Subject: Why Affiliates Fail

YouÕve probably heard about people who get started in affiliate marketing expecting easy money and end up making little to nothing. Maybe youÕre one of those people. If so, donÕt feel bad. It happens to the vast majority of people!

So what exactly causes so many people to fail catastrophically at affiliate marketing?

Well, there are actually a number of reasons for it. The most common is simply giving up far too easily. People may try for a day or two, maybe a few weeks, and then they simply give up because they arenÕt earning much (or anything.) The trouble is that most people give up before theyÕve had time to learn enough to start making good money!

Other people donÕt even really try that hard to begin with. They may buy a bunch of Òhow to make moneyÓ products with the intention of following through, but they are never convinced they can actually make any money, so they donÕt even try. Or maybe they throw up one blog post or product review and then throw up their hands and say, ÒI knew it was impossible!Ó

Affiliate marketing is hard work. Sure, you get to do it from your air conditioned home while working in your underwear (if you want), but itÕs work all the same. 

Sending traffic directly to your affiliate link is quick and easy, but did you know itÕs not always the best course of action? If youÕre not using landing pages, reviews, bonuses, and other advanced affiliate tactics, youÕre just leaving money on the table. There are plenty of ways to improve your odds of making money, or increase your earnings if youÕre already making some. WeÕll take a look at some of these methods in future lessons.

Another reason many people fail at affiliate marketing is because they depend too much on a single traffic source and then they get slapped. Maybe Google hits them with a penalty. Maybe their paid traffic source changes its rules and they canÕt use it anymore. When you focus too much on one single traffic source, youÕre setting yourself up for failure.

So whatÕs the solution?

Building an email list!

Building an email list can help you build a source of traffic that is practically immune to things like Google slaps and TOS changes, and helps you develop a stable source of income.

In our next lesson, weÕre going to take a look at some of the ways building a list can help you reach your affiliate marketing income goals, and how it can help shield your business from changes that could destroy it. Be sure to look for the next lesson in your inbox soon!
