It is true that you can get started as an affiliate marketer without any investment. However, if you spend a few dollars on equipment highly recommended by others, it can be very easy to quickly grow your income into a full-blown paycheck. These will not only make you a more professional marketer, but they can help you get more exposure to your affiliate links, while also allowing you to generate income on demand.
Following are the top tools that every affiliate marketer should have in their own toolbox.
1. Domain Name
This is your website address. It is possible to have a great free site or blog on the Internet, but most of these services are not recommended. If you go the free route, you never really own your web presence. The company offering the free space may choose to delete your content at any time for no reason at all. This is why having your own domain name is so important. If you do your research correctly, you can buy a domain name that will help your site get more traffic from search engines.
2. Web Hosting
For your website to go live on your domain, you need to sign up for website hosting. Once you have a web host, you can upload your site and it will be seen by the world. There are so many different hosting companies that offer so many plans that it is easy to get confused. It is a good idea to go with a reputed company that can provide you with a plan to meet your needs. Host Gator’s Baby plan, for example, is good for most new to intermediate affiliate marketers, because you can host unlimited domains on a single account for one low monthly price.
3. Autoresponder
This tool is one that most affiliate marketers are initially hesitant to invest in. It’s only later that they kick themselves, I wish they had listened to other marketers who offered advice on making a list.
Having your own email list will allow you to develop relationships with hundreds of people. You can provide them with free material so that they learn to trust you. Then, when you decide to promote something they’ll find helpful, you can reap the rewards. Autoresponder allows you to quickly and easily send emails to people who have signed up to join your list.
If you’re just starting to invest in your affiliate marketing journey, be sure to get a domain, hosting plan, and autoresponder to make running your business easier and more effective.
Some Mistakes Affiliate Marketers Make
You are considering joining this unprecedented new trading program. They have an incredible offer, free referral sites, ads ready for you to copy, and the best payment plans on the planet. This is the best member program on the web! Place a few ads out there and you are on your way to becoming a marketing tycoon.
Before you start planning to build that new dream home, here are the most common mistakes allies make that you’ll need to stay away from. These fatal mistakes can kill your business…and your dreams.
1. Choosing the Wrong Program
Are you too naive about the promises made by the owners of the program? Every program that does an income estimate is just an estimate. Are their income claims really realistic? Consider all the possible pros and cons that will affect your future promotional efforts. Do you really believe in this program enough to stick with it till you succeed? Have you done research to determine the credibility of the company and its owners? Have you studied the reviews of other people who are involved in the program, or have been before? There are many good affiliate programs available, but there are also many that are unstable or give very little results. Choose the affiliate program that you promote wisely otherwise you may die in water.
2. Expectation of Reward with Little Effort
Are you ready to work your business continuously and devote time to it every day? If you open a neighborhood store you plan on going to work every day, don’t you? And you would expect it to be publicized to attract customers. All things considered, you just opened your very own shiny new web store. How much time are you willing to spend to attract prospects who might be interested in your offer? It takes time to build any business. The chances of success are unrealistic without a lot of effort.
3. Lack of Planning and Objectives
Do you have a goal and action plan to accomplish this? Many people choose a business opportunity with a strong desire to make a quick profit but have no real plan to make it a reality. Ask yourself how quickly do you expect to make money, and how much money do you expect to make? Try to be sensible here; Making a million dollars in six months is not practical. Confirm your own particular objectives. How are you going to get to your financial destination? Have you carefully defined the strategies that you will execute to make your venture a success?
4. Failure to Adequately Promote your Offer
What happens if you don’t promote your products and services, how are you hoping to get leads and members to your downline? Do you know what type of marketing will have the best opportunities to achieve the results of the type of program you are promoting? Do you have enough advertising budget to grow your business? Something terrible happens when you don’t advertise your business… nothing.
5. Not Separating Yourself From Others Promoting the Same Offer
Most affiliates slap their affiliate website, send little traffic to it, and wonder why people aren’t joining their program in large numbers. Do you have a unique approach that will give you an advantage over your competition? Do you have your own capture page and not the cookie-cutter page that your program gives you? Every affiliate of your program gets the exact same site. One way to attract attention is to have your own unique page. If one person in the crowd starts waving a red flag, they stand out immediately. But if 10,000 people start waving red flags, it becomes impossible to pick one person.
6. Selling Instead of Telling
Instead of hawking your offer like everyone else, start by giving people information that will help them with their business and then pitch your product as the solution to their problem. They will be more likely to trust you. People do business with people they trust and who are interested in helping them solve their problems. Write text ads, emails, articles, deliver free reports and eBooks. Give something valuable to your potential customers. Change your mindset to sell something to help others get what they need to be successful and you will be successful.
7. Not Reaching out for Help
Perhaps you have been working on your business for a few months and have seen little or no results. You are getting frustrated and wondering if you can ever do this. Commit to learning what you are doing wrong or not doing what you should be, despite all perceived failures. Don’t hesitate to reach out for support from your upline and others who are successful so they can help you. Never give up! No one made progress at any point in time by giving up. not you too. You may be on the verge of success and not even know it. The reason most people fail is that they give up very quickly.
