3 Mistakes I Made As a Newbie Affiliate Marketer Trying To Make Money Online

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular and lucrative ways to make money online. It involves promoting other people's products or services and earning a commission for every sale or action that you generate. Sounds easy, right?

Well, not quite. As a newbie affiliate marketer, I made some common mistakes that cost me time, money and reputation. In this blog post, I will share with you the 3 biggest mistakes I made and how you can avoid them.

Mistake #1: Choosing the wrong niche

One of the first steps in affiliate marketing is to choose a niche or a topic that you want to focus on. This is important because it will determine the type of products or services you will promote, the audience you will target and the content you will create

However, choosing a niche is not as simple as picking something that you are passionate about or interested in. You also need to consider the profitability, competition and demand of the niche.

I made the mistake of choosing a niche that was too broad, too competitive and too saturated. I thought that by choosing a popular topic like health and fitness, I would have more opportunities to make money. But I soon realized that I was competing with thousands of other affiliates who had more experience, authority and resources than me.

I also struggled to find products or services that were relevant, high-quality and profitable. Most of the offers I found were either low-paying, scammy or outdated. I wasted a lot of time and money trying to promote products that nobody wanted to buy.

How to avoid this mistake:

- Do your research before choosing a niche. Use tools like Google Trends, Keyword Planner and Clickbank to find out what topics are trending, what keywords are searched for and what products are selling well.

- Narrow down your niche to a specific subtopic or audience that has a clear problem or need that you can solve or fulfill. For example, instead of health and fitness, you could choose keto diet for women over 40 or yoga for back pain relief.

- Validate your niche by testing the market demand and competition. You can do this by creating a landing page or a blog post with an opt-in form or a call-to-action and driving some traffic to it using paid or free methods. If you get a good response rate, then you have a viable niche.

Mistake #2: Not building an email list

Another mistake I made as a newbie affiliate marketer was not building an email list from the start. I thought that I could just drive traffic to my affiliate links or offers and make money on autopilot. I didn't realize the importance of building a relationship with my audience and providing value before asking for a sale.

I learned the hard way that traffic is not equal to sales. Most of the people who visited my website or clicked on my links did not buy anything. They either bounced off, got distracted or forgot about me. I had no way of following up with them or reminding them of the benefits of the products or services I was promoting.

I also missed out on a lot of opportunities to upsell, cross-sell or promote other related offers to my audience. I left a lot of money on the table by not capturing their email addresses and sending them regular emails with valuable content and relevant offers.

How to avoid this mistake:

- Start building an email list from day one. Use an email marketing service like Mailchimp, Aweber or ConvertKit to create an opt-in form or a landing page where you can collect your visitors' email addresses in exchange for something valuable like a free report, ebook, video or coupon.

- Create an email sequence that welcomes your subscribers, introduces yourself and your brand, educates them about your niche and your offers, builds trust and rapport with them and persuades them to take action.

- Send regular emails to your list with useful tips, stories, case studies, testimonials, reviews or comparisons that showcase the benefits and features of the products or services you are promoting. Include clear and compelling calls-to-action that direct your subscribers to your affiliate links or offers.

- Segment your list based on their interests, preferences, behavior or actions and tailor your emails accordingly. For example, you can send different emails to those who opened your emails vs those who didn't, those who clicked on your links vs those who didn't, those who bought something vs those who didn't etc.

Mistake #3: Promoting too many products:

The third mistake I made as a newbie affiliate marketer As a new affiliate marketer, you may be tempted to promote as many products as possible to increase your chances of making sales. However, promoting too many products can dilute your efforts and confuse your audience. Instead, focus on a few high-quality products that you believe in and that align with your niche and audience.