7 Affiliate Marketing Mistakes Bloggers Should Avoid

If you want to make money with your blog by promoting products and services, you want to be sure you aren’t making these affiliate marketing mistakes. Affiliate marketing is a great way to create semi-passive income from your blog and email list.

I state semi-passive because you should always be promoting your links. However, you can earn from writing a single blog post that has affiliate links in it. Many bloggers love this method because it’s easy to get started. You simply sign up for affiliate programs, promote your links, and earn a commission!

But, there are some things you need to be aware of as you venture into affiliate marketing…

7 Affiliate Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1 – Jumping Right Into Paid Advertising

Once you have found a great affiliate product to promote, you may want to spend money to send a ton of traffic to your link or the posts where your linked have been added. However, if you aren’t carefully you will lose money with paid advertising.

Begin with free traffic methods, such as social media. Share your links on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Create great content around your affiliate links so that people click through and purchase on your recommendation. The time you spend working free traffic will likely allow you to profit much more in the long run!

Mistake #2 – Focusing Solely on Trend and Fad Niches

While hitting a topic while it is hot is a great idea for traffic and even affiliate income, it’s usually not a sustainable way to make money. Once the subject dies down, so will your earnings.

Mix the trends in with evergreen content (ideas you can benefit from for years to come) so that you milk the fads as they come and still have substantial income coming on a residual basis.

Mistake #3 – Promoting Shoddy Products

One of the biggest affiliate marketing mistakes you can make is promoting any and every product you come across. That is NOT how you find success! It is highly recommended that you only promote products and services you have personally tried. This lets you create helpful tutorials and reviews about the affiliate products, in turn giving your loyal fans the information they need to make a purchase.

A side note to promoting everything under the sun – you will soon be figured out. People will start to notice all you are blogging or emailing for is to make money rather than be helpful! Give more than you take, and always remember quality is better than quantity.

Mistake #4 – Not Building a List

Many affiliate marketers don’t realize the importance of building an email list. However, with a loyal list of buyers, you have the potential to increase your income with each email you send out. Start an email list with ConvertKit the day you get approved for affiliate programs. That way, you aren’t leaving any money on the table!

Keep in touch with your subscribers by emailing at least once a week. Provide helpful information related to your niche, and don’t be afraid to include an affiliate link or two.

Mistake #5 – Misleading Your Audience

Yes, this has been done. Affiliate marketers will lead their fans down the wrong path just so they can promote an affiliate product or service to “solve” their problems. It will not take long for someone savvy enough to call you out, and your reputation could be ruined.

This is one the biggest affiliate marketing mistakes you want to avoid. Once your reputation is gone, you will have a hard time getting people to trust you again.

The number #1 rule in affiliate marketing – always be helpful!

Mistake #6 – Not Connecting Promos to Newsworthy Stories

Relating your affiliate promotions to things going on in the world will help your readers stay on top of problems and present you as a helpful problem solver.

For example, when mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus are running rampant in a given area, discuss how a particular clothing line provides skin protection against the pests. This will make readers residing in/near the area thankful for a solution. They will likely click right through and buy some clothing!

On the other hand, if you simply talked about how stylish or comfortable the clothing is, that may not be enough for most people to buy. It’s all about connections and making your products seem like must haves.

Mistake #7 – Relying on Copy and Paste Content

Affiliate marketers need to be real when they are promoting a product. Copying and pasting a “swipe email” (emails provided by the product creator for you to use in promotions) doesn’t do you or your readers any favors. Use the swipe email as a starting point, but be authentic and share your own experiences or thoughts about the product.

Likewise for the product details on the sales page. The reader can click through and get that information. What they need from you are personal experience and opinions. Did the product work as described? What was your favorite feature? Provide the details a reader won’t get from the sales page!

Learn Affiliate Marketing from Someone Earning $50,000/Month With It!

If you really want to ramp up your affiliate marketing success, I highly recommend you take Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing by Michelle from Making Sense of Cents. With her blog, Michelle has had multiple $50,000+ months, just from affiliate marketing.

I took her course in 2016 and it helped me immensely on all of my blogs. I have put many of her tips and tricks into action and have seen great results!

Are there any other affiliate marketing mistakes you would add to this list?