Many beginning affiliate marketers quickly give up after they realize they’re not going to become rich overnight. While it is possible to make good money with affiliate marketing, it won’t happen overnight and it will take a lot of hard work.
Don’t Listen to the Hype
You may come across sales pages that offer you the opportunity of a lifetime to make a gazillion dollars in just a few days if you’ll just buy a report or a guide or a video or whatever. Don’t fall for it. Although there are some good affiliate marketing books and tools on the market that may be able to offer you sound guidance, any program that promises you will go from rags to riches isn’t going to help you, it is just going to take your money.
Make a Plan
Whenever you start any business, you need a sound business plan and affiliate marketing is no different. Whether you decide to work full-time or part-time as an affiliate marketer, you need to have a plan of action. You’ll need to do some independent research to see which affiliate programs interest you and you may need to build one or more websites. You’ll also need to develop a budget and figure out how much time you can initially devote to your new career in affiliate marketing.
How Much Money Do You Want to Earn?
This may seem like a silly question but it is one that you’ll need to ask yourself. After all, if you want to earn thousands of dollars a month as an affiliate marketer, you had better plan on spending quite a bit of time and energy working. Even then, it will take time to build up your business and there are no guarantees.
While it is true that you can start your career as an affiliate marketer without any upfront investment, it’s also true that in order to grow your business, you will have some expenses along the way. While many affiliate marketers never pay for advertising, most of them do have websites. Websites don’t necessarily cost a lot of money to build or maintain; in fact, the expense is quite low, especially when you compare it to the monthly rent on a brick and mortar storefront. However, you should be prepared to spend some money growing your business.
Don’t Give Up
Affiliate marketing can be a fun and lucrative career but success won’t come overnight. But for those who are willing to work hard, learn, and be patient, the rewards can be awesome!
Every affiliate program has their own unique set of Terms and Conditions, which affiliate marketers must follow in order to participate in the program. Not following these guidelines can get your site banned or your affiliate account canceled, which could result in lost profits so it is important to follow the rules to the letter.
Common Rules
There are some common rules that most affiliate programs have in place, although they may differ largely in other areas. For example, sites that promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination or hate will not be approved by most affiliate programs. Most affiliate programs also will not approve websites that are filled with content that promotes illegal activities. While there may be affiliate programs that cater to adult sites, most of the popular affiliate programs do not and will not tolerate that kind of material linking to their site.
In addition, the url address you choose for your website could result in a rejected application from affiliate programs if it is too much like their own url. For example, if you misspell the name of a famous site and use it for your site, don’t count on being approved for their affiliate program.
Rules About Links and Graphics
Make sure you abide by the Terms and Conditions regarding the links and graphics you place on your website. Not complying with this guideline can get your site banned and your account closed before you can make your first sale. Most affiliate programs provide links, graphics, and instructions as to what is acceptable use of them on your website. Follow these instructions to the letter.
Buying Products Through Your Affiliate Links
Affiliates should pay special attention to this rule as the purchase of products through accessing your own links is prohibited from many affiliate programs and it is allowed by some of them. Even when it is allowed though, you still have to have so many referral sales before you’ll qualify for payment. Affiliates who join affiliate programs with the idea of getting discounts for themselves will quickly discover that this practice won’t work and they will lose their affiliate privileges.
Once your website is approved for the affiliate programs you apply to, be aware that most of these programs have safeguards in place to ensure your further compliance to their program rules. Your site will be monitored to make sure you are following the rules on a continuous basis. Learn from the affiliate marketers who came before you who did not read the Terms of Service and had their sites banned when they had no idea they were in violation of the affiliate program rules.
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