This error is so common with new affiliate marketers that it has its own name and reputation. Many marketers warn against this. Countless words have been written on it.
What exactly is the “next bright shiny thing”? It’s the next software package, the next training session, the next secret hack, the next secret method that promises you instant affiliate wealth with little or no work. We know in our rational minds that this can’t possibly be true or that the marketer who is sending us their latest wealth secret may not be emailing us but following this secret method.
One of my (author Ted’s) mentors was legendary marketer Gary Halbert. He’ll make marketing messages so attractive that you’ll think, it can’t possibly work. But then the voice in your head will be, but what if it worked? Millions of people responded and handed over their money.
It’s the same with internet marketing gurus who are making promises of riches and fame faster than we can read them. Their siren call is so alluring that it’s hard to resist—especially when you’re doing what you have to do to present the method you’ve chosen to work with. It may take one to three months before you start seeing affiliate income from your efforts.
During your hard work, you will find plenty of messages from affiliate marketing sirens singing their catchy songs that have the potential to lure you to your affiliate marketing death. If you don’t stay on track and start bouncing from siren call to siren call, you’ll never put in enough effort for anyone to see success.
Fighting attention deficit disorder
None of the pitfalls in this chapter have anything to do with not buying the right software tool, not buying the right course, not paying for that promised secret to affiliate marketing wealth. It’s all about you and how you prepare, implement and operate your new affiliate marketing business. This is why no affiliate marketer can promise you any income. We don’t know what exactly you’re going to do to make your new affiliate marketing business a success.
Lack of focus is one of the biggest pitfalls. This is probably the other side of “the next bright shiny thing” (see previous section). Because if you’re focused on your chosen path, what you need to do to achieve affiliate marketing success, the siren calls of affiliate marketers trying to turn your head will lose their appeal. . (Of course, to focus you need to know the right things to focus on, and those are linked to two other pitfalls we’ll cover later in this chapter: your education. (Not investing in, and engaging in.)
The illusion of multitasking efficiency is just that – an illusion. Study after study shows that when you shift your focus, it takes you ten times longer to get back to where you were. So if you’re constantly jumping from task to task, you’ll never get back to where you were and you can’t go back to the original workflow.
Break your work into 30- to 45-minute chunks. During this time, focus on one task. Nothing else — no emails, no notifications, no phone calls, no distractions. Do what you need to do to create the conditions that work best for you. An affiliate marketer I know (author Ted) goes to the library. Another built a small writing shed at the back of his property. Do whatever you have to do. If you can maintain your focus for more than 30-45 minutes, by all means. Do whatever it takes to get and maintain the best conditions for your work. (Turn to Chapter 4 for additional guidance.)
Not investing in yourself and your education
Reading this book was your first investment in your education to guide you to affiliate marketing success. Investment doesn’t just mean money, though; It also means time. To be successful in affiliate marketing, you must acquire new skills.
This book is the first step in that process, and there will be more. Almost every software vendor in our recommended programs has its own free library of training videos, articles, and FAQs to help you learn to use their product or service effectively.
The Internet is constantly changing; New opportunities appear, and old opportunities may no longer be attractive. But never fear – affiliate marketing will be alive and well into the future. These are just the details that may change over time and require adjustments to your procedures — for example, the updated Terms of Service (TOS) and updated FTC regulations that you may be up to. Dates are required (see Chapter 16). Keep your learning fresh, and never stop learning and testing. Invest in what works, and minimize or eliminate what doesn’t.
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