Are you making these common affiliate marketing mistakes and missing out on more money?
In episode 133, we talked about how to get started with affiliate marketing. Today, I want to dive into some of the common pitfalls or mistakes creatives are making with affiliate marketing. I’ll also share some simple fixes so you can get your affiliate marketing business back on track.
I love to coach creatives in this area because I have personally seen what a difference it makes to be making monthly checks off of talking about the things I love!
Listen to this episode now:
Search for episode 134 of Called to Both on your favorite podcast player!
Mistake One: Not Being Signed Up For the Right Programs
There are way more affiliate programs than people even realize, so you could be missing out on some opportunities that would be a great fit for your business. Affiliate marketing goes beyond products; you can be an affiliate for services too.
To find more affiliate programs, identify the products and services you’re currently using and loving. Think about the questions that people ask you and the solutions they come to you for. From there, do a little research to find more affiliate programs. The odds are that there are a ton of great affiliate programs that you aren’t signed up for yet!
Mistake Two: Only Posting About Something One Time
So many people post an affiliate marketing link one time and then think that it doesn’t work for them. This is a lack of integrated strategy and consistency. If it doesn’t feel natural to post about your affiliate products more, you could be in affiliate programs that are misaligned with your audience.
You don’t talk about your products or service only one time and then get frustrated by the lack of sales. Affiliate marketing is the same way. It requires strategy, consistency, and alignment.
Mistake Three: Thinking You Need to Have a Big Audience or be an “Influencer” to be an Effective Affiliate Marketer
This pitfall is simply not true. I have been an effective affiliate marketer since I had a small email list (we’re talking 100 people). In fact, I think that having a smaller audience can be a secret weapon in affiliate marketing.
Smaller creators have more specific niches and build more trust with their audiences. They also have more bandwidth to build genuine relationship with their followers, which works to their advantage with affiliate marketing.
Mistake Four: Picking the Wrong Programs or Focusing on the Wrong Programs
There are a couple things I mean by “wrong programs.” Maybe the program offers a low commision, isn’t aligned with your business, or is a product that your audience doesn’t care about.
When a program offers a low commission, you’re not going to make much headway or feel like your time is being well spent. I recommend checking out programs with better payout structures. Some programs have great one-time commission rates while other programs offer recurring commissions.
Two examples of recurring commissions programs are Kajabi and Flodesk.
A key to being successful with affiliate marketing is finding where your interests and your audience interests overlap. I promise that you can find programs like this, and it will make all the difference in your efforts.
Mistake Five: Lack of Organization
When you aren’t organized with your affiliate marketing programs, you’ll forget to use your links and miss out on potential income. When you’re in a bunch of programs, it’s impossible to remember all your affiliate marketing information.
For example, some companies will give you a trackable link while others will give you a discount code. Your brain isn’t meant to store all this data, it’s meant to come up with amazing ideas.
It’s worth it to take the time to create an organizational system that works for you. Build a central database where you can store all of your links and codes, and make it easy to access on both your phone and computer.
Join the Waitlist for Affiliate Boss, My Upcoming Affiliate Marketing Program
Affiliate Boss is coming SO SOON and I want you to be the first to hear about it, get the lowest introductory price, and start making money talking about the stuff you use and love.
My course includes how to compare programs, understand the payout systems, and effectively marketing as an affiliate so that you can make it a revenue stream in your business. It also includes custom tools I’ve created in my own business to organize and streamline the affiliate programs I’m using in my marketing — tools that have allowed me to make over 100k in affiliate payouts over the past few years while being a full time creative service provider as a photographer and coach at the same time.
If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating on the podcast and want to connect with others who are called to both, make sure you come join us in the PhotoBoss Facebook Group!
Find it quickly:
1:56 – You’re not aware of the possibilities
3:37 – Posting your affiliate link only one time
4:54 – Thinking that you have to be an influencer
6:48 – Picking the wrong programs
9:24 – Lack of organization around affiliate opportunities
Links:
Affiliate Course Waitlist: joymichelle.co/affiliate-course
The Affiliate Marketing Jumpstart Guide: joymichellephotography.com/affiliate-marketing
Ep 133: Affiliate Marketing for Photographers: Where to Start and What to Promote
More ways to connect:
Joy Michelle Website: joymichelle.co
Joy Michelle Instagram: instagram.com/joyymichelle
Joy Michelle Facebook: facebook.com/joymichellephotography
Joy Michelle Coaching: joymichelle.co/coaching
If you decide to use any of the links above and buy through them, I’ll receive a small commission back. All of those affiliate income commissions really add up over time and help generate revenue to help support this podcast.
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