Guide You are not alone - 22 Typical affiliate mistakes πŸ“‰πŸ₯²

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servandosilva

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Ever felt like you're failing and failing again in the affiliate life? Do you feel like everything you test flops, and you're the only one not making any progress?

Well, trust me. We all felt like that at some point in our affiliate careers. Think about pretty much any problem outside of the affiliate life. It was a problem that made you suffocate, and you thought life was unfair because it was only happening to you, but later, you dealt with it and moved on.

For every problem you live in your life, there are probably thousands, if not millions, of persons out there going through the same. Just think about that 10-year-old forum post you found while Googling on page 3 from a person online who was having the same problem you're living right now.



Well, in terms of the affiliate world and lifestyle, you don't have to use Google to search for it because afflift is here for you. But honestly, no matter what we say, you will likely encounter some ups and downs during your affiliate journey, even if you read about them.

Experience comes with testing, and sometimes the things you read only make sense once you experience them.

So, before becoming such a spiritual guru in this post, let's go over a few mistakes affiliates make in the 1st year of their journey, so you can avoid them, or at least you won't feel alone once they happen.



1. You will confuse or mistake half of the acronyms in the industry

It's fine. It takes a while to speak our language. Here's a guide to help you.


2. You won't understand tracking

And it will look as if you were reading a foreign, super tech-savvy language.
Tracking takes time. For some people, it takes a few weeks. For others, it takes a couple of months. Once you learn to track, you will understand most of it, no matter which tracker you use. Meanwhile, please copy and paste what we explain in the guides and courses, or use the preset templates.


3. You will confuse affiliate networks with traffic networks

Sometimes you will sign up (incorrectly) as an advertiser in an affiliate network or as a publisher in a traffic network and get rejected, especially because some companies do both sides of the game under the same dashboard and homepage.


4. You will get rejected on some affiliate networks

Some networks want people with some experience to reduce the risks of fraud conversions or to minimize overhead. Don't worry. Some networks are more newbie-friendly. Start there and work your way to the top.


6. You will launch a campaign that doesn't track

The click ID or the postback are set up wrong, or the dynamic tokens are incorrect. Don't worry. Create a thread in the correct forum category, add some screenshots of your current setup, and we will help you solve it.


7. You will launch a campaign to a broken link

It happens to the best of us. Don't launch campaigns at 2 am or while being drunk.


8. You will be scared of landing pages

Landing pages can be scary to non-tech-savvy. Basic HTML/CSS knowledge goes a long way, but initially, you need to know you don't need to be a great coder or a web designer to get started. Direct linking will be your best friend while you learn the ropes for the first months. You can also use a tool like PureLander or learn how to spy.


9. You will launch a campaign with a bid 10-1000x higher than average.

And your budget will disappear in a flash. You either confused CPM for CPV or added a 0 to the right. Take the loss and re-launch.


10. You will launch a campaign with an unlimited budget

And your whole funds will disappear in the next few hours. Make sure you set up daily budgets and check your campaigns once they're sent for approval. If it already happened, take the loss and move on.


11. Your landing pages will be flagged by Google or other antivirus systems

Congratulations, you got your first flag. Check this guide to see how to proceed. No, the universe isn't against you.


12. You will have cashflow issues

Unless you come from a different industry with a decent cushion of savings, you're trying to make affiliate marketing a full-time online job for the first time. And you will eventually have a campaign that makes money so fast that you will need to empty your funds in the traffic source while you wait for your first payment. Try working with networks that have lower payment thresholds.


13. You will hit your first green day only to discover the next day is red again or the volume dropped

Create a follow-along, and we will help you with this. Campaigns aren't 100% stable. There are ups and downs, and learning the algorithm is part of the game.
Just because you have a $50/day campaign today, it doesn't mean you will earn $50/day for the rest of the year.


14. You will come thinking you can profit from your first $500 and turn them into $1,000

Only to discover you probably need a few thousand to learn the ropes, a lot of patience, dedication, and taking action.


15. You might think affiliate marketing is for introverts because it kind of is

However, you're dealing with persons (managers) on both sides, along with affiliate friends and more. It pays to be friendly, respectful, and understand that we are all in for the money.


16. You will pay for courses

And many of them won't work for you. Sometimes a course is terrible, but many times it's also our fault for not following through and giving it time. If courses were affiliate campaigns, I'd say 1 out of 3 works for me, and I know it's probably my fault in most cases. It doesn't mean they don't work for other people. Also, the Pareto principle applies very well here. 80% of the affiliates that try probably won't make it past the first two months.


17. You will get kicked off an offer

Or your manager will reduce your payout due to quality issues. It happens to all of us at some point. The type of traffic and your angle matter in terms of quality, and pre-selling your audience on your landing pages is critical to get pay bumps. But sometimes, it's just the type of traffic that doesn't back up, and you don't have much control due to targeting restrictions.


18. You will pause campaigns with potential

Because you don't like "losing" money or because you don't know how to optimize them correctly. If you have a conversion in your first campaign, consider yourself lucky. Don't let your campaign die so quickly if you have an ROI of over -50%!


19. You will fall in love with some campaigns

Just because it took you 3 hours to make that excellent landing page doesn't mean it's guaranteed to work. And just because the manager recommended the offer and the offer page "looks great, because, who wouldn't love a free iPhone," it doesn't mean it will work for you. DOn't fall in love with your tests. Trust the numbers and data.


20. You will test multiple traffic sources and ad formats

Only to realize you should focus on 1-2 traffic sources and double down until you learn the ropes.


21. You will struggle with hosting and landing pages

Don't worry, it's easier than learning tracking, and it's also cheap. You will understand it eventually. Create a thread if you have questions.


22. You will suffer the shiny object syndrome

One week you want to test pops. Next week you want to do Push on Propeller. Next month you learn an affiliate is killing it on FB. Then you read about SEO and how it's kind of "passive income."

Don't.

You learn by staying in your lane and focusing on one thing. You might regret jumping ship a few months later.

Select a traffic source. Select a vertical. Select an ad format you want to learn, and finally, commit and take action.

You are not alone. We all made one or many of these mistakes. Keep fighting.

 
kaminari
Yup, can say I did most of these. Pausing campaigns too early was my biggest problem. I would spend a few bucks, not get a conversion, and then pause and move on to my next idea. I guess I expected every campaign to be +100% ROI from the start 🀣
 
I am just curious @servandosilva

Since you have been on the affiliate game for close to 10 years? Can you share if through the years your income from affiliate campaigns are steadily increasing year by year or is it stable or is it decreasing? Let's say if you compare your income of 2021 to say 2015, what would it look like?
 
Ever felt like you're failing and failing again in the affiliate life? Do you feel like everything you test flops, and you're the only one not making any progress?

Well, trust me. We all felt like that at some point in our affiliate careers. Think about pretty much any problem outside of the affiliate life. It was a problem that made you suffocate, and you thought life was unfair because it was only happening to you, but later, you dealt with it and moved on.

For every problem you live in your life, there are probably thousands, if not millions, of persons out there going through the same. Just think about that 10-year-old forum post you found while Googling on page 3 from a person online who was having the same problem you're living right now.



Well, in terms of the affiliate world and lifestyle, you don't have to use Google to search for it because afflift is here for you. But honestly, no matter what we say, you will likely encounter some ups and downs during your affiliate journey, even if you read about them.

Experience comes with testing, and sometimes the things you read only make sense once you experience them.

So, before becoming such a spiritual guru in this post, let's go over a few mistakes affiliates make in the 1st year of their journey, so you can avoid them, or at least you won't feel alone once they happen.



1. You will confuse or mistake half of the acronyms in the industry

It's fine. It takes a while to speak our language. Here's a guide to help you.


2. You won't understand tracking

And it will look as if you were reading a foreign, super tech-savvy language.
Tracking takes time. For some people, it takes a few weeks. For others, it takes a couple of months. Once you learn to track, you will understand most of it, no matter which tracker you use. Meanwhile, please copy and paste what we explain in the guides and courses, or use the preset templates.


3. You will confuse affiliate networks with traffic networks

Sometimes you will sign up (incorrectly) as an advertiser in an affiliate network or as a publisher in a traffic network and get rejected, especially because some companies do both sides of the game under the same dashboard and homepage.


4. You will get rejected on some affiliate networks

Some networks want people with some experience to reduce the risks of fraud conversions or to minimize overhead. Don't worry. Some networks are more newbie-friendly. Start there and work your way to the top.


6. You will launch a campaign that doesn't track

The click ID or the postback are set up wrong, or the dynamic tokens are incorrect. Don't worry. Create a thread in the correct forum category, add some screenshots of your current setup, and we will help you solve it.


7. You will launch a campaign to a broken link

It happens to the best of us. Don't launch campaigns at 2 am or while being drunk.


8. You will be scared of landing pages

Landing pages can be scary to non-tech-savvy. Basic HTML/CSS knowledge goes a long way, but initially, you need to know you don't need to be a great coder or a web designer to get started. Direct linking will be your best friend while you learn the ropes for the first months. You can also use a tool like PureLander or learn how to spy.


9. You will launch a campaign with a bid 10-1000x higher than average.

And your budget will disappear in a flash. You either confused CPM for CPV or added a 0 to the right. Take the loss and re-launch.


10. You will launch a campaign with an unlimited budget

And your whole funds will disappear in the next few hours. Make sure you set up daily budgets and check your campaigns once they're sent for approval. If it already happened, take the loss and move on.


11. Your landing pages will be flagged by Google or other antivirus systems

Congratulations, you got your first flag. Check this guide to see how to proceed. No, the universe isn't against you.


12. You will have cashflow issues

Unless you come from a different industry with a decent cushion of savings, you're trying to make affiliate marketing a full-time online job for the first time. And you will eventually have a campaign that makes money so fast that you will need to empty your funds in the traffic source while you wait for your first payment. Try working with networks that have lower payment thresholds.


13. You will hit your first green day only to discover the next day is red again or the volume dropped

Create a follow-along, and we will help you with this. Campaigns aren't 100% stable. There are ups and downs, and learning the algorithm is part of the game.
Just because you have a $50/day campaign today, it doesn't mean you will earn $50/day for the rest of the year.


14. You will come thinking you can profit from your first $500 and turn them into $1,000

Only to discover you probably need a few thousand to learn the ropes, a lot of patience, dedication, and taking action.


15. You might think affiliate marketing is for introverts because it kind of is

However, you're dealing with persons (managers) on both sides, along with affiliate friends and more. It pays to be friendly, respectful, and understand that we are all in for the money.


16. You will pay for courses

And many of them won't work for you. Sometimes a course is terrible, but many times it's also our fault for not following through and giving it time. If courses were affiliate campaigns, I'd say 1 out of 3 works for me, and I know it's probably my fault in most cases. It doesn't mean they don't work for other people. Also, the Pareto principle applies very well here. 80% of the affiliates that try probably won't make it past the first two months.


17. You will get kicked off an offer

Or your manager will reduce your payout due to quality issues. It happens to all of us at some point. The type of traffic and your angle matter in terms of quality, and pre-selling your audience on your landing pages is critical to get pay bumps. But sometimes, it's just the type of traffic that doesn't back up, and you don't have much control due to targeting restrictions.


18. You will pause campaigns with potential

Because you don't like "losing" money or because you don't know how to optimize them correctly. If you have a conversion in your first campaign, consider yourself lucky. Don't let your campaign die so quickly if you have an ROI of over -50%!


19. You will fall in love with some campaigns

Just because it took you 3 hours to make that excellent landing page doesn't mean it's guaranteed to work. And just because the manager recommended the offer and the offer page "looks great, because, who wouldn't love a free iPhone," it doesn't mean it will work for you. DOn't fall in love with your tests. Trust the numbers and data.


20. You will test multiple traffic sources and ad formats

Only to realize you should focus on 1-2 traffic sources and double down until you learn the ropes.


21. You will struggle with hosting and landing pages

Don't worry, it's easier than learning tracking, and it's also cheap. You will understand it eventually. Create a thread if you have questions.


22. You will suffer the shiny object syndrome

One week you want to test pops. Next week you want to do Push on Propeller. Next month you learn an affiliate is killing it on FB. Then you read about SEO and how it's kind of "passive income."

Don't.

You learn by staying in your lane and focusing on one thing. You might regret jumping ship a few months later.

Select a traffic source. Select a vertical. Select an ad format you want to learn, and finally, commit and take action.

You are not alone. We all made one or many of these mistakes. Keep fighting.


Love this list @servandosilva

We should almost look at this list as a to-do list and get a sense of "making progress" when crossing off these items. ^^

Because each "mistake" is one step further into the journey and each learning is one step closer to our goals.

Thanks for sharing!
 
Im guilty in a few points :D
That's good :) As long as we recover from our failures, we're just learning.


Yup, can say I did most of these. Pausing campaigns too early was my biggest problem. I would spend a few bucks, not get a conversion, and then pause and move on to my next idea. I guess I expected every campaign to be +100% ROI from the start 🀣
Yeah, the fear of losing money initially is real.


I am just curious @servandosilva

Since you have been on the affiliate game for close to 10 years? Can you share if through the years your income from affiliate campaigns are steadily increasing year by year or is it stable or is it decreasing? Let's say if you compare your income of 2021 to say 2015, what would it look like?
@DEADZ very well described the affiliate (or any entrepreneur) journey with this image:
I have been running campaigns for 7 years approx. My income from 2015 was substantially lower than it is now, as well as my savings/investments. Instead of looking at profit/day levels, you either look at monthly or yearly profits.

In the last couple of years, I have tried to build moats around my campaigns and also focused a lot on building assets (that I can sell) and investing. Affiliate campaigns come and go and 1 month you could be earning $1k per day and the next month $100 per day. Some campaigns last for months, others last a few weeks, and others last a few days.

Great points.

If affiliate marketing was easy - every tom, dick and harry would be insanely rich. It is hard and that makes the journey worthwhile.
Correct :)


Love this list @servandosilva

We should almost look at this list as a to-do list and get a sense of "making progress" when crossing off these items. ^^

Because each "mistake" is one step further into the journey and each learning is one step closer to our goals.

Thanks for sharing!
I love this idea LOL. My objective would be to avoid most of them if you can, but once you do, instead of feeling bad, just look at it as "achievement unlocked" LOL. One step backward, two steps forward.


You have some good points there @servandosilva, in fact 22 points! LOL

I think one of my biggest ones is 22 as I tend.... oh look shinny........
There's definitely a time to look for new shiny businesses. But definitely not every 2 months and not when you're getting started to drop everything again and again.
 
you don't have to use Google to search for it because afflift is here for you.
I am so lucky to join Afflift and it has become a daily morning routine to see and read what's new. I am grateful for this platform.
8. You will be scared of landing pages

Landing pages can be scary to non-tech-savvy. Basic HTML/CSS knowledge goes a long way, but initially, you need to know you don't need to be a great coder or a web designer to get started. Direct linking will be your best friend while you learn the ropes for the first months. You can also use a tool like PureLander or learn how to spy.
TBH, I am still nervous about designing and making LPs in alignment with advs' landers. Practice makes perfect for sure, so I am trying to make this practice a habit :)
21. You will struggle with hosting and landing pages

Don't worry, it's easier than learning tracking, and it's also cheap. You will understand it eventually. Create a thread if you have questions.
I spent lots of time knowing the basic of hosting and html, but now it's much better thanks to relevant threads here and Purelander's support. :)

Amid many ups and downs in my mind as well as my work, I am now targeting survey offers and recently saw the breakeven points and sometimes green on both my tracker and traffic source. I think I am still in the daily circual process of learning-application-evalucation. I hope I can be an affiliate-savvy professional in the long-term future.

Thanks for your post, @servandosilva :)
 
Amazing list Servando. I've experienced so many of these and can see from the list there's more that I will eventually run into. Everyone of these are an opportunity to learn and hone your skills. Tracking, for example, can be incredibly confusing and time consuming. Once you get the hang of it you can set things up in a fraction of the time it first took.
 
Great post!

23. You will select an offer with highest payout but its CR will be lower.
 
Great post!

23. You will select an offer with highest payout but its CR will be lower.
Ah!
This one is pretty good. Simple math tells us that for two or more similar offers, the one with the highest payout winsβ€”a hard lesson to learn.


Also:

24. You will select high payout offers

Thinking you will make more money or thinking you only "need one conversion" to make that money back. Still, later you will realize low payout offers are better for beginners, as it fits the budget better, and you get enough data to learn how to optimize campaigns.
 
Ever felt like you're failing and failing again in the affiliate life? Do you feel like everything you test flops, and you're the only one not making any progress?

Well, trust me. We all felt like that at some point in our affiliate careers. Think about pretty much any problem outside of the affiliate life. It was a problem that made you suffocate, and you thought life was unfair because it was only happening to you, but later, you dealt with it and moved on.

For every problem you live in your life, there are probably thousands, if not millions, of persons out there going through the same. Just think about that 10-year-old forum post you found while Googling on page 3 from a person online who was having the same problem you're living right now.



Well, in terms of the affiliate world and lifestyle, you don't have to use Google to search for it because afflift is here for you. But honestly, no matter what we say, you will likely encounter some ups and downs during your affiliate journey, even if you read about them.

Experience comes with testing, and sometimes the things you read only make sense once you experience them.

So, before becoming such a spiritual guru in this post, let's go over a few mistakes affiliates make in the 1st year of their journey, so you can avoid them, or at least you won't feel alone once they happen.



1. You will confuse or mistake half of the acronyms in the industry

It's fine. It takes a while to speak our language. Here's a guide to help you.


2. You won't understand tracking

And it will look as if you were reading a foreign, super tech-savvy language.
Tracking takes time. For some people, it takes a few weeks. For others, it takes a couple of months. Once you learn to track, you will understand most of it, no matter which tracker you use. Meanwhile, please copy and paste what we explain in the guides and courses, or use the preset templates.


3. You will confuse affiliate networks with traffic networks

Sometimes you will sign up (incorrectly) as an advertiser in an affiliate network or as a publisher in a traffic network and get rejected, especially because some companies do both sides of the game under the same dashboard and homepage.


4. You will get rejected on some affiliate networks

Some networks want people with some experience to reduce the risks of fraud conversions or to minimize overhead. Don't worry. Some networks are more newbie-friendly. Start there and work your way to the top.


6. You will launch a campaign that doesn't track

The click ID or the postback are set up wrong, or the dynamic tokens are incorrect. Don't worry. Create a thread in the correct forum category, add some screenshots of your current setup, and we will help you solve it.


7. You will launch a campaign to a broken link

It happens to the best of us. Don't launch campaigns at 2 am or while being drunk.


8. You will be scared of landing pages

Landing pages can be scary to non-tech-savvy. Basic HTML/CSS knowledge goes a long way, but initially, you need to know you don't need to be a great coder or a web designer to get started. Direct linking will be your best friend while you learn the ropes for the first months. You can also use a tool like PureLander or learn how to spy.


9. You will launch a campaign with a bid 10-1000x higher than average.

And your budget will disappear in a flash. You either confused CPM for CPV or added a 0 to the right. Take the loss and re-launch.


10. You will launch a campaign with an unlimited budget

And your whole funds will disappear in the next few hours. Make sure you set up daily budgets and check your campaigns once they're sent for approval. If it already happened, take the loss and move on.


11. Your landing pages will be flagged by Google or other antivirus systems

Congratulations, you got your first flag. Check this guide to see how to proceed. No, the universe isn't against you.


12. You will have cashflow issues

Unless you come from a different industry with a decent cushion of savings, you're trying to make affiliate marketing a full-time online job for the first time. And you will eventually have a campaign that makes money so fast that you will need to empty your funds in the traffic source while you wait for your first payment. Try working with networks that have lower payment thresholds.


13. You will hit your first green day only to discover the next day is red again or the volume dropped

Create a follow-along, and we will help you with this. Campaigns aren't 100% stable. There are ups and downs, and learning the algorithm is part of the game.
Just because you have a $50/day campaign today, it doesn't mean you will earn $50/day for the rest of the year.


14. You will come thinking you can profit from your first $500 and turn them into $1,000

Only to discover you probably need a few thousand to learn the ropes, a lot of patience, dedication, and taking action.


15. You might think affiliate marketing is for introverts because it kind of is

However, you're dealing with persons (managers) on both sides, along with affiliate friends and more. It pays to be friendly, respectful, and understand that we are all in for the money.


16. You will pay for courses

And many of them won't work for you. Sometimes a course is terrible, but many times it's also our fault for not following through and giving it time. If courses were affiliate campaigns, I'd say 1 out of 3 works for me, and I know it's probably my fault in most cases. It doesn't mean they don't work for other people. Also, the Pareto principle applies very well here. 80% of the affiliates that try probably won't make it past the first two months.


17. You will get kicked off an offer

Or your manager will reduce your payout due to quality issues. It happens to all of us at some point. The type of traffic and your angle matter in terms of quality, and pre-selling your audience on your landing pages is critical to get pay bumps. But sometimes, it's just the type of traffic that doesn't back up, and you don't have much control due to targeting restrictions.


18. You will pause campaigns with potential

Because you don't like "losing" money or because you don't know how to optimize them correctly. If you have a conversion in your first campaign, consider yourself lucky. Don't let your campaign die so quickly if you have an ROI of over -50%!


19. You will fall in love with some campaigns

Just because it took you 3 hours to make that excellent landing page doesn't mean it's guaranteed to work. And just because the manager recommended the offer and the offer page "looks great, because, who wouldn't love a free iPhone," it doesn't mean it will work for you. DOn't fall in love with your tests. Trust the numbers and data.


20. You will test multiple traffic sources and ad formats

Only to realize you should focus on 1-2 traffic sources and double down until you learn the ropes.


21. You will struggle with hosting and landing pages

Don't worry, it's easier than learning tracking, and it's also cheap. You will understand it eventually. Create a thread if you have questions.


22. You will suffer the shiny object syndrome

One week you want to test pops. Next week you want to do Push on Propeller. Next month you learn an affiliate is killing it on FB. Then you read about SEO and how it's kind of "passive income."

Don't.

You learn by staying in your lane and focusing on one thing. You might regret jumping ship a few months later.

Select a traffic source. Select a vertical. Select an ad format you want to learn, and finally, commit and take action.

You are not alone. We all made one or many of these mistakes. Keep fighting.

I think you highlighted the issues pretty well, and these are really some of the most common mistakes that affiliate marketers make, especially at the beginning of their journey. I would tell that numbers 4, 8, 14, and 24 are something that happens very often and that many people need to be aware of this when they are starting with an affiliated career. In fact, this should become some kind of a beginner affiliate bible, as it would be useful for many newbies to go into detail through this. :)
 
learn how to spy
This is critical in my opinion...

Trying to create a converting LP without spying is like shooting at a target wearing a blindfold, expecting to hit the bullseye. o_O

I wouldn't run another campaign using landers (been there, done that) until I could afford a good spy tool.

The $90+ a month will save you that much in wasted traffic, many times over. (y)

Plus, it will really help your self confidence by making you successful in a shorter time. (y)

Less chance of giving up before you really succeed. :cool:

My Beginners Strategy

1. Buy a spy tool for Pop traffic once you are ready to start using landers in your campaigns (it is the most affordable). (y)
a. Just remember you will make more money using landers, (for the same traffic spend) so don't be afraid to create landers once you can afford a spy tool.

2. Stick with Pop traffic while you learn tracking, spying, and creating landers (it's the most affordable). (y)


3. Always ask the affiliate network you are using for the best performing GEOs before putting together a campaign (better chance of success). (y)


4. Try to stick to tier 2 and 3 GEOs the traffic is cheaper... good way to learn for less money. (y)


5. I suggest after The Beginners Guide you stick with The intermediate Guide until you start being profitable on a regular basis. (y)


6. Always check this thread for promo codes/deals before buying traffic, tools, etc. (y)


Let's face it for most of us beginners, money is an ISSUE, we can't play (learn) if we can't pay. :cool:

It's good to have some kind of strategy laid out (for me, anyways).

This what I have learned after being a member for little under a month and failing (learning) left and right. :cool:

Hope it helps! :)

P.S. Thank you servandosilva for creating this thread, we newbies salute you! (y)
 
Last edited:
1. Buy a spy tool for Pop traffic once you are ready to start using landers in your campaigns (it is the most affordable). (y)
Update:

DON'T buy a spy tool until you can qualify for the bigger affiliate networks...

Why?

Because I joined Anstrex and they didn't cover the affiliate network I am using Zeydoo.

What good it is to me if I can't spy on the offers I can run?

Zeydoo won't even assign me an AM until I am running big traffic.

So, as a beginner you are shut out of many things until you prove yourself...

Nice! (n)
 
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