by Brad Peterson

Hardly a week goes by that someone doesn’t contact me to ask me about their website. They generally state that they have just started with affiliate marketing and they’re wondering why they aren’t seeing any sales. Usually after a brief glance at their website I can tell them exactly why they’re not seeing any income from their affiliate programs.

I usually know without visiting their websites what the problem is. That’s because I continue to see it time and time again. The reason is because many of these beginners are taking the advice of people who have never made a dime with affiliate programs. You see, there is a whole industry out there made up of people who couldn’t hack it in affiliate marketing so they turned to selling crap to Noobs. Noobs don’t know any better so they make excellent targets to be taken advantage of.

I’ve made a list of some of the more common mistakes I see Newbies make in affiliate marketing.

One thing I see quite a bit of is Noobs picking the wrong affiliate program. For an affiliate program to be successful, it needs to be something that the masses want and are willing to pay money for. Specialty items can be marketed successfully if you can get the right kind of traffic, but generally they’re harder to sell than mainstream items.

Another mistake I see is Newbies trying to out sell major companies. Sure, the Internet is a great equalizer, but you have to have the experience and resources if you plan on taking on a big corporation with a nearly unlimited advertising budget. You’ll be better off targeted something that isn’t being sold 24/7 over radio, TV, print media and Cable outlets.

One of the biggest mistakes I see Noobs make is that they give up too soon. Affiliate marketing is a long term project and you should never enter this business thinking you’re going to strike it rich over night. When I start a website, I expect it to take at least 6 months to become productive if it’s in a low competition market. 12 to 18 momths if it is in a very competitive market. Sure, you can take a shortcut and use pay per click ad programs like Google Adwords, but you’d better have deep pockets and know what you’re doing!

A common mistake that many beginners make, or don’t understand, is how to get the right type of traffic to your sales page. Just because you get traffic, doesn’t mean you’ll sell anything. They have to be looking to buy what you’re selling or you just wasted time and money getting them to your site. Organic search traffic is the best converting traffic on the Internet…as long as it’s targeted to your offer!

Finally, another thing I see Noobs do is that they fail to pre-sell their products or services. Sure, everyone wants a Plasma TV, but why should they buy the one on your website rather than go to Wal-Mart or Best Buy? When someone lands on your website, your sales page should be written in a way that it will entice them to buy the product right then. If you don’t know how to do this, take a few courses in copywriting or hire it done.

About the Author:
If you are searching for an Affiliate Internet Marketing marketing marketing program to start making money with, then your search is over. These links will lead you to affilate marketing programs designed for Noobs and Advanced users alike. Just remember, the secret to making money with affiliate programs is traffic!

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