An affiliate marketer is in the most basic terms an online sales person who works on commission, but there are twists to this as you’ll see as we go along. You must have something of value that is offered by a merchant of some type that is offering a commission to you for bringing them sales. If you are good at attaining sales for these merchants, you can make serious money.
To do well with online sales you must help people attain what they want or need. It does not matter if it is a physical product, software, service or informational product, you must help them attain the solution they need to solve their problem. To give an example, nobody wants a 1/4 inch drill bit, they want a 1/4 inch hole.
We can go ever further with this concept. Some may not need a 1/4 inch hole, they may need thousands of 1/4 inch holes and therefore need a superior bit; a low cost bit will wear out quickly and not meet the needs of a professional who drills 1/4 inch holes every day in their craft.
It's your job as an affiliate marketer to make sure you distinguish between these variables and give people the correct options and explain them well enough for them to make the correct buying decision.
The Goal of Affiliate Marketing
Most miss this one by a mile. The goal is not to make money, the goal is to help your potential customer.
Let me explain.
If you overhype a cheap drill bit as the end all - be all of drill bits and make the sale to a professional who depends on that tool to make their living, you just created online buzz, but not the buzz you want because you sold them a cheap bit that just won't last. But if your intent is to help them, you give them the needed information on many different bits, what those bits are capable of and then they buy the correct bit. Again you created online buzz, but one of public trust, bringing you even more sales.
Many will tell you that affiliate marketing sites do not gain or care for their visitors, and that may be true to some degree, but the ones who don't care generally don't last very long. Do what's right, focus on giving people what they need and want and they will talk good about you, follow you on social media and trust you.
Many will tell you that you don't get repeat sales from an affiliate site, I say they have no clue as to what they speak of and are missing out on massive referrals and repeat sales.
Mindset
You must always keep in mind that you are there to help people. You must always study and believe you need to further your education in your niche. You must always keep up with changes in the niche so you don't become obsolete and irrelevant.
Everything is changing at the speed of modern technology and there is no other option other than staying current and continuing your education within your niche.
Adopt these beliefs and it will make domination much easier. Affiliate marketing is a choice, unlike a job you take to make ends meet. You carry the power to influence people in their decisions, never take it lightly. It's a huge responsibility, but one that can make you wealthy if you choose to accept the personal challenge.
Failure Points
Losing who you are in the game is a major hurdle. Once you start making money, it can change you if you lose sight of your goal, which is what a lot of the gurus end up doing. Just because you can afford that 500k car does not mean you should. Stay focused on the goal of helping others and not hyping your success.
Not staying current with online trends. This one can sink you quick. As stated above, technology, social platforms and much more can make you obsolete within weeks or months, not years. stay on your game.
Your website needs to be nice, but not extravagant. It needs to be geared inline with your demographics. If you are serving lower middle class income ranges, don't build a corporate type of design into your site. If you are targeting lower income, make the site comfortable for them. That means the language you use also. People like people that are like them. Make sure you are relating to them, on their turf, so to speak.
If you are interested in becoming an affiliate marketer have a look at a site called Wealthy Affiliate.
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