Taking the Sledgehammer to 4 Affiliate Marketing Myths
Sometimes the fears and worries that get in the way of affiliate marketing success are inspired by myths. Rather than accepting these falsehoods as reality, believe that with a solid strategy and consistent execution, you can reach your business goals.
The following is a look at several of those most common affiliate marketing myths, along with insights on how to leverage your opportunities.
1. Affiliate marketing is easy money
Despite the solid growth opportunities, affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Successful operators take the time to create a strategy, build an e-commerce site with a great user experience and consistently add content.
It is a mistake to believe that affiliate marketing is mostly about setting up a site, joining affiliate programs and creating landing pages. In reality, it is much like any other eCommerce business in which you have to identify a target market, create strategies to meet their needs, and build content in response to a deep understanding of their primary problems.
2. You will get rejected without high traffic
Fear of rejection from merchants due to no or low traffic is a common reason aspiring affiliates don’t start their business. However, there are numerous networks and individual affiliate programs available on the web. While some have selective processes for applicants, high traffic isn’t always a primary factor.
The most important concern for merchants is that you operate a site that is presentable and relevant so that it projects their brand well. Thus, even a new site that looks good and has content relevant to the merchant’s solutions is likely to get approved.
3. Google doesn’t like affiliate marketing
Some people view affiliate marketing in a negative light based on the spammy, low-quality strategies implemented in the past. Because of this, it is a common misconception that Google is opposed to affiliate marketing as a rule. However, Google and other search engines treat affiliate sites as a form of e-commerce and assess the merits of your pages as they would any other content.
To succeed in search marketing as an affiliate, develop deep and insightful landing pages and produce quality blogs that answer standard questions your targeted prospects search to resolve.
4. Affiliate marketing is taboo
There are some affiliates who still hold to unethical and unscrupulous strategies to attract customers and make sales. However, you can find people who conduct themselves in this way in virtually any industry.
The overall marketplace perception of affiliate marketing continues to improve as operators get more sophisticated with their websites and focus more on the customer experience. For a typical web user, it is difficult to tell the difference between a high-quality affiliate site and a standard e-commerce store.
Conclusion
Don’t let these myths about affiliate marketers get in the way of your desire to build a strong eCommerce presence. Focus on sound marketing principles of identifying and serving a target audience, and have the patience to let your strategies play out over time.