content to be shared or liked, you must post something that is engaging. It must attract the attention of others. Writing an original post or curate content can help.
Keep in mind that everything on social media takes time. If you know what to do, consider each post as an investment that will make beneficial returns. On top of that, you’re competing now with thousands of other people trying to “get attention.” Whenever you start any business, you have to face competition and it goes same with affiliate programs. You will surely find competition but you need to be unique and innovative when it comes to market your affiliate programs. Right product, a perfect sales pitch will surely help you to get success in spite of competitions.
5. Myth: Only a few niches are profitable
All niches are profitable, but how you promote and develop it plays a vital role in the success of your affiliate marketing. In practice, your skills are more important than the niche chosen.
How do you find the right niche? Start with your interests or hobbies. If you know what these are, it is much easier to promote and develop your niche. But don’t pick one that “everyone else” is doing.
You want to write about weight training? Then you are in competition with established blogs with an army of writers and deep pockets like MensHealth.com. Sites like this are a huge authority online and if you think you can outsmart them and become bigger than them, then you’re either incredibly naive or incredibly smart.
6. Myth: You have to Scam People.
Affiliate marketing is a legitimate industry. There are no two ways about that. Don’t let anyone tell you the whole industry is a scam! One reason affiliate marketing gets such a bad rap is because of the proliferation of get-rich-quick offers everywhere. They promise you will make thousands of dollars overnight, or that you can just work 2 hours a day and have $5,000 in your bank account at the end of the week. This isn’t really affiliate marketing– it’s just a normal run of the mill scam.
Similarly, if you read a lot of the black hat message boards, you’ll think that you have to lie, cheat, fake, steal and scam in order to make money. There are tons of techniques out there that are taught that aren’t just unethical, but downright illegal. Don’t believe the hype that you have to engage in these horrible methods.
