How To Succeed At Affiliate Marketing

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Affiliate Marketing is a huge business opportunity open to everyone with a laptop and an internet connection. But why are not more people getting involved? How to succeed at affiliate marketing is a question I will be answering in my post.

If you have read my post How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing For Beginners, you know that it is very easy to get started. But why do so many people stop after a while? They start with lots of enthusiasm and quickly lose interest or finding it too hard.

It comes down to five key ingredients that will help you to become a huge success story like other affiliate marketers.

I am not talking about some secret tools or miraculous methods. I am here to talk about things that will help you to be successful in the online but also the offline world regardless what kind of business you are going to pursue.

#1 Motivation

Motivation is my number one key ingredient. Without motivation, you won’t even get started.

Ask yourself the following questions: What gets you going in the morning? What drives you? What is your biggest “Why”?

Knowing your “Why,” the core reason for doing what you are doing, will keep you moving forward.When you feel frustrated or hitting a brick wall, take a minute and remind yourself of your WHY.

It could be anything. Maybe you want to escape the 9-5 grind, or you want to provide more for your family, or it is your dream to go on a big overseas holiday. Whatever it is – write it down and put it somewhere where you can see it every day.

#2 Take Action

Being motivated is crucial, but you need to go further and Take Action.

A good example is the New Years Resolutions. At the end of the year, most people are so keen to make changes once the new year is arriving. It’s now or never. Time to get rid of the 20 pounds on your hips. Time to start working on your online business. Time to hit the gym…

Too often the ‘good will’ lasts for a week and then it gets all too hard, and we go back to normal.

The key is to Take Action. Regarding affiliate marketing, it is important to do something every day. Write a post, do your research, engage with people, learn new skills.

Don’t do it later – do it know.

One of the most profound and influential books I have read about how little everyday steps will accumulate over time was Darren Hardys ” The Compound Effect.” It sure has changed my life for the better. The book is easy to read and to understand.

It shows you how the smallest consistent actions can lead to fantastic or negative results. It is called the ‘ripple effect.’ I highly recommend this book to everyone.

#3 Your Mindset

In a live video class, Kyle, the co-founder of Wealthy Affiliate University, speaks about the importance of your mindset as an online entrepreneur.

How To Be Successful In An Online Business – Learn From The Best – Part 1 and How To Be Successful In An Online Business – Part 2

Too often, people approaching their online business venture as ‘trying something new.’ Instead, you need to treat it ‘As A Business.’

If you are just trying, chances are that you won’t succeed. We are surrounded by promises of tools and methods that promise success aka making money online in an instant. So many people are buying these products and getting disillusioned because most of the products don’t work as promised.

The fact is: Building a business with affiliate marketing takes time, consistent work and patience. It can take anywhere from 6 months up to 18 months or longer to see results.

One successful blogger wrote that in the first year in her online business she didn’t worry about any sales. All she concentrated on was writing post after post. And now she earns a five-figure income a month. Her attitude was refreshing and such an eye opener for me.

Are you in for the long haul? Are you willing to put in the hard yards to build a long term sustainable business that will provide you with residual income?

# 4 Support

So it can take months until you see results. Traffic is only a trickle, just a few visitors a day. Maybe a couple of sales to start off with.

You are writing rich helpful content, but nothing dramatic happen. You are all excited about your affiliate business and your website. But as soon as you look on Google Analytics, the excitement is fading. Sounds familiar?

Most people hit the brick wall at around the three months mark. They want to give up because it doesn’t seem to work and it seems like a waste of time.

You might have heard of Pat Flynn of SmartPassive Income.com. In a recent podcast interview with Alex Sole from Extra-Paycheck.com, he says that it took him with each of his niche websites about 18 months to gain traction. Here is the link to hear the full episode.

Where does the support come in?

I have found for myself that it’s essential to be part of a group that has the same or similar goals. It is so important to share when you are feeling down or frustrated.

It helps me to hear that other people experience the same and it motivates me to listen how they have overcome certain obstacles.

Support is even more important when you work on your own. It can get lonely if you just have the laptop as a companion during your working hours. So being part of a like-minded group of online entrepreneurs is crucial in my opinion.

I am a member of Wealthy Affiliates which is not only a learning platform but also a community of people who are working on building their online businesses. You can read more in my post A Secret Ingredient To Succeed In Online Affiliate Marketing.

The encouragement, help, and support this community has given me are one of the most important factors for my success at affiliate marketing.

So my advice is to find and join a group on Facebook, a local business group or join WA’s community. Support and Help are hugely important for your success.

# 5 Knowledge

To succeed at affiliate marketing, you need to know the basics. That is a no brainer. Without knowledge, you won’t succeed.

Well, there are plenty of courses available on youtube and the likes. But there is only one training platform that will teach you everything you need to know about building websites, how to monetize it, email marketing, social media, etc.

If you want to know more about it, click here to read my in-depth review about Wealthy Affiliate.

For under $50/month you will have access to the Ten Module Entrepreneur Certification Course, the 7 phase boot camp training, a keyword research tool, a hosting platform for 25 domain websites, and the most supportive community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

Knowledge is power, and it is imperative to keep learning because things keep changing especially in the internet world.

Let’s Recap

How to succeed at affiliate marketing? My five key ingredients for success are:

Motivation
Take Action
Mindset
Support
Knowledge.

All these five key components combined will help you to succeed at affiliate marketing. Don’t forget the time factor as well. Don’t expect success in an instant.

Have trust in the process and take all the necessary steps as I have described in my post.

I do hope you have found this article helpful. What is your single most important element for success? Please share in the comment box below. I’d love to hear from you!

Please note: this post contains affiliate links