Have you been toying with the idea of becoming a marketing affiliate? Or are you already one and feel weighed down by the negative connotations surrounding the field?

Getting people to find out about your website or blog is tough enough already. As times change, we find that many of the previous methods we used might not be as effective as they once were. At the same time, we can find ourselves being resistant to change, not wanting to take risks on methods we haven’t tried before.

At the same time, people who would like to become affiliates might find themselves apprehensive because they find the whole scene too saturated. How do you stand out from the rest?

Affiliate marketing has been subjected to many warped opinions over the years. Some feel that it’s a frivolous waste of time, while others are of the opinion that it’s a fad that’s reached its pinnacle. The fact is that it’s become one of the most effective and lucrative forms of marketing on the internet today, not only for the businesses but for the affiliates themselves as well. Companies like NutriProfits have been proving successful in affiliate marketing for years now, building a large network of marketers.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the most common myths regarding affiliate programs and explain why they’re not true.

1. It’s Too Late

You see them everywhere on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Influencers with affiliates seem to be a dime a dozen these days. If everyone is doing it, how can you find a way to stand out from the rest? 

Yes, many people are doing it on a large scale with varying levels of success. That’s not to say that you can’t be one of them or get them to raise your product up to new heights.

Decide on exactly what it is you want to focus on as an affiliate and make an effort to improve your reach. It might take a while to get there, but all good things take time. You’ll find that a lot of the work will come down to trial and error, and as long as you learn from those errors, you’ll be on the right path.

Businesses are always going to need people to get their products out there. If you can find unique ways to do that, they’ll be keen to take you on. Don’t be discouraged by the number of other people doing it or the idea that there isn’t room left for anyone new. Your only competition is yourself.

2. You Need to be a Tech Wizard

Do you feel like you don’t know enough about computers to find your way in the affiliate jungle? In a field that’s so heavily reliant on the internet and technology, people can often be misled into thinking that you need to be great at navigating all kinds of software in order to get the job done. This notion couldn’t be further from the truth. As long as you know how to use the different social media apps, you’ll be more than capable of starting from there.

If you want to have a website right from the beginning, you can easily start a blog on the various blogging sites available today. These sites all have very clear instructions on how to put your blog together, so you won’t need any mad skills to make it happen. You’ll also be able to choose from their various attractive themes, with thousands of copyright-free images at your disposal, helping you to craft your unique website at virtually no cost.

Remember that there’s no need to have a gigantic start. Begin with small things and gradually start taking on more challenging feats. There is an endless supply of articles and videos online to help you acquire more skills in refining your website or blog.

3. You Must Have a Blog

Bloggers play a big part in the affiliate game, and people often tend to think that the only way to do it is through having a website. A large part of what makes a blog attractive is the ability to share many links and pictures and write extensively regarding the topic. While they definitely have their positives, websites aren’t the only way to get the ball rolling. Additionally, while blogs are free to set up, you’ll need to pay for your own domain, which can be costly if you aren’t earning much money yet.

Social media has long been a central part of practically everything online. Focus on building your following on Instagram, or start a YouTube channel in which you review products in vlogs. You can still easily share links on these platforms and sum up your thoughts either through speaking or using clever captions or hashtags. If you decide at a later stage that you’d like to start a blog, you can always do that, but it doesn’t have to be the focal point of your online presence.

4. All About the Traffic

In a time when internet fame has become so widely coveted, beginners can be forgiven for thinking that going viral is going to bring in big cash. Unfortunately, this isn’t necessarily the case.

It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that having a huge audience is worth large profits. Many websites and influencers like to brag about their substantial audiences, but how many of those clicks bring in money? Think of yourself and the myriad of links you click on each day. How often do you buy something from those sites, even if they offer products you really like?

Many people end up buying followers and using misleading keywords and hashtags to try and attract more attention. Apart from coming across as some sort of scam, most of the people looking at your profile or website aren’t even going to blink before they leave.

Instead of trying to pull in large traffic, put quality above quantity. Focus on attracting an audience that really cares for what you’re talking about. This might take longer, and your numbers might be lower at first, but it’ll pay off much better in the long run when those people keep coming back and buying the products you’re promoting.

5. Regarding Niche Markets

Surely if you talk about something everyone wants and needs, will you attract customers? Again, things are not as simple as they seem. If you think about something very popular, you will find yourself up against thousands of other people doing the same thing. How will you stand out if you are not particularly passionate and clued up about the product?

Trying to market something you are not especially fond of can be a potential recipe for disaster. Affiliate marketing requires a lot of dedication. If your heart is not in it, you will end up hating the product after spending hours working on it.

Ask yourself what you are truly passionate about and how you can turn that into a lucrative affiliate program. If it’s something that requires a more niche audience, you might find that not many other influencers are talking about it. That will put you in a unique position to cater to a group of people who are eager to find someone who can tell them about what interests them.

If you are going to do affiliate marketing, you might as well have fun while doing it.

6. High Commission is Best

We all want to make a quick buck. If you can get a large amount of money for a single sale, you will probably be very keen to take it on. However, this approach poses similar problems to the popular niche issue. Products that offer high commission rates include items such as software or ebooks, but these are also things that are not going to be bought frequently. While you might get large amounts when you get them, they can be few and far apart.

Once again, make sure you’re focusing on things you know and like. It’s better to get regular small amounts rather than large amounts every now and then.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many misconceptions about how affiliate programs work and how to get the most out of them. If you were to believe every little story people tell you, you wouldn’t get anything done. Whenever considering joining an affiliate business, make sure that you do a fair amount of research and determine what it is you want from it.

Unsure of where to begin? Consider joining NutriProfits, an affiliate program that pays up to 40% commission on a range of cosmetics and food supplements. You can start affiliate marketing with no money.

If affiliate marketing is dead, that does not explain the millions of dollars in profit generated each year. Go ahead. You might not earn the equivalent of your salary in the beginning, but if you start your affiliate program and work steadily and consistently, you’ll reap the benefits in due time.