I’m contacted all the time from newcomers to the Affiliate Marketing industry. Their stories are all pretty much the same. They want to know why they’re not making any money with affiliate programs. And the answer to most of these questions are pretty much the same.

The mistakes I see these Newbies making are ones that have been made countless other times by countless other Newbies. It’s not that they set out to deliberately do the wrong things because many are taking the advice of so called Guru’s. What they don’t understand is that these Guru’s aren’t making money either. These Guru’s make money selling stuff to Newbs just like them.

I jotted down a few thoughts that will help you make more money with your affiliate marketing.

What kind of affiliate program are you using? If you’re trying to sell something like a Chia pet, then you have to realize that it’s been over done and there is little market for something like this online. The best affiliate programs to push are those that are in demand from the masses. Look for niches that few are covering and pick several. Then add traffic for success.

Take a look at your competition. Are there major companies already pushing the product with their huge advertising budget? It’s one thing if they are branding their product with advertising but it’s totally another if they are selling directly with their big budget ad campaign.

Sadly, a lot of beginners give up before they find success. Affiliate marketing is not an over night success. It takes time and patience. I’ve bought a number of websites of affiliate marketers who were getting out of the business. The previous owners had done an excellent job of promoting their website, but didn’t wait around to see that promotion pay off. Usually I’ll start to see income from their affiliate program within a month or so.

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!

One last thing I see beginners fail to do is pre-sell their products and offers. What will make someone buy from you rather than them continue to shop for the best deals on the Internet? You have to convince the traffic that you get that they need to buy right then. If you’re unsure of how to do this, read several books on copywriting or have it done for you.