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I recently wrote an article on Ezine Articles about this. If you'd like to read it, click here
I like showing off my best work. Wish I'd caught a few of those typos though, my bad.
There are many ways to sabotage your efforts in affiliate marketing; but the major ways I've noted are:
1) Lack of effective advertising. Notice I didn't say "lack of advertising", I said "lack of effective advertising". Big difference. Do you know what advertising options are available to you? Do you know how to use the ones you do know about effectively?
2) No Research. Did you check out the product and the vendor? Yes, I said the vendor. Just as important as the product you will be promoting, and getting a nice commission I hope, is who you are selling it for. Are they an established business? Have they been around for a while? See what other's are saying about the product and the company. If people are saying the product is shoddy, not worth the money, do you think you'll get many sales. If you can research, so can your potential referrals. Remember they are not your customers, they are your referrals. You are referring people to this company to hopefully purchase this product. How is their customer support, do they respond to complaints or problems in a timely manner. Huh? Because the person who purchases can cancel just as easily as they purchased, sale --commission, cancel sale --no commission. As simple as I could make it.
3) No Product Research. You can't answer the most basic questions. You just signed up because you thought you could make some money. Well, that's the goal all of us want. But you should be able to promote the product and answer any questions that may come your way. You barely know what the product is much less know what it does. How can you make a decent advertising campaign or ad if you can't answer a basic question. Recently, an affiliate was promoting a product in one of the forums I frequent, and it looked interesting, so I decided to chat with him. I asked him a basic question, "How does it work?" I got the internet equivalent of "huh?" He said he'd get back to me, he had to find out. Do you think he made a sale? or even a bookmark?
4) Nothing that sets you apart from the crowd. There are hundreds if not thousands of other affiliates competing for referrals. What sets you apart? Do you know how to set yourself apart from the crowd? I'll give you an analogy. There are ten salesmen standing at your door, they are all wearing brown suits with white shirts trying to sell you let's say Widget A. Widget A is the best thing since the microwave, it'll make your life easier and better. Salesman 1, holds out Widget A and says "This is Widget A, it's the best thing since the microwave, it'll make your life easier and better. Salesman 2, holds out Widget A and says "This is Widget A, it's the best thing since the microwave, it'll make your life easier and better. Then the 3rd salesman steps up...you get the idea by now I hope. By the time you get to salesman 7, you're pretty bored by now and you don't anticipate anything different, you're probably half listening or even looking for that matter. But Salesman 7 throws up confetti, blows a whistle, and asks you how would you like to make your life easier? He proceeds to tell you how Widget A can help you (benefits to you). He's making hand gestures, he's animated, he's got your attention. Which one do you think would make the sale? That's what landing pages, blogs, websites are...they are saleman 7.
5) Nobody Knows What You're Selling. You're not focused. Example, your site says Petunia's House of Glass, but you're selling dog food, gourmet-flavored popcorn, balloons and plastic figurines. If this was an actual store, do you think your customers might turn around and go back out to see if they walked into the right store. They were looking for products made of...glass. Make sure your title reflects the product or ties into the product.
And one I didn't put in the article
6) It's Not All About You. Think like a buyer and not like a seller. What would motivate you to purchase a product? Do you think, "Gee, I really want to buy this product because this person will make a commission?" or do you think about how it would benefit you, how well it will enhance you, how much fun you could have with it. There are two reasons why people buy, they are not what you think.
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