In this post, I will tell you why Affiliate Marketers don’t achieve their goals and don’t earn a single penny!
Affiliate Marketing is a $12-billion industry and experts say it is expected to grow at 10% per year.
Affiliate Marketing is so popular and powerful that 81% of brands utilise its power to increase their sales and revenue.
As much as 16% of global e-commerce sales are driven by Affiliate Marketers, making Affiliate Marketing the second most profitable channel for driving sales.
So, if you have not been able to achieve your desired goals with Affiliate Marketing, I guess it is due to the 3 fatal mistakes you might be making or made.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Before sharing the reasons, I will first tell you what Affiliate Marketing is and how it works.
In simple words, Affiliate Marketing is the process of promoting other people’s products or products that already exist in the market through your unique affiliate link. And, if you make sales (through your unique affiliate link), you will make a commission.
Let me give you an example of how Affiliate Marketing works so you will understand the business model.
Suppose, you are an affiliate and promote software. The cost of the software is, let’s say, ₹8,000.
The commission rate – decided and specified by the seller/vendor – for each sale is, suppose, 10%.
Now, you grab your unique affiliate link and promote it to your audience.
Let’s say, 3 people buy the product, the software, through your unique affiliate link.
Now, let’s do some calculations:
The cost of the product is ₹8,000.
The commission rate is 10%.
So, for each sale, you will make a commission of:
10% of ₹8,000
= ₹800
Since you made 3 sales, you made a total commission of:
3 x ₹800
= ₹2,400
So, that’s how Affiliate Marketing works.
Now, if you have promoted products before as an affiliate, but did not achieve your goals, it could be due to one or all of the following reasons.
Mistake 1: Choosing A Niche Only For Higher Commissions
Many Affiliate Marketers make the mistake of choosing a niche only because it pays a higher commission rather than choosing the one they love.
Now, let me break this down into simpler points.
What Is A Niche In The First Place?
According to Indeed, “a business niche is a segment of a larger market that has a specific target audience. This can help a company fit the needs of specific consumers.”
Umm… Too formal?
Well, here’s a simpler definition of a niche.
“A niche is a small portion or segment of a large market.” In other words, “niche is a small part of the big market.”
While talking about niches, I give the cake analogy to my students. As per my “cake” analogy, the cake is the big market and the niche is a slice of that cake.
Let me give you an example. If fashion is the big market, “men’s watches” is the niche, got it?
I will share another example so you clearly understand what a niche is. If fitness is the big market, yoga for fat loss is a niche, okay?
So, that was about niche.
Now, how can you choose a niche if you have no idea?
Well, there are a couple of solutions.
Solution 1
If you do not have the clarity of your niche or you are confused about which niche to choose, I will ask you a few simple questions:
- What are you passionate about?
- What is that one thing which you can do for hours upon hours?
- What is that one thing which you will never get tired of doing?
Your answers to the above three questions will be your niche.
Solution 2
If Solution 1 above did not help you, I would love to invite you to my community. Within my community, I will grant you access to my “Niche Clarity Model” in which you will learn 5 steps to find your niche in 10-20 minutes!
If you join today, you will also get 8 other bonuses worth ₹1,34,499 for absolutely FREE!
Yes, I am not bluffing! My Niche Clarity Model has helped more than 156 people to find their niche. A few of them were struggling for months but as soon as they joined my community, they found and finalised their niche in under 20 minutes!
So, if you want to end your months of struggle, you can join my community right now!
Why Should You Choose A Niche That You Love Rather Than Choosing The One Offering The Highest Commissions?
If you choose a niche solely for profits without considering other important factors, you may encounter several challenges that obstruct your growth and keep you stuck.
Here are some potential consequences of choosing a niche offering the highest commissions:
(1) Lack Of Passion And Interest
Choosing a niche solely for profit without any personal interest or passion can lead to a lack of motivation and enthusiasm.
Affiliate Marketing requires continuous effort and dedication, and if you are not genuinely interested in the niche, it can become monotonous and demotivating over time.
(2) Limited Knowledge And Expertise
Success in Affiliate Marketing often stems from having a deep understanding of the niche and being able to provide valuable insights and recommendations to the audience.
If you choose a niche solely for profits, you may have limited knowledge and expertise in that area, which can make it challenging to create high-quality content, engage the target audience effectively, and generate traffic.
(3) Difficulty In Building Trust And Credibility
Trust and credibility are extremely crucial in Affiliate Marketing! If you choose a niche with high commissions and neglect to provide genuine value to your audience, it can be difficult to establish trust.
Your target audience is more likely to make purchases based on recommendations from someone they trust and perceive as an authority in the niche.
(4) Higher Competition
Profit-driven niches often attract a large number of Affiliate Marketers looking to capitalize on the same audience.
This can – and will – result in fierce competition, making it harder to stand out and gain a significant market share.
Competition can also drive up advertising costs, decrease profit margins, and make it challenging to acquire customers.
(5) Limited Long-Term Sustainability
If you choose a niche solely for commissions, it may not have long-term sustainability as the product or service loses popularity over time.
Markets change, trends evolve, and what may be profitable today may not be the same in the future.
Diversifying into a niche that aligns with both profit potential and long-term viability is important for sustained success.
So, while profitability is an important consideration in Affiliate Marketing, it is also crucial to choose a niche that aligns with personal interests, and expertise, and provides value to the target audience.
A combination of passion, knowledge, and profit potential is more likely to result in a sustainable and fulfilling Affiliate Marketing business.
As I mentioned earlier, within my community, more than 156 people already found their niche. A few of them were struggling for months but as soon as they joined my community, they found and finalised their niche under 20 minutes!
So, if you want to end your months of struggle, you can join my community right now!
Mistake 2: Inability To Create Quality Content
I am guilty of this! When I started my Affiliate Marketing journey, I signed up as an affiliate on Amazon Associates.
While creating content, I did not put in the effort to do product research, find the pros and cons of the product, and find case studies of people who got positive results in their lives.
I blindly copied and pasted the content from Amazon in my blog post and thought, “Wow! I created (sarcastically) such valuable content! Now, I will get hundreds of visitors and make thousands in commissions every day! Ka-ching! 🤑🤑🤑”
However, do you know what happened?
Well! I did not get even one visitor, let alone make commissions! 😔💔
I was heartbroken and thought of quitting Affiliate Marketing!
I DID NOT do the easiest thing that quitters do: Call Affiliate Marketing scam!!!
Then, I attended a masterclass of a Super Affiliate and learned that content is king!
What Will Happen If You Create Low-Quality Content?
I also realised that if you do not create quality content, you could face the following consequences:
(1) Reduced Audience Engagement
Quality content is key to engaging and retaining an audience. If the content lacks value, is poorly written, or fails to address the needs and interests of the target audience, visitors are less likely to stay engaged.
This can result in high bounce rates, low time on your website, and fewer conversions.
(2) Decreased Credibility And Trust
Quality content helps establish credibility and trust with the audience. If the content is thin, irrelevant, or poorly researched, it can undermine your authority and make it difficult to gain the trust of visitors.
Building trust is essential for a successful Affiliate Marketing business, as people are more likely to follow recommendations from sources they perceive as reliable and knowledgeable.
(3) Lower Search Engine Rankings
Search engines, like Google, prioritise high-quality content that provides value to users.
If the content is of low quality, stuffed with keywords, or lacks originality, it may receive lower rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs).
This can lead to reduced organic traffic and visibility, limiting your reach and potential conversions.
(4) Diminished Conversions
Quality content plays a vital role in converting visitors and leads into customers. If the content fails to effectively communicate the benefits and value of the promoted products or services, it may not drive conversions, and commissions.
Compelling, informative, and persuasive content is more likely to inspire visitors to take action and make a purchase.
(5) Negative Reputation And Brand Image
Poor-quality content can harm the reputation and brand image of your business.
If your website visitors consistently encounter subpar content, it reflects poorly on your professionalism, expertise, and commitment to delivering value.
This negative perception can be difficult to overcome and may deter potential customers from engaging with your content in the future.
(6) Limited Opportunities For Collaborations And Partnerships
Quality content helps attract the attention of popular influencers (in your niche), bloggers, and potential collaborators.
If the content is not up to par, it may hinder opportunities for partnerships, guest posting, or other forms of collaboration.
High-quality content increases the likelihood of being seen as a valuable and trusted partner.
If you’d like to know how you can create high-quality content that attracts visitors, you’d love this post!
How Can You Create Quality Content That Attracts Visitors?
According to my experience, below are the types of content that attract visitors and sell:
Format 1: Product Review
Here is the thing! When you review a product, focus on the benefits, not the features, okay?
People want to know how the product can help them. So, instead of sharing all the cool features of the products, share the cool benefits those features will have to the users.
An ideal approach to reviewing products is to present them as solutions. Before sharing the product review, share how your life was before using the product and how it is, now, thanks to the product, okay?
Paint the ‘before-after’ picture in people’s minds and provide value.
Format 2: How-To Guide
The second type of content you can create is a how-to guide. In how-to guides, you could share the steps of how people can achieve their goals in a step-wise manner.
For example, if you teach your audience how they can lose belly fat, you can share the steps that when followed help them achieve their goal, which is losing belly fat, okay?
Please bear in mind that the users are normal people and they only want the steps of achieving their goal.
So, do not go into technical details, if not needed, and try to share the steps in an easy-to-understand language.
Format 3: Checklist
A checklist is a list of items that must be done to achieve a goal. For example, if you want to bake a cake, you can create a checklist of the ingredients that you must have to successfully bake a cake.
If you create a checklist content, you can share a PDF towards the end of your blog post or video, so your audience can maintain the list of items they have completed, okay?
Note: Your checklist should contain all the items that people must complete to achieve the ultimate goal.
Format 4: Product Demonstration
Although Affiliate Marketing is the process of earning commissions by promoting products owned by other people, you can buy them yourself, use them and share with your audience how the products look and how they work.
A product demonstration will also help people to discover the benefits of the product, okay?
You can purchase the product, use it and show people how it will provide value and solve problems.
You can also answer the FAQs that address people’s doubts and queries.
Format 5: Case Studies
Look, long story short, people want to know if the product you are promoting works, isn’t it?
So, share the results of people who used the product and achieved their desired goals, okay?
If you are promoting a weight loss product – that just came off the top of my head. If you are promoting a weight loss product, you can publish a case study of someone who was overweight before using the product and saw the results they desired after using the product, okay?
Case studies help greatly as they shout that people who use the product get results, alright?
People want to know if products work, and case studies pretty much clear their doubts, alright?
And, always provide value! Always put people’s aspirations and goals before yours. Your aim must be to help people, solve their problems, and provide them with value.
Mistake 3: Inability To Generate Traffic
The biggest struggle of every beginner in Affiliate Marketing is not being able to generate traffic constantly.
Many of my students have complained, “I am unable to generate traffic constantly! Help me!!!”
And many ask me “How can I generate traffic to my affiliate link or website?”
Well! Before telling you how you can generate constant traffic to your affiliate link or website, I’d like to share the reality of online traffic.
Reality About Traffic
Before starting my Affiliate Marketing business, I worked as a Web Analyst for two and a half years and, based on my experience, the average conversion rate across the industry is between 1 and 3 per cent.
Sometimes, the conversion rate can be higher, and sometimes, it can be lower. But, the industry average is between 1 and 3 per cent, okay?
That means, to get 100 sales, if we consider the lowest conversion rate of 1%, you would need at least 10,000 visitors to your website every month.
The number can be lower or the number can be higher, okay?
Let us consider both conversion-rate scenarios if you get 10,000 visitors every month.
Scenario 1: 1% Conversion Rate
Since the conversion rate is 1%, you will get:
1% of 10,000 visitors
= 100 sales
Let’s assume that for each sale, you will make a commission of ₹1,000.
So, for 100 sales, you will make:
100 x ₹1,000
= ₹1,00,000
Scenario 2: 3% Conversion Rate
Let us now see the second scenario, the best-case scenario.
Suppose, you get 10,000 visitors at a conversion rate of 3%.
So, at a 3% conversion rate, you will get:
3% of 10,000
= 300 sales
Since you will make ₹1,000 for each sale, you will make a total commission of:
300 x ₹1,000
= ₹3,00,000
You can see a huge difference, right? And, this was just an example. Suppose, you were to get a commission of ₹2,000 per sale…
So, it all comes down to traffic. No traffic, no sales! So, if you cannot generate traffic, you cannot generate sales.
If you master the art of generating traffic, your income will shoot like a bamboo tree.
And I would also like to add that 10,000 visitors or high traffic does not mean high conversions or high sales.
The value that your content provides or how relevant your content is to your visitors will determine how much you could earn, okay?
How Can You Generate Traffic?
Now, I will tell you how you can generate traffic to your affiliate link or website.
You can generate traffic through 2 methods:
- Free/Organic
- Paid
Free/Organic Sources Of Traffic
Organic or free traffic means traffic coming from search engines like Google.
You must not expect overnight traffic on your website through the organic method, especially if you are a beginner.
However, there are a few platforms which help you to get decent traffic if not millions.
To generate traffic from Facebook, you can promote your blogs and videos through Facebook posts, stories, direct messages, and so on.
You can also join a group related to your niche and post blogs and videos.
By posting in groups, I do not mean blindly posting the link. Write 3-4 lines telling people what the blog or video is about and how they will get value from it.
Before posting anything anywhere, answer the audience’s question: What is in it for me?
Give people a reason to click on your link and read your blog or watch your video, okay?
You can generate traffic from Instagram in a couple of ways:
- The first approach to sharing content on Instagram is to put the link of your blog or video in your ‘bio’ section.
- The second approach is to update an Instagram story with 3-4 lines telling people about the blog or video and then adding the link.
You can follow the Instagram approach for generating traffic from WhatsApp.
Write 3-4 lines telling people what the content is about and how it will help them and then put the link below. You can use this strategy while sending a message or posting a status, as well.
E-mail Marketing
The fourth platform where you can promote content is through E-mails. In an e-mail, you can describe your content in brief and tell them what problem will be solved in the blog post, video, or course, okay?
You can also send a series of e-mails that convince people to buy.
Look, people will not buy from you right away, especially if you are new.
So, once you capture people’s e-mails, send them a series of e-mails that inform people about your product, service, or content.
E-mail marketing is a topic in itself, and it is the biggest asset of any online business. It gives a Return on Investment of about 44x, so I would suggest you utilize the power of e-mail marketing, okay?
Guest Blogging
Guest blogging, in my experience, is one of the best ways to reach your target market. To generate traffic from guest blogging, you can publish your content on platforms such as Medium, Squidoo, HubSpot, and so on.
Paid Sources Of Traffic
To generate traffic from paid sources, you will have to invest money, okay? – Wow, Shubhamjeet, so enlightening!
Through paid sources, you can generate traffic in as little as 24 hours!
Facebook Ads
The first paid method for generating traffic is by running ads on Facebook. Running ads will cost you money, so if you think your content is powerful to attract sales, go ahead.
Affiliate Marketing is a “free of cost” business is a myth and there are occasions where you would need to invest money, okay?
Google Ads
The second paid method for generating traffic from paid sources is Google ads.
You can set up your ad on Google, pay the amount that you are willing to pay, set the schedule, and based on the keywords you choose, your ads will appear to people, okay?
Influencer Marketing
The third paid method for generating traffic is Influencer Marketing. There are platforms like Shoutcart, and Brandsnob where you can select the influencer of your niche, allocate a budget, upload your banner and set the schedule.
Once you complete your payment and share the banner image, they will publish and launch an ad that drives traffic to your website, okay?
The influencer traffic works as follows:
There are influencers on social media who have a huge following. They may have 1 lakh followers, 5 lakh followers, 10 lakh followers, or 50 lakh followers.
You go through the list and select one who will promote your product to their followers.
Through influencer traffic, you step into the world of social media influencers and after paying a certain amount they will promote your product and send visitors to your website.
So, suppose you choose an influencer with 1 lakh followers and you pay them ₹3,000 to send their followers to your website, okay?
Now, after paying the amount and setting up a schedule, out of 1 lakh followers, suppose 1,000 visit your website or the landing page.
On the landing page, you have a lead form which was filled by 50 of the 1,000 people who visited the site.
Let’s say you have designed a funnel that guides visitors to the sales page.
Upon reaching the sales page, 5 of the 50 people who filled out the lead form purchased your product.
If the cost of your product is ₹5,000/-, you will make a total of ₹25,000.
For maximum results, you can retarget the remaining visitors who did not purchase.
So, to summarize, you paid ₹3,000 and ended up making ₹25,000. That’s a Return on Investment of 7.33x. Isn’t this fascinating?
And when you generate traffic from influencers, please make sure to choose an influencer who is related to your niche. So, if your niche is fitness, do not request traffic from a business influencer, okay?
Solo Ads
The fourth paid method for generating traffic is Solo Ads. Platforms like Udimi let you tap into the world of people with large e-mail lists and generate traffic from them.
SoloAds is similar to Influencer Traffic. What differentiates the two is in influencer traffic you request traffic from social media influencers and in SoloAds, you request traffic from people with a huge email list.
The process is simple:
- Sign up on Udimi.
- Select a person based on your niche.
- Place the link of your landing page or affiliate offer.
- Select a schedule. (Some of them start within 24 hours.)
- Pay the amount. You can get started with as little as $23.
- They send an e-mail blast to their e-mail list. (The e-mail list is targeted.)
- Interested people click your link and buy.
How this helps is, suppose a person has an e-mail list of 100,000. When they send an e-mail blast, your affiliate product reaches a targeted set of people and if some of them are interested, they end up buying.
BuySellAds
BuySellAds is a display network where you can place your banner ads on the top website of your niche.
The process is similar to Influencer traffic and SoloAds, but instead of selecting a person, you will select a website.
The process of generating traffic from BuySellAds is as follows:
- You sign up on BuySellAds.com.
- Apply the filters. For example, if your niche is relationships, you will go to BuySellAds and apply the filter.
- Then you select a website where your ad will run.
- You upload the banner image that will be placed on the website you selected.
- You pay the amount.
- You set up a schedule for running your ad.
- Once the ad is active, people will come to your website if they click your banner ad.
- If they are interested in your offering, they will buy.
I would also like to add that although you will get instant traffic from these sources, you may still not get conversions or sales.
How you create the funnel, your hook, the communication, and how much value you add to people’s lives will decide how many conversions you will get.
So before generating traffic, please create something of very high value, something which solves people’s problems. People do not buy products, people buy solutions. So, promote products that will solve problems and provide value, okay?
Conclusion
So those were the three mistakes that results in Affiliate Marketers not achieving their goals.
Let’s revise them:
- Mistake 1: Choosing A Niche Only For Higher Commissions
- Mistake 2: Inability To Create Quality Content
- Mistake 3: Inability To Generate Traffic
Now, I am curious to know which is your biggest challenge in Affiliate Marketing.
Is it the inability to create quality content?
Or
Is it the inability to generate constant traffic?
Either way, let me know in the comments box below.
As a bonus, I would love to give you my premium Affiliate Marketing membership worth ₹4,999 for absolutely FREE!
Click the below button and grab the membership, now!
