4 Common ClickBank Affiliate Marketing Mistakes

One of Murphy’s Laws states that, “If there is a wrong way to do something, then someone will do it.”

While funny, it is true… and thousands of beginner ClickBank affiliates make several cardinal mistakes when trying to promote infoproducts. Their efforts yield no fruit and after a while, they give up and assume that online marketing and ClickBank is a scam.

The truth of the matter is that many of these pitfalls can be easily avoided if you only knew what or where they were – and this article is going to tell you exactly what you need to know.

1. Choosing the wrong product

One of the biggest mistakes that affiliates make is choosing a product blindly just because it’s on the bestseller list. If you’re a beginner and you see a product in the ClickBank marketplace with a high gravity, that means it’s selling well and many affiliates are making bank with it.

Here’s what they don’t tell you – these affiliates are very experienced and the market is very competitive. Since you’re new, you’ll not have the skills to compete in such a saturated market… yet.

You’re better off digging through the listings looking for promising products that are not on the bestseller list. This advice may sound contrary to whatever you may have heard but rest assured that every bestselling product started off with a low gravity before sales took off.

Look for a product that has an attractive sales page and persuasive sales copy. The sales page should intrigue you and make you feel like you want to buy it. Compare it with similar products on the bestseller list. Can the new one that you’re looking at hold it’s own against the competition? If yes, go for it.

2. Unethical products

This is especially prevalent in the health niche. There have been products about improving your vision, how to grow taller and other ridiculous claims that are all hype and don’t deliver on their promises.

When customers send in complaints after purchasing these digital piles of rubbish, ClickBank will remove these products from the marketplace. If you’ve built a website promoting these products, now all your links will be broken and sales will come to a standstill immediately.

So, you’re better off choosing reputable products that don’t make pie in the sky claims. Not only will they be around for a long time, but your tribe will thank you for recommending them.

Wait, what? A tribe???… Read on.

3. Not having a ‘tribe’

A tribe is basically a group of people who like, trust and follow you. You can build a tribe through a blog or with a video channel, Facebook group, etc.

The premise is always the same. You are viewed as an authority and people trust what you say. This can only happen if you share information that helps them solve their problems and achieve their goals.

Many newbies neglect to build a tribe. They blindly run advertisements, or make low-quality videos hoping to rank for a few search terms that may occasionally pick up a sale.

While this can happen, because even a blind pig stumbles upon an acorn every now and then… it is not a recommended long-term approach.

You’ll want to set up a blog or video channel or some group where people can congregate and consume the content that you’re putting out. The more content you offer, the more loyalty you’ll get and they’ll be more likely to buy what you recommend.

Digital products usually need more convincing than tangible products, especially in niches that are not in the ‘make money online niche’. So, build your tribe and convince them that the products are worth getting.

4. Not building a list

This is probably the biggest flaw of the lot. Most beginners are looking for easy solutions. They just want their affiliate hoplink to directly link to the offer. That helps them avoid the hassle of setting up an opt-in page (bridge page), a freebie, an autoresponder and so on.

“Gasp! So many moving parts! I just want to make moneyyyyy!!!”, the newbie exclaims.

And yet, everyone and their grandmother is saying that the money is in the list – and that’s because it is. Decisions, decisions.

While setting up an opt-in page with the autoresponder and free download are a few extra steps that require more effort come with the inevitable learning curve – it’s these steps that make all the difference.

A visitor who lands on your YouTube video may go from your link straight to the sales page of the offer you’re promoting, spend a minute on it and disappear off to Netflix. That will probably be the last you see of them.

Attention spans are extremely short these days. If the link pointed to an opt-in page, the visitor would have been tempted to leave his email for a free download.

Now you’d have captured his email and can market to him over and over via email. It doesn’t matter if he has flitted off to Netflix or Pornhub. You have him by the… email.

You know what they say – it takes several ‘contacts’ or exposures to the same offer before someone buys it. Being able to market to the same people repeatedly will improve your chances of making sales… and as your list of subscribers grows, your rate of success will improve exponentially.

To conclude, always remember to study the offer well before promoting it. Also make sure it’s an ethical offer. Then build a tribe… and create a list from that tribe.

If you get these 4 pointers down, it’ll just be a matter of time before you catch up with the big players and you’ll be able to promote the bestselling products and still compete effectively against the rest. That’s a cool place to be.

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