5 Affiliate Marketing Myths Completely DEBUNKED!

We live in a time where information gets exchanged at the speed of light and as a result it’s very easy for misinformation to get spread in only a matter of hours, never mind days or even weeks. It’s because of this fact that the term “due diligence” becomes so important. Even with all this information at our fingertips it’s easy to understand that sometimes finding what you’re looking for can still be difficult when you need to dig under all that garbage to get there. That’s where this article is going to lend a helping hand.

Let’s talk about some of the more common myths you may have heard tossed around in an effort to separate fact from fiction and just plain confusing misinformation.

This first one is really common with absolute beginners and that is…

Getting started with affiliate marketing is difficult

Does affiliate marketing work? Yes, it does. Is it difficult? This is simply not true. In fact, I would argue that it’s one of the easiest things anyone could do in many cases in an effort to start your own career as a marketer and build that lifestyle you’ve always wanted for yourself.

Most major retailers have affiliate programs these days. Check out places like:

• Amazon
• WalMart
• Ebay
• iTunes
• the list goes on…

Not only will you find affiliate programs at those familiar places but you will find a bunch of affiliate networks which allow just about anyone to sign up and begin promoting products at will, or after a simple approval process. An example of some of these places are:

• Commission Junction (currently goes by cj.com)
• Shareasale
• Rakuten (formerly LinkShare, they’ve changed a lot since those days)
• AffiliateWindow
• Clickbank (the one, the only)

The list above is by no means all-inclusive; there are so many more options out there so let’s just say this is only the tip of the giant affiliate marketing iceberg. What this means for you or anyone wishing to get started as an affiliate marketer is that you have options… so, so many options!

Always go where the big money is

A lot of people have this mindset that lures them into the deep side of the pool and then they drown. Let me be the first to say that when I first got started on my own path as an affiliate marketer I was guilty of this same thing. Luckily I’ve since learned my lesson and corrected course and I’m so glad that I did.

You can earn a very comfortable living selling just about anything. Remember those pet rocks that seemingly came out of nowhere and took the scene by storm? The guy who came up with that idea actually became a millionaire off that one idea alone! If rocks with faces painted on them can make someone that kind of cash then surely you can see why only sticking to a niche with massive money in it isn’t at all required.

That being said, you do need to account for scalability and profit margins and things like that. You might be able to step foot in an arena and do very well for yourself but if the walls are too close and the ceiling is too low you’ll only be able to go so far. You may not become a millionaire in every niche you jump into but you can still do very well. Besides, who says you need to stick to only one thing?

Residual income = “Set & Forget”

Nope, nope, nope… so much nope!

Here is where the confusion comes in where residual and passive income is discussed. Everything you do will one day become obsolete; there’s just no way around it. What this means is that you have to be on top of your game and keep things relevant. Letting yourself or your products, and in many cases even your marketing tactics become irrelevant could spell death for your marketing career.

All too many times people find success in one small area, figure out some system they can set up and just let it run nearly completely hands-free. Sure, this will usually work for a while and it will be fantastic as it does. But you have to ask yourself one thing: “What’s going to happen when it doesn’t?”

I promise you that one day that passive income stream will dry up and if you don’t have something already set up to take its place or if you are not proactive in keeping those streams of income updated and relevant then you’re in for some hard times.

People hate affiliate marketing & won’t buy from my links

True! Most of the time when dealing with other marketers on a small scale you’ll find some form of affiliate link bias where you’ll get people circumventing your affiliate links in an effort to “stiff you out of your cut”. The thing about that however is the fact we really only see this phenomenon happen among our own community and nowhere else.

Most people won’t even realize that they are buying from an affiliate offer even when you announce it in plain English that you are an affiliate and all sales made through your links will result in you gaining commissions (as is required by law, in case you didn’t know).

Affiliate marketing is dying

Try telling that to the patrons of this multi-billion-dollar industry and see how many agree with you!

Affiliate marketing is not dying by any means just to put it in simple terms. It is however changing and many people seem to think change means the end of something, it doesn’t, it just means change.

The way things are ran now compared to how they went back then are pretty different in some ways and completely the same in others. Tools and concepts have become much more sophisticated while general “best practices” often times tend to remain the same or very similar. This is because human nature doesn’t change very much over a short period of time and the process of marketing is very much a human psychology ‘thing’.

That said, there is no denying the power of the internet has lent itself to a well-informed consumer. People will fire up their phones and check reviews and price-shop around for just about anything these days. What this means is it’s up to us as marketers to do our job and offer something that our target audience wants while presenting it in an enticing and sophisticated manor.

In Conclusion

There is so much information available to you from so many different sources it’s difficult to keep track of even a fraction. This means it’s important to seek out the best you can find in an effort to truly advance your own skills and earning potential… that’s where we come in. We help you with great affiliate marketing ideas and recommend the best affiliate marketing blogs.

At Powerhouse Affiliate you’ll find nothing but some of the best training in the affiliate industry which is constantly being updated and added to. You’ll learn how to build your own email lists with relative ease and if you’re a beginner we even offer a really great businesses in a box that that’ll take you from marketing newbie to a marketing ninja!

We strive to keep our membership costs within reach of everyone who might be interested and you can rest assured that you’re covered by our money back guarantee. So if you’d like access to our exclusive training, a private forum where you get to bump elbows with industry professionals on the site and a bunch of other cool stuff then you owe it to yourself to head over to the main member’s website and check it out for yourself.

Just click on CPA Affiliate Training and see all the cool features awaiting you on the other side.