If you're new to affiliate marketing, there are a few things that you need to know about marketing your affiliate products - because if you get these wrong, chances are, you're never going to make more than a few sales.

Affiliate Marketing Mistake #1: Choosing the Wrong Product

This is a biggie, and probably one of the biggest mistakes that new affiliate marketers make.

How do you choose the best affiliate products?

There are several ways. You could choose products based on their popularity or you could choose products based around your current business.

For example, if you run a business such as a travel business, you could find a number of affiliate products…what about a book on 'best' travel destinations?

There are also physical products that you could sell like digital cameras or luggage. The point is to look for affiliate products that complement what you're already selling.

You could also choose affiliate products based on how much commission you'll make - but think carefully before choosing this as your top method of deciding what products you want to sell.

Finding quality products should always be your top concern - because if the products you're selling are not what you would buy yourself, the end result is that while you might make sales, you're also going to get lots of refund requests - which means you'll end up not making the profit or return on investment that you planned for.

Affiliate Marketing Mistake #2: Marketing the Product the Wrong Way

We've all seen the ads that say "Make Tons of Money with No Product and No Website" - those ads are usually about affiliate marketing.

But think about it for a minute. If you could REALLY do that - wouldn't everybody be doing it? That old saying that "if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is" holds true when it comes to affiliate marketing.

Before deciding on how to market your affiliate product you need to determine the following: Who are your customers? What do 'they' want? How does 'your' product solve their problem or give them what they need? Where are you going to find your customers?

You need to find out as much information about them as possible; you need to know where they shop, what their greatest fears are, what magazines they read or what Internet pages they visit. Market your affiliate product where they hang out.

Affiliate Marketing Mistake #3: Not Writing the Right Kind of Sales Copy

Although it's not absolutely necessary to hire a professional copywriter, it is necessary that you learn the 'basics' about copywriting and write sales copy that will appeal to your market.

You need to know what kind of questions your prospect has about your affiliate product; what kinds of objections they might have and make sure that you're answering them.

Add 'credibility' with testimonials to show that other people have bought the product and love it. When you're selling affiliate products, the really good marketers will provide you with sales copy, email copy, etc.

This is great because it's often been written by a professional copywriter who understands the market.

However, even if you're given a sales page or pre-written emails to send out to your list, you don't want to use it word for word. Make a few changes to give it your own original touch.

Make it fresh and original so that your prospect doesn't see the exact same ad somewhere else - you'll lose credibility if that happens.

If you're offering a bonus for someone to buy your affiliate product, make sure that the bonus goes along with the product.

Don't give away recipes if you're selling a book about travel. Make sure your bonus relates to the product and gives 'value to your prospect.

For example, you could write your own eBook that tells how to get the most out of the affiliate product. That's something that no one else will be able to sell, because it's yours.

Whatever you do, when it comes to affiliate marketing, it's easy to avoid making marketing mistakes just by doing a little thinking and strategic planning before you get started. And the truth is you can make a very good living just from selling affiliate products, as long as you do it the right way.

To Your Success!

Paul Gallion