Is affiliate marketing too competitive? There are approximately 7.6 billion humans on the earth. And, good or bad, there are about 10,000 affiliate marketing programs out there. Some are more successful than others. There is always room for someone with an idea and passion to pursue affiliate marketing.
The beauty of it is, you don’t have to settle for just one thing. You can grow into many things over time.
What will guarantee affiliate marketing success? Nothing. I can say, though, if you don’t start, how will you have success at all? (okay, maybe that sounds like your mother speaking)
Here are a few pointers that might help you start on the right foot.
It’s About Giving, Not Getting
Success in affiliate marketing is really more about what you are willing to give. People are looking for guidance and support. If you can offer that, combined with offering products or services that pay you a commission, you will be a bigger winner.
It’s still about “know like and trust”. I know it must sound cliché at this point, but your people, tribe, followers or whatever you will call them, will have to find you and believe that you can help them.
Where their story intersects with yours will be the gold.
Sharing What is Relevant to Your Audience
Be in tune with your audience. What do they want? Believe it or not, this is more important than “What do they need?”. Why? As humans, we don’t always know what we need.
In a previous life I worked in the insurance industry. A wise coach told me, “sell them what they want, and then go back to sell them what they need.”
As a marketer, you will want to be in touch with both wants and needs and know when to offer the thing that will help your people AND put money in your pocket.
Telling Your Own Story
Some people seem to have wonderful life stories of travels or family or other adventures. I’m not one of them. Are you?
People do business with people. Share your story – your REAL story. It is likely to resonate with many more people than you think. Those with whom it resonates best – they will become your strongest supporters, and maybe even become friends.
Using Your Own Voice
Are you one of those happy, gregarious people? If so that should be the tone of what you do. If not, don’t try to be something you’re not.
I like to be honest and tell it like it is. I try to not be judgmental. I’m not overly happy, but I like to be conversational. Thankfully, I learned to type back in the “old days” on a manual typewriter. So when I’m buzzing along on a computer keyboard – I can type almost as fast as I think. That does help.
But I digress.
Find your tone. Find your voice. Be Yourself.
Work on Social Platforms that Make Sense For You And Your Audience
If your audience is primarily on Instagram and you are not. Get with it. You will have to figure it out quickly.
On the other hand, if you just don’t want to use it, don’t. Guess what – it’s a big world of social media out there, and you can use Facebook and have success too.
There is no one answer. You have to interact socially online in a way in which you are comfortable. If you are not a member of the “Twitterati”, forget it.
It’s better to select one thing and do it well, then to try to do too many things and not get the audience you need to help your efforts and put money in your pocket.
Use Online Tools That You Are Comfortable With
Everyone has online tools that they love. As you get started, it’s likely that suggestions from others will come out of the woodwork (an old fashioned idiom, but, hey, I’m old and I know it!).
Figure out what works for you. There are a few tools that you will probably need to use:
- Something for graphics. Many people use canva.com. I have preference for Stencil. You have to pay for it, but it works much more smoothly than canva and has tons of images included (you pay for them in canva).
- Video: Maybe – it depends on your online “chops”. If you like learning things, I use InVideo, which is pretty easy and great.
- Keyword helper: Google can be a big help when it comes to keywords. Just use the search bar, and it will automatically begin to fill in phrases that others have searched for. I use another tool along with that called Jaaxy. You can try Jaaxy for free, and it can also help tell how your website is ranking on Google.
If you don’t like using any particular tool, or process, you just won’t do it – and that may prevent you from finding success.
There Are Communities Of Affiliate Marketers Who Don’t Compete With Each Other
There actually are communities of affiliate marketers out there who work to help one another with questions and problems. Each may have her or his own niche and audience. But this proves there is room for all kinds of marketers out there – including you. Competition within these communities does not exist. I like Wealthy Affiliate, and you can start for free and see if you like it, or look around for a group you like.
Bottom Line
I hope you now realize that you can set yourself apart as an affiliate marketer, that there is no competition with others – only competition with yourself. You have to be the one who discovers your passion AND your soul and get the wheels rolling.
What do I do? Read about my program here.
I totally agree with this text. Affiliate marketing is something that has become very popular lately, but the fact is that more and more people are buying online, especially now at a time of viruses when very few people are leaving the house. Many people are involved in affiliate marketing but not all are equally successful because it is very important to find the right way to attract audiences with quality strategy and content, and not all marketers are committed enough to the business, for those who know their goal, there is no competition.
I agree that commitment is extremely important over a long enough period of time to find success. Thanks for your thoughtful comment!
This is actually a par that most people are scared to go and I really understand the reason for such actions. On more close look, every form of business is actually competitive, but it’s best you save yourself from the external pressure and go at your own pace, but make sure you are making progress in the process.
Ah, this is a very good one really and I’m just so happy that you can tell me about affiliate marketing and if it is competitive or not. I just joined the business and when one looks at the vital point of niche marketing then we can agree that affiliate marketing is truly not competitive because everyone has the market they would be selling to. All in all, affiliate marketing is a great way to make money online.
Thanks for your great comments. I know you will have success! There is room for everyone with passion and determination.
Hi
I think that there are so many potential customers in the world that the market will never be saturated, as long as there is one person looking for something then there is a potential market for you. With Affiliate marketing, it is about findingbthrvright niche and then do everything in your own power to make it happen. You do not get anything if you do not prepare to put the effort in. You must become a trusted guide for people and eventually they wi become your customers.
A great article
Antonio
Antonio, I love your thoughts and you are so right. Put in just a little effort and get back so much more in return – plenty of room for everyone in every niche!
Thanks for putting this together and sharing it out here, it is a good thing for affiliate marketers or even those who are planning on going into the business to know more about it so that it’ll help the understand it better. I believe every business has it’s own ways, in affiliate marketing, you need to know how make your business more attractive and enticing to your customers. It can be competitive, it depends on how far you’re willing to take it.
Thanks for the stats, I never really thought that there are that many human live in this earth. No wonder why the animals are suffering. You are right it is all about giving like helping others in order to be successful in this field. This reminds me of Seth Godin. Having the right tool will also help us a long way. I will check Wealthy Affiliate and Jaxxy out.
I believe there is room for persons who are interested, in my experience starting was the biggest hurdle, you will have those days but as long as you are committed. you can provide all the resources. But you still have to put in the work, I agree with the need and want process, gain your traction then proceed from there. A great article.
Thanks, Tracey!
I think it’s not the argument of whether or not affiliate marketing is competitive but rather whether or not it promises the same success for everyone and like you said, the answer to that is definitely no. It works differently for different people nevertheless I think these tips you’ve given will go a long way in helping people.
Life itself is competitive. And there will surely be a space for someone who has something tangible to sell to the audience. Good information,idea, product and services and so on. People are daily looking for those who can meet their needs especially financially. So I think affiliate marketing is just norm
Hey there, first of all, thank you for sharing the tools you have mentioned inside. Thanks for that InVideo link that allows me to pay a one time fee vs monthly. Much appreciated! As far as my approach with affiliate marketing, I strive to give my readers consistent valuable content. Thanks for sharing yours views and tips on affiliate marketing.
I love sharing tools. Invideo is fantastic, even if you use it for family videos. You can make them look really professional with ease.
This has certainly been an impactful article for me to read. I have gotten into affiliate marketing, got into it very recently, but as I move forward with my niche, I find myself questioning whether it’s a good idea to go into affiliate marketing. Should I even pursue it? is it too competitive? Can I separate myself from others? These are questions that you have answered with this article and I truly appreciate that. Thank yous so much for this, and I wish you the best on your endeavors
There will always be room for you and your ideas and truth, Misael! If I can help at all, my coaching is offered at no charge. Just reach out.