Learn From 5 Major Affiliate Marketing Mistakes in 2009

Year after year, if you intermittently repeat the same mistakes, you definitely need an affiliate marketing teacher. Despite of endless information available on the internet, this is what a new internet business owner does – Builds a new, attractive website, provide links to a dozen of products, and waits impatiently for the sales to boost. A couple of weeks alter, there is no sale in the basket and the business concludes that affiliate marketing is the most useless business on the web.

Being a part of the internet marketing business, it’s very upsetting to announce that this is the story of 8 in every 10 new internet business owners. And why does this happen? Due to five common mistakes mentioned below. Hope we all learn from 5 most common mistakes of 2009 and make this year a success.

1. Your website and affiliate products are quite contradictory

   This is true and this is the most common mistake made by newbie’s. If you website deals with kid’s health and parenting, you cannot sell dog food there. Your products should be in sync with the content and theme of your website. Having two contradictory things on you website clearly gives out the message that you are a new business owner and don’t really know much about affiliate marketing. So, how can you expect sales?

   

   Also, if you have multiple affiliate links, please ensure that they are closely related. If your website, for instance, is about graduate programs or something to do with college, you can have links like Amazon.com or Dell.com. But you definitely cannot have links about pregnancy products.

2. Your website is too flashy, has too many banners, and is overflowing with affiliate links

   If your website is swathed with 21 affiliate product links, 36 banners, and 13 advertisements, the reader will make ‘yucky’ faces and simply move on to other site. I loathe such sites and obviously every visitor loathes it.

   People love to halt at the websites that is simple and clear. They will love it more, if you include an honest product review and consumer comments. It’s always preferable to use text ads instead of flashy, multicolored banner ads. The logic is simple. They aren’t small kids who are attracted by colors and graphics. They are here to do some serious shopping. Provide them value instead of foolishness.

3. Targeting the wrong market

   This is what usually happens – The product is awesome, you like it and hence you link it in your website. But you don’t know who your target audience is. Instead, a better way is to know a potential market, niche, or your target audience and then select the appropriate product or service. You can use various tools to know which markets are saturated and which have the required potential, where you can sell new products. Don’t go for very big markets because they have many well established affiliate products and many selling websites. Instead, select a niche area, where are not many websites and products.

4. No information about your product

   Answer this honestly – Do you really believe that building a website and placing few links can make you a millionaire? If you do believe, it’s time to face the fact. It never happens. Affiliate marketing is like working as an agent. You have to compel them to buy with the power of your content. Tell them about the benefits and disadvantages (yes, disadvantages as well) of the product, and why they should buy it. If your content is quite convincing, they will buy it. If it isn’t, very few will buy it. But if you don’t have any content, trust me, none will buy.

5. Not promoting your website at all

   Not doing an effective Search Engine Optimization (regularly) means hiding your website from the audience. How will they ever know about the website and products and how will they purchase it? Just making a site, attaching links, and writing content is definitely not enough. You have to promote your website. Let the readers throughout the world know about the site and products.

   Register will local directories, search engines, yellow pages. Be an active forum’s member and discuss your product there. Post classified ads regularly, send press releases, exchange links. If you want your website to be reached internationally, don’t forget to provide text in various languages. Don’t miss even a single opportunity to announce the world about your website and useful products it offers.

There are numerous other mistakes that beginners and experienced online business owners commit. But these five are universal and most common ones. Let’s ensure, we as affiliate marketers do not repeat these mistakes in 2010 and help each other to be successful.