Too many people worry about making their first dollar online, without even having the right foundation to make a penny. Let me just tell you that you are not going to make anything by throwing some words on a website and adding a couple of pictures here and there. Today I want to show you some of the major mistakes that are holding you back from making your first commission as an affiliate marketer.
Forget About the Money!
I remember when I got my first website up and thought I was going to make money right off the bat. Of course I didn’t make squat that day, the next day, or the day after that.
What’s even funnier is that I would sit back and ask myself what I was doing wrong. Now that I look back at it, it’s actually pretty damn hilarious and I am literally laughing my butt off!
There is a lot more to online marketing that getting a website online and putting affiliate links everywhere. Here are some of the mistakes that I have encountered and I’m pretty sure you have too.
Going Affiliate Link Crazy
When you start out online, you DO NOT want to even worry about getting any affiliate links. You shouldn’t even worry about any money making, until you’re at least ten pages in.
Yes that is how you make your money, but you still want to worry more on the foundation of your site. Get your main pages down and then get some blog posts out there to give your site some credibility.
If anything, affiliate links will hurt your site (for now) being that Google knows you are only trying to make sales rather than give some solid information to your readers.
The links can come later and so will the money. For now, keep them off your site. Start creating pages and posts so you can link your articles to other pages on your site, which is great for SEO.
Crating Content
Let’s face it, not all of us are good at writing and just like me it was almost impossible to write my first article. So you want to know how to create some good quality content? Here’s what you need. Practice, practice, and more practice!
Trust me guys, the more you write the better you get. I am not a good writer and I definitely don’t have a college degree, but I did have a strong want to make money online and make something of myself.
If you have only written 3 articles and you’re thinking to yourself as to why you’re not making any money, just know that your little effort is not going to cut it.
Get back into your admin area of your blog and create a post even if it flat out sucks. When you’re done with that, get ready for your next post, especially if you type like a turtle.
Consistency is Key
Once you start getting the flow of writing, you are going to need to come up with a schedule. I don’t care if it’s 1 post every 3 days or one post a week, you are going to have to be consistent.
Just remember that the more you write, the more traffic you get to your site, which of course means more signups or sales. DO NOT post an article today and then another one 5 days from now and then the day after that. Be CONSISTENT!
Keyword Research
First of all, what in the world is keyword research? For most of you, you probably think you know what keyword research is, but you are doing it all wrong.
From trying to write an article on the phrase “make money online dummies” to trying to add that phrase unnaturally throughout your article, you have just been taught how to fail right off the bat.
If you think you are going to get traffic from a phrase that doesn’t make any sense, then you might want to rethink about where you plan on taking your business.
Write about something that makes sense and communicate with your readers. Remember that you are writing to someone on the other end, so don’t try and write to Google, because even they don’t care if your article doesn’t make sense.
If you are not using a keyword research tool you can use Google’s Keyword Planner to find out what keywords you can write about, which is free to use. Personally, I use a tool called Jaaxy, which I think is a must for all online marketers. There are other tools, but I absolutely love this specific one.
Statistics
Another problem I had was worrying about the traffic and sales. If you are just starting out (10 posts or less) you might want to forget about the statistics. I am guilty of it and I’m pretty sure most of you are too.
Worry about getting your articles published and being interactive with your readers and then you can focus on where your traffic is coming from and why you’re not getting any sales.
I remember when I used to check my stats in the middle of writing an article, which is definitely a bad idea. Don’t make the same mistakes I did and if you are doing the same, now is the time to correct it.
Keep it Simple
Just like How I’m going to end this article, you need to keep things simple and organized. Don’t jump around from topic to topic, just to try and add content to your posts.
In the beginning this is totally fine, because you are not going to be really good at anything just yet. Keep things simple and focus on what you are talking about and then you can worry about sales later on.
Quit reading this article and get to your blog and start popping out them articles! If you have any questions about affiliate marketing or blogging, please leave them in the comments section below.
– John
A Work at Home Jobs
Hello,
Well, I am trying to learn affiliate marketing from last few months, but I am finding it very difficult, specially the conversion part, as I am not able to attract any sales expect one or two.
Although, I am learning it quickly, and Now, I can say, I made a mistake by picking products without enough research and also, I reviewed the product without even using it, so all this resulted in failure.
But I hope, I will improve on my skills and will succeed in Affiliate marketing soon.
I hope you have improved your skills too my friend. I do recommend you take advantage of the free lessons offered at Wealthy Affiliate as they will benefit anyone who is struggling to grasp the overall concept of affiliate marketing.