12 reasons that Affiliate marketing sucks- And what to do to make your life a whole lot better and of course a lot richer
- It's hard work and not the easy street they promise
- They shift the goalposts when they want
- Are we sure they are honest with us?
- You need to build a big list to make the grade
- There are low uptake rates
- And even lower click rates
- Minimum payout levels
- Pixels that disappear overnight
- High return rate
- Moving your database
- Bad press
- A better way going forward
A long list of affiliate problems so double up
When you have more than one association you double your chances however they should be closely related.
Forget all the promises of easy money working an hour a day from home. This takes a lot of time and dedication however you do build a business
That can sustain you for years to come.
Changing the rules
For example, Amazon simply slashes commission rates when it chooses them. You may have spent months building a program around selling a product only to find it is not worthwhile. At 10% commission, it had value but at 2% it sucks.
Therefore the site history should provide an indication going forward.
One company on video conferencing that had a good percentage of the market sold to Google and closed its doors. This left so many in the lurch with nowhere to go. It took me many months to find a replacement in Pictory.
Keeping them honest
In most cases, there is little that you control as the tools are all in their favour however using a Link Cloaker like Pretty links tracks your clicks to give you an idea of those that you send to the affiliate.
However, you need to remember that Pixel life controls when the customer is yours and theirs. With Amazon, the life may be as low as 24 hours but with Wealthy Affiliate, it is a lifetime. A big difference in the long run
Building a list
Without a customer list, you can not follow up to sell a product. This is an important part of marketing and in fact, builds a great asset for you to use.
You can do this with a giveaway on the page, a popup, Social media or simply asking for them.
When your customers know and like you there is a far greater chance of getting a click on anything you recommend.
Moving your database
When you change service providers this is a problem because you need to go into a new double-opt-in phase. I have just done this and sent my subscribers a message before I tried to do it. This prevented any spam complaints.
Having a separate list is always handy and breaking it down into individual interest groups makes management easier.
12 reasons that Affiliate marketing sucks- And what to do when your clicks are down
Click rates and success stories
You, first of all, need to get them to click on your page link. You can do this in many ways. A simple link in the content, a banner, a picture, a video or any way that works for you.
Unfortunately, a link does not indicate success as this comes with someone taking the offer that they are shown. This comes down to percentages that you control in some small way. The rates vary on content and may be as low as 1% but if your volume of readers is high one per cent may be very handy.
After they click they need to buy, again another percentage but one you have little control over. It may be 10% or much lower depending on the offer.
You do control the future. If it is not working perhaps you will consider a change. You may better explain what they are looking at or supply a bonus for those connecting.
High Drop out rates
This one hurts after you have done all the work and taken them the full distance. Some places like JVZoo or Warrior plus indicate dropout rates but most won't and it will be up to your experience to make decisions to change. If the rate is high the product has a problem and it is time to reconsider your objectives.
Minimum payout.
This is generally low and should not present a problem although you may have a few amounts floating around that you can never collect.
The Bad Press dilemma
If your supplier gets bad press and it is justified it is probably time for a change. Ir rarely gets better.
A better way
Having more than one string to your bow is a good idea but don't spread yourself so thin that you do nothing properly.
One opportunity is selling the sell, training on how to improve your sales and income opportunities.
I did a side hustle with Michael Cheney that may well prove to be the best investment you could ever make.
There is more than one way to become an excellent affiliate and this is a great example.
Affiliate marketing might suck but it is still the best job in town.
No other business can be started with little outgoing, no stock, Debtors, billing or support. Just commissions coming in big hits or monthly recurring amounts that ad and add.
you can blog, use Social media, websites or do any activity you can do, without money or pay for the privilege.
Conclusion
As an affiliate marketer, I may be biased but once you get this working there are no limits.
No bosses, No committed hours no one putting a break on your income. Where else can you get this?
