Discover the Myths and Facts of Affiliate Marketing.

Affiliate marketing has the reputation of being a gold mine of financial wealth with little or no work involved to attain these tremendous riches.  While you can earn a substantial income as an affiliate marketer, there is work involved particularly now because the popularity of affiliate marketing has grown to the extent that a marketer will likely have tremendous competition.  This makes doing your research and establishing a niche vitally important. 

Once you start researching affiliate programs in greater detail, you’re likely to come across a number of myths about this kind of business.  It’s easy to see why some of these myths have come about.  Some people always want to believe in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, in this case, that affiliate marketing programs are something capable of earning them a great fortune overnight.

In this article we will identify some of the myths and misconceptions surrounding these programs, and attempt to clear up some of the confusion around those myths.  Discovering what the most common assumptions are can help you achieve greater success in your affiliate marketing efforts.

Affiliate Marketing Myth: 
Affiliate marketing is a “no-brainer”.  This is most definitely not the case.  It’s true that affiliate marketing programs will generally eliminate or automate many of the technical tasks that come with promoting and selling another company’s products and services.  But selecting and configuring the best programs for you is not necessarily a simple decision, and there is no one program that is best for every single person. 

Fact: 
You will most certainly need to use your brain to succeed as an affiliate marketer.

 Myth: 
I only need to join one good affiliate program.  You might be tempted to identify the affiliate program that seems to be the best fit for your website. However, consumers generally like to do at least a little bit of comparison shopping, so you will want to give them some choice.  You may want to consider marketing a few products that are in direct competition with one another (assuming that the terms of each affiliate program permit you to do so).

Fact: 
You will want to focus your efforts on marketing programs that complement one another.  For example, if you run a culinary-focused website, then you could market cookware alongside affiliate offers for specialty ingredients and cookbooks.

Myth: 
The more affiliate programs I have, the better. 
If one affiliate program is not enough, then you should try to maximize the number you have, right?  Wrong.  If there are too many choices, then some potential customers may feel overwhelmed or confused, or perhaps that you haven’t carefully screened your affiliate partners.  These potential customers are most often likely not to purchase through you at all. 

Fact: 
Your patrons want to rely upon you to provide only the best affiliate offers to them when you have too many affiliate programs, you risk credibility.

Myth: 
Affiliate marketing is easy; it practically runs itself. 
Affiliate marketing does give you the opportunity to make money easily without many of the complications and difficulties associated with direct marketing.  But like any other business or professional pursuit, your success depends largely upon the effort you put forth. 

Fact: 
In order to maximize the effectiveness of your affiliate programs, you will need to monitor how many of your customers are considering (or clicking the links for) your affiliate programs, and how many of those are actually following through to purchase.  Sometimes moving an affiliate link or graphic to a different part of your webpage will greatly increase your success rate, but you need to have the data available to be able to make comparisons of effectiveness.

Myth: 
Affiliate marketing is a money-making machine.  You can definitely add to your bottom line by incorporating a few carefully-selected affiliate marketing programs to your website.  However, be aware that there is a great deal of competition among the affiliates of each particular program, and there is only a certain amount of consumer spending to go around. 

Fact:
Make sure you have reasonable expectations as you begin affiliate marketing (because you can earn a decent return on your efforts), so that you don’t become frustrated and quit before the program gets going.

Myth: 
I’ll have to spend too much money promoting my affiliate programs. 
It’s true that to be a successful affiliate marketer you’ll need to do some promotional activities.  The mistake some marketers make is focusing on quantity over quality.  Rather than trying to increase the total number of potential customers who see your affiliate products, you will want to try to increase the total number of quality potential customers who see them.  You can achieve this (and keep within a carefully considered budget) by careful Pay-Per-Click advertising, and by focusing on building a quality subscriber base, rather than simply promoting the products themselves.

Fact: 
Careful budgeting, testing, and planning will help you make financially sound, and profitable, decisions.

Myth: 
I’ll be able to tell right away whether my affiliate marketing efforts have been successful.  This is rarely the case.  In fact, it is very
 hard to predict exactly how long it will take for your affiliate programs to be successful. 

Fact: 
You may need to spend some time and effort learning how best to promote your program, or your program may simply involve products that have a longer sales cycle.

The Internet has so many myths about how to achieve success in affiliate marketing that new marketers will likely become confused about what’s true and what isn’t.  Do detailed research on any program you’re considering joining, and then jump in.  The success of your affiliate marketing programs it entirely dependent on your hard work.  There are a variety of ways to market affiliate products including via quality informative content, paid advertisements and pay per click campaigns, and all of those ways require a good head on your shoulders and careful tracking and assessment.

If you have patience and work hard, you’ll be able to achieve the results you want.

If you are looking for a solid, realiable and powerful affiliate management software to run your own affiliate program you should check out the MemberSpeed Affiliate Management Software here.

Discover The Answer To The 10 Most Common Affiliate Marketing Management Questions

1. Is affiliate marketing right for my business?

Affiliate marketing is one of the most powerful and effective means of gaining new customers, regardless of your product or service.  Affiliate marketing exposes your business to new customers and can get you out of your marketing rut.  Additionally, when you initiate an affiliate marketing campaign, you’re in control.  You determine the commission rate you pay and pay only when your affiliates make a sale.  It’s a no loss operation for you because you only pay when a sale is made. 
 
2. What are the startup costs?

When you start an affiliate program you have the choice of handling the operations yourself or having it managed by an affiliate network.  The costs for either choice are reasonable and generally start around a few hundred dollars.  Additionally, as a business owner don’t forget that many of your costs may be tax deductible.  To start an affiliate marketing program in house, costs will include:

Affiliate Management Software

Affiliate marketing support including a website that answers affiliate questions and a means for them to contact you if any issues arise.

Affiliate marketing materials including banner ads, copy, coupons, and promotional content.

An affiliate marketing contract agreement

Tracking software to track cookies, click throughs, payments, etc…

If you choose to hire an affiliate network to handle your program they generally charge a flat fee or a percentage of what you pay out each month.

3. How much time will it take out of my workday/workweek?

Most experts agree that it will take you about an hour and a half each day to manage your affiliate program.  They also recommend you to budget more time in the first few months of your program, approximately two to three hours a day.  Even the most efficient affiliate managers spend about 45 minutes a day managing their affiliate program. 

Professional affiliate managers generally spend an average of 40-80 hours a month dedicated to managing, tracking and promoting your affiliate program. 

4. Should I use an affiliate network?

Do you have an extra 3 hours a day for the next two or three months?  Do you have an hour a day to devote to managing your program after the initial three month program is complete?  An affiliate network, while it may be a bit more expensive on the outset, can help you focus your time on other profit generating tasks.  Additionally, an affiliate network can help expose your affiliate program to a wide variety of experience affiliates, which means more money in your bottom line and more exposure overall. 

That being said, there are a tremendous number of effective in-house solutions including some you’re likely already familiar with like 1shoppingcart.com and affiliatepro.com.  These programs will help you stay 100% in control of your affiliate program and are effective at managing your program.   

5. How should I pay affiliates?  What type of commission works best?

This is a very important decision because it not only affects your profits, the right commission rate will help you recruit top-notch affiliates.  The general rule of thumb is to set your default commission rate at a rate you can afford to pay while leaving room for time limited commission increase offers, promotions, and private offers.  For example, if you can afford to pay 50% of your gross profit margin, pay 25% instead and tier it so that after a sales goal is reached they earn 30% or you can bump it up to 50% during the holidays or during typically low sales times. 

6. How do I recruit affiliates?

Your customers may be your best affiliates.  After all, they already appreciate and enjoy your products or services.  A simple link on your website is a good place to start.  Here are a few ways to find quality affiliates:

Online forums.  These are excellent places to meet and greet and connect with like minded individuals. They’re also a good resource for affiliates who are interested in, motivated, and qualified to sell your products and services.  Using a forum, you can announce your affiliate program. Be careful to not ‘sell’ on the forum as most forums look down on this and may kick you off.  Additionally, you can include a link to your affiliate site in your signature. 

Find websites that link to your competitors and approach them about being an affiliate for you.  Likewise, you can find affiliates using your favorite search engine and contact them about joining your program. 

One last way is to join an affiliate network or become listed on an affiliate directory.  This will ensure that affiliate marketers who are searching for new products and services to promote.  However, keep in mind that many beginner marketers also seek products and services to promote via affiliate directories and they may lose interest and motivation before they ever make a sale.  This isn’t a strong deterrent because they don’t get paid unless they make a sale, however it should be noted. 

7. What is the best way to communicate with my affiliates?

Email is the general tool of choice, which makes an auto responder a fantastic tool for basic emails like the welcome email, introducing promotions, coupons, sending links and banner ads, and answering Frequently Asked Questions.   It is also generally advisable to have an email address, fax number, and telephone number available for when affiliates have questions that are not answered by your frequently asked questions web page or when they simply want to speak with you. 

8. How do I motivate affiliates?

Money motivates no doubt about it.  That being said, affiliates are also motivated by feeling that they’re important to you.  This means when they ask for your time, you give it.  Additionally, promotions, bonuses, prizes, contests, and commission increases are all tools to motivate and inspire affiliates.  Constant communication, like sending a weekly or monthly Ezine, will also help remind your affiliates that you’re out there and invested in their success. 

9. Do I need to hire an affiliate manager? 

The answer to this question really depends on your needs.  How large is your company?  Do you have the time to manage your program?  Do you have the skills to manage your program?  An affiliate manager is the person that:

Recruits affiliates

Communicates with affiliates

Develops, tracks, and reports on promotions

Develops programs to enhance affiliate program

Motivates affiliates

Tracks sales and pays affiliates

Monitors your competition

These are all extremely important functions and if you have the time to handle them yourself, excellent!  If you do not, then consider hiring an affiliate manager. 

10. How do I find/hire an affiliate manager?

Outsourcing an affiliate manager is fairly easy to do.  There are hundreds available with a quick online search.  You can ask associates, inquire at online forums, or post an advertisement seeking someone to fill the position.  Depending on the complexity of your affiliate program, you could consider a well qualified virtual assistant for the job.  The skills your affiliate manager will need are:

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Knowledge of online business, internet marketing, and basic ecommerce operations

Basic html and graphic experience are a plus

Because they’re going to be representing you, you’ll want to make sure they’re personable.

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