Affiliate marketing has got to be one of the most rewarding careers that you could ever pursue in your whole life and 1 of the greatest decisions that I have ever made.
However, there are many things you need to know in order to be successful and this is the main reasons why most people give up before they even get started.
I for one have attempted this many times in the past and have failed more times than I would like to admit and in the following blog post I’ll be sharing the top 5 things you I have had to have in order to come out on top.
If you have ever struggled as an affiliate marketer in the past, or perhaps you’re struggling right now and can’t seem to make any of this work for you then you’re definitely going to want to stick around and read this article in its entirety.
I’ll be sharing a few of my own personal struggles that I faced when I first started as well as a few things that I’m currently struggling with to this day and how I find the motivation to continue working.
I encourage you to follow along and ask any questions that you may have at the end of this article in the comments section below and I’ll do my absolute best to answer them for you to the best of my ability.
Let’s get started, OK?
1) Confidence
To be quite honest with you guys today, this is something that I’ve struggled with a good deal of my adult life and this is definitely at the top of my list for things that I personally feel that you need to succeed in this industry.
If you aren’t confident in what you’re doing or believe in yourself then your chances of becoming successful aren’t very likely.
I feel like confidence is the key to just about anything in life but this especially plays a crucial role in affiliate marketing and without it, you might as well not even attempt this.
It’s important to keep in mind that you are building a business here so you will face lots of issues along the way along with many roadblocks and other distractions so be prepared and don’t let this get you down.
Also if you don’t truly believe in yourself and aren’t confident in building your brand and building a relationship with other people then why should other people trust you in the products or services that you recommend?
Thats something you need to seriously think about, don’t you think?
If you aren’t a confident person then perhaps affiliate marketing isn’t the right business model for you and you might want to consider other options for making money online.
2) Having The Right Mindset
Having the right mindset has got to be another 1 of the key factors that determine whether you’ll be a successful affiliate marketer or the type of person who quits after their first month or 2.
Mindset is key as this is another thing that took me a while to change my way of thinking after I consulted with many of the successful members of Wealthy Affiliate.
After having a serious talk with a few of the people who were earning a consistent 4, 5, and even 6 figure monthly income I started to change my way of thinking and eventually I was able to see the bigger picture.
Instead of expecting instant gratification and expecting to see results overnight I was able to change my way of thinking and understand that this is a business and that these types of things aren’t built overnight.
Before you get to the point to where you’re earning consistent revenue from your website it’s going to take a great deal of time, hard work, patience, and determination before you see any results.
Think of it like this if you will, money is nothing more than the bi-product to all of this and it’s your reward for all the hard work, time and effort that you have put in.
If you focus your attention more on helping people solve a problem and get excited about helping other people out I can assure you that the money will follow.
Make sense to you guys?
Let’s continue on, shall we?
3) Think Of This As A Long Term Investment
Affiliate marketing mainly requires 2 types of investments, your time and money and can take quite some time before you’re able to physically see any type of ROI on either of these things.
This is the main reason why most people fail in this industry and never make their first $1 online.
Personally, for me, it took me close to a year for me to learn everything I needed to know to even make any sense of all this and another 4 months before I made my first sale in the online world.
While I do admit this takes more of a time investment than it does investing your hard earned money, if you’re able to invest enough of both of these then your future is bright and you will likely go on to be very successful in this business.
It’s also important to remember that everyone is different and not everyone picks up on things at the same rate as other people.
What may take someone 6 months to a year to learn could take other people 4 to 5 months to learn the same thing as we are all wired differently.
I would personally recommend that everyone devote at least a year to this and don’t expect to see any results until that time.
It seems like this is the breaking point for most people and when they’re able to finally start to generate some type of income from this venture.
4) You Need To Be Willing To Fail Several Times
Anyone who has been successful either online or in some other industry has never got things right the first time and as a matter of fact they have likely failed several times before they got it right.
Do you think Steve Jobs got it right the first time when he created the first Apple computer?
What about Thomas Edition who is one of the most successful inventors and businessmen of all time?
One of his most famous quotes was that he never failed, he just found 10,000+ ways that didn’t work but never considered himself as a failure.
This all leads back to your mindset and the way that you perceive things.
Also by allowing yourself to fail, you’ll be able to learn from your mistakes and this will naturally help you do things right the next time.
Like I said earlier, I have failed several times and it took me years before I was able to get things right and headed in the right direction before I was able to be successful.
I know this may sound counterproductive and seem like you’re doing things backward but it’s actually a requirement if you want to be in this industry for the long term and turn this into a career.
5) Finding The Right Training
Ultimately, I have saved the best for last and without this crucial step then all the things that I’ve listed above will do you absolutely no good.
Having the right training is like the missing piece to the puzzle that will enable you to make all of this work and fill in the blanks.
Over the years I have attempted to go through other training programs that claimed to have the answer and show me the real way to build an affiliate marketing business but in the end, they failed to deliver and left me more confused than I was when I originally started.
Finding the right training program that will actually walk you through this entire process step by step is like finding a needle in a haystack as over 90% of so called affiliate marketing opportunities are a scam and they could care less about helping you out.
Instead, they focus on seeing how much money they can squeeze out of you and sell you on the idea of making money online without showing you how to actually do this.
As you can see if you don’t have the right training then you might as well not even attempt to try and make money with affiliate marketing as you’ll be wasting your time.
So what training program do I recommend as the best way to get started with affiliate marketing?
I’ll be revealing this in the next section so continue reading to find out!!
My Closing Thoughts & Overall Recommendation
If you have ever attempted to build an affiliate marketing business but failed to make the connection and ended up throwing in the towel shortly after you got started then I encourage you to give it another go.
Like I said earlier this can be one of the most rewarding careers that you could ever pursue but it can also be extremely frustrating especially if you don’t have any help or support or the right training.
If you use the 5 things that I have shared with you guys above and use them as a guide then you will definitely be on your way to being much more successful in this venture than if you were to go about this on your own.
If you’re looking for the best training program online that will show you the proper way to get started building your own business based on a passion or hobby of yours then I would highly recommend that you check out Wealthy Affiliate.
This is the place that has shown me how to build a thriving online business over the past 5 years and I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for the right way to get started in this industry.
Not only will you be gaining access to some of the highest quality training in the industry, you’ll also have me there by your side to help you out and answer any questions you may have as you’re getting started.
If you’re serious about learning all you can about affiliate marketing I would highly recommend that you check them out for yourself and see what they can do for you.
They make it easy for you to get started by offering their Free Starter Membership which provides you with everything you need to get started for free without asking for your credit card details beforehand.
I really hope this post has helped you guys out and motivated you to get started building your affiliate marketing business.
Have a question for me that I failed to answer above? I would love to hear from you and answer any remaining questions that you may have.
Leave them for me in the comments below and I’ll get back with you right away with a detailed reply.
Until Next Time
~Your Friend, Scott~
Get A World Class Affiliate Marketing Education Here With Wealthy Affiliate