It is hard for new affiliates to get a proper start in affiliate marketing without being bombarded with numerous crap offers. When most new affiliates decide to join the industry they do what every other person does that is starting a new job, they research and try to learn as much as possible. This is where is becomes difficult to separate the crap from truth.

Why New Affiliates Fail

New affiliates fail because they are buying into something existing that worked for someone else. I still get offers for ebooks, software, free seminars, ect. on how I could make $1,000,000 just like Mr. $$$ did. They might even show you pictures of their house, boat, car, or whatever to show you that they are rich because they did this. The problem is that whatever that may be, it probably doesn’t work anymore and if it did, so many people are doing it right now that you are not going to make squat compared to the time and effort you put in.

Another reason affiliates fail is because they get scammed into paying for something that is already free or that they shouldn’t have to pay for. Read my story about Dan who was new to affiliate marketing and almost lost $250 he would have to pay to join an affiliate program. No affiliate program should ever charge you to join their network or to advertise their product.

To learn more about common mistakes new affiliates make, I suggest you read my article Top 10 New Affiliate Mistakes.

You can also search Unmastered Affiliate for more great tips and resources on becoming an affiliate marketer.

One big mistake new affiliate marketers make is paying to join an affiliate program. This is commonly know as a pyramid scheme or a scam. It is usually very enticing and promises to make you rich. The fact is that the only person getting rich is the guy who came up with the scheme.

Take for example Dan, he approached me about three months ago and wanted to learn about affiliate marketing. I gave him lots of advice and resources (free) to learn more. He said he had just gotten back from doing a seminar with Mr. $$$ and that I should check it out to. he gave me the information and I told him I would check it out. The next day Dan calls me back and says he would like to have a conference call with him, me, and Mr. $$$. At first I really didn’t want to do it, but I wanted to support Dan as much as I could. So two hours later I am on a conference call with all three of us and we get talking about Mr. $$$ product and how it is going to “Revolutionize the Industry” and the rest of his sales pitch. Then came the time for me to ask questions. I didn’t care to much on what he was selling, but the way he was selling it. He wanted me to pay him $250 to join an elite network of sales people to sell his product. BIG RED FLAG New affiliates take notice, no network, affiliate program, or any company wanting you to sell their stuff should ever charge you any fee. Not even for a membership or “exclusive” deals. I kept asking him about this and he tried to explain it but I kept reminding him that no company I have every represented or worked for charged me to join them. To make a long story short, he finally gave up and said “I was missing out”.

The point of the story is that you have to be very careful on what you promote and who you work with. They can be very convincing. You NEVER pay to join a network or affiliate program! If you do, it is more likely a scam or some sort of pyramid scheme. Stay far away.