I have given an interview to the Affilorama affiliate training portal which operates out of Christchurch, New Zealand. We’ve had good chat with Chris who made sure the discussion was full of thought-provoking questions, and I thank him for structuring the interview the way he did. I really enjoyed it.
Among the questions covered, we have touched upon the following two:
Question: Could you tell us what you think the biggest mistakes beginners make in affiliate marketing so that we can try to avoid them?
- Putting all eggs in one basket (trusting wholeheartedly any single merchant, affiliate network, or investing your money into one campaign, or focusing on just one method of promotion)
- Spamming
- Leaving the call-to-action out
- Failing to test
- Failing to spend time learning
- Expecting quick results
and
Question: When you’re an affiliate and you’re looking through new affiliate programs to promote, what do you think are the most important things to look for within the affiliate program? What are indicators of a really good affiliate program versus a questionable one?
- Search the Internet for any feedback on the program
- Ensure that the program doesn’t partner with affiliates that are known for being unethical
- Look at the key metrics (reversal rate, EPC, conversion rate, etc)
- Review the tools and creatives that are made available to affiliates
- Ensure there’s a real person behind the program (email them)
In addition to these we have also discussed topics as diverse as (a) how affiliates can improve their writing skills, (b) what exactly is the U.S. advertising tax, and how it may hurt the affiliate marketing industry, (c) how the new Federal Trade Commission’s rules and regulations may affect affiliates, (d) why it is important to develop personal relationships between affiliates and affiliate program managers, and much more.
You may listen to (or download) the full interview here (you’ll want to scroll down to the bottom of Chris’ post). I hope you will find it of use, and if it raises additional questions, do not hesitate to post them below.