There’s no doubt that there are thousands of positive testimonials out there, but for every successful affiliate marketer there are hundreds more who have failed. Here are three common affiliate marketing mistakes and what you can do to avoid them:

1.    Getting too hyped up about the “next big thing” in affiliate marketing.

We’ve all been there. You hear someone’s “great idea,” something they’re convinced that the whole world will be lining up to buy. They get you and everyone within earshot psyched up about the windfall of profits that they expect to rake in with their big launch. The only problem is that there are no guarantees in affiliate marketing, and too many marketers learn this lesson the hard way.

Before you jump on a product’s bandwagon, it’s always best to know the history of its sales results. Instead of hoping to cash in on a new, untested product, choose products that are already selling well. That way you won’t waste your time or energy chasing false hopes.

2.    Joining too many programs and selling too many products.

Successful marketers know that having a laser focus is paramount to successful marketing. Overly-exuberant marketers often run their businesses like bulls in a china shop; they run blindly from this program to that program without seeing where they’re going. The result? A lot of projects that crash before they get off the ground.

Until you master the basics, slow and easy is the road you’ll want to take. Choose one product that you’d like to sell and start from there. Write your sales page. Practice A/B split testing. Learn from your results. You’ll soon discover that you can’t get anywhere by barging headfirst into business.

3.    Choosing products that have nothing to do with your website.

If you’re blogging about college degree programs, choose your products well. Becoming an Amazon.com Associate is a good choice when you’re blogging about college because college students buy books. What you don’t want to do, however, is place affiliate links on your site that have nothing to do with your target audience.

Also, keep in mind that if you place multiple affiliate links on your site, they should all be relatable and compatible with each other. For instance, adding a Dell Computer affiliate link on your college degree programs blog is compatible with your Amazon.com link because both businesses sell products that are of interest to college students.

Knowing the mistakes to avoid in affiliate marketing is just as important as knowing what works. As long as you choose products that are already selling, develop a one-project-at-a-time mentality, and offer your website visitors links to products that are compatible to their known interests, you will be on the right path to affiliate marketing success.

If you’re tired of working hard to promote your business and want to learn how to make your business work for you, here are three ways you can use your lists to build long-term relationships with your prospects:

Think targeted, not numbers. If you’re focused mainly on the number of people on your list and not their compatibility with your product, you’re going about it the wrong way. Newbie marketers often mistakenly think that having more subscribers is equivalent to earning more profits. This is simply not true.

Successful affiliate marketers will tell you that their fortunes were made from the quality of their leads, not the numbers of people one their lists. Be very specific about your offer, and work to attract subscribers who are specifically interested in your niche market. Your marketing efforts should appeal to your target market, not the entire world.

Put the Law of Reciprocity into overdrive. Here’s the deal. The more you give away free, the more money you’ll earn in the long run. The most successful marketers give away tons of stuff free. If you approach every transaction with a greedy mindset, you’ll soon be finding yourself closing shop and looking for another hobby.

Create something of value, and give it away for free. If it is a free report, target the most pressing needs of your customer base. Use this report as an opportunity for an upsell. Give them value but don’t give it all away free. Use the free report as a lead-in to a related but much more valuable product.

Consider the lifetime value of a customer. You don’t want to make a sale; you want to build a relationship with buyers. Keep in mind that if you give your customers what they want plus more, they’re more likely to make additional purchases from you in the future. The amount of money you can expect to make over the long term with each customer is called the Lifetime Value of a Customer (LVC).

The LVC is more valuable than just the purchases he makes over the course of time. It also considers the referrals he’ll make to others (and the referrals they make to others) when he is happy with his transactions with your company. This is why you don’t want “satisfied” customers; you want customers who are thrilled with their dealings with you. If you’re focusing on the sale, you’re using the wrong approach. Consider the potential reach of a sale, not just the immediate deposit in your bank account.

Listbuilding is about building relationships. Think of it as the difference between your friends and acquaintances. Making a one-time sale is like saying hello to an acquaintance. It’s friendly, but you don’t know if you’ll ever see that person again.  A lifetime customer, however, will be the long-term “friendship” that cements the foundation of your business.

Don’t Cut Advertising in a Down Economy
The last thing you want to do is cut your advertising lifeline. Online marketers depend on high-quality marketing to attract targeted traffic to their websites. Trim a little here and little there from your marketing campaign, and you may lose more than you had bargained for.

The truth is that during a weakened economy, your marketing efforts should go into overdrive. Why? Because many of your competitors will do what others do–belly-up and disappear–and this maneuver on their part will allow you to become more visible and fiercely competitive. As other affiliate marketers cut costs to save money, you should take this opportunity to stand head and shoulders above the competition.

Here’s the reality: While the economy is bad and a lot of people have lost jobs, most people are not broke and have not completely closed their wallets. There are people out there who want to buy what you have to sell. That’s why is more important than ever to invest in high-quality, high-impact copywriting and marketing services.

Find the best copywriter you can afford to create killer sales copy. That’s right. Don’t back down because you think people won’t buy your products. The fact is that they still want to buy, but they are being more selective about the quality of their purchases.

The Secret to Affiliate Marketing in a Recession
I realize that I am dangerously close to sounding like I’m lecturing to you, but there are three things you must focus on if you want your affiliate marketing business to thrive during tough economic times:

Salesmanship. Salesmanship. Salesmanship.

This must be your marketing mantra. You’ve got to sell your product in such a way that builds trust with your customers. That’s why you should operate your business with utmost integrity. The more trustworthy you are in the eyes of your customers, the more likely they’ll put out their credit cards and click on the “Buy Now” button.

Continue to promote yourself as an authority and take advantage of all the marketing opportunities that Web 2.0 has to offer. Find weak spots in your competitors’ marketing and be sure to stand out from the crowd.

Keep Your Prices the Same and Show that You Have Value

Here’s another point to consider: Continue to sell your products at the highest price the market will allow. People are still willing to pay for quality. Once you become a bargain basement business, you’re likely to cut your profit margin.  Charging less will not attract the customers you’re looking for.

Aggressively promoting your affiliate marketing business may not seem like a good move right now. However, while other marketers are holding back and stepping away from the market, this is your time to push your marketing machine forward, dominate your niche market, and thrive.

While you may hear horror stories about people who have seen a significant drop in online income, you should not let their misfortunes influence you. You can build a lucrative affiliate marketing business if you take the time to understand the buying behavior of your customers.

Here are three critical factors to remember when promoting your products to today’s customer:

1.    Your buyers insist on buying value.
More than ever, buyers are insisting on buying more bang for their buck. With so many news stories revolving around people who have been scammed out of their hard-earned cash, it’s no wonder why today’s consumer is more discriminating about their purchases.

This is where you’ll have to focus on incorporating the “thud factor” into your marketing. The thud factor refers to the size–or weight–of a package and the sound it would make if dropped on your desk. In everyday language, this simply means that you want to give them what they’ve paid for plus more–much more.

2.    They want to buy from someone they can believe in.
This is why you have to be sure that you operate from a mindset of integrity. Today’s affiliate marketer needs to instill confidence in his customers. Because a lot of people have lost their jobs due to company closures and layoffs, the Internet is fertile ground for a lot of scam artists looking to make a quick buck.

That’s why you need to work harder than ever to establish yourself as a solid authority and trustworthy business person. Answer customer questions promptly. Conduct your business with the utmost integrity and treat your customers with respect. Give them as much information as you possibly can about your product, and post testimonials with pictures from satisfied customers.

3.    Offer a rock-solid money back guarantee.
Today’s consumer is more willing to part with her cash if she knows that she has an escape route if the transaction is not what she had hoped for. However, if you create a high-quality product and give them a lot more than they bargained for, you’re likely to see fewer refunds.

Don’t be afraid to offer a double-your-money-back guarantee to instill more security in customer transactions. Build your affiliate marketing reputation on good customer service, even when your customer backs out of the deal. You may even want to consider letting the customers keep part of the package they’re returning as a bonus gesture of goodwill.

Affiliate marketing during tough economic times doesn’t mean that your wallet has to be empty. If you understand the buying behavior of your customers, your business can thrive despite today’s weakened economy.

If you want to stand head and shoulders above the crowd, think outside the box when you’re creating marketing campaigns. Don’t get caught up in trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead, put a new spin on an old product.  This is where you’ll want to get creative. Find a marketing hook that will spotlight your product in a different way. Connect it with something that is happening in the news. Stories are great hooks for spotlighting your product as a solution to a current problem so look beyond the obvious benefits for marketing ideas.

Here’s a fun idea: Don’t be afraid to draw attention to some of your own everyday adventures in your marketing campaign. Marketers will do just about anything to keep their customers interested. I’ve seen everything from skydiving to ocean cruises incorporated into marketing messages. People spend a lot of time on their computers, and if you give people insight into your world and entertain them in the process, you can probably find a marketing hook somewhere in your day-to-day life. Reward customers a one-of-a-kind experience when they land on your website.

If you want to build excitement about your product, create a contest. Customers love to get involved in the creative process, so ask them to name your product, develop a tag line, or find a new way to use your product. It’s not only fun, but you’ll get some great ideas for your business. Be sure that the prize is something that is particularly useful for your target market. Give away free products, offer a free membership in your mastermind group, or give away a month of free consultations. Create a win-win for both you and your customers.

Finally, if you want to remain competitive, you’ll need to master the skills of social networking. Listen, the face of Internet marketing is always changing. It’s not always the most polished person in the room who is the most successful sales person. For the Internet marketer, personality often pulls over polish. Take advantage of all the social networking sites to promote your products. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are very successful avenues for building a loyal following of prospects. These sites are very effective for building rapport with your niche market.

The key to long-term success is to have fun with your affiliate marketing business and to think creatively. Working online does not mean that you should keep your distance from customers. Establish yourself as an expert but also show your personality when marketing your business. Think outside the box and have fun by using unique ideas to create long-term profits for your affiliate marketing business.

If your affiliate marketing campaign is not a profitable one, take a closer look to see what you can do to market your business more effectively. While successful marketers use a myriad of strategies to promote their businesses, you’ll want to avoid these 3 fatal marketing mistakes that could kill your affiliate marketing business before you get it off the ground:

Don’t allow your budget to limit your goals. Many marketers begin with a budget and then create their plan of action. This is a mistake. You’ll first want to envision your goals and then develop a budget that can help you execute them. That’s not to say that successful marketing campaigns cannot be built on a shoestring budget. They can. However, many novice marketers have limiting beliefs about the money they’ll have to spend to build their businesses. For every dollar you earn in the beginning, you’ll want to reinvest it into your business so you can accomplish your goals. On the flip side, don’t get fooled into thinking that you can throw a lot of money into your affiliate marketing business without first creating a workable strategy.

Don’t be naïve. As the old saying goes, “Look before you leap.” Learn from other successful affiliate marketers. If you want to create a successful business, find out what your competitors are doing and apply their strategies to your business. First and foremost, don’t listen to the naysayers. They’ll only drag you down. Follow the experts. Take some risks. Find out what your competitors are doing and do it better. Finally, if you have weak spots in your marketing campaign, outsource to experts who can help you take your campaign to a higher level.

Don’t forget to relate to your target audience. Customers will be more willing to take out their credit cards and buy your product if they can relate to you. Before Dave Thomas of the Wendy’s restaurant chain passed away, he was featured in a series of company commercials. While he didn’t necessarily enjoy being in front of the camera, customers could relate to him and the commercials were successful. For affiliate marketers, using blogs and social networking sites like Twitter helps them connect with their audience. This is an essential element for affiliate marketing success, so don’t underestimate its effectiveness.

If you want your affiliate marketing campaign to gain momentum, don’t make mistakes that will kill your campaign. Create a workable budget, learn from the experts, and, above all, relate to your audience so they’ll want to buy what you’re selling. If you know what not to do in addition to what you should do, you’ll avoid some of the mistakes that will delay your affiliate marketing success.

The first mistake that many newbie marketers make is to choose a product that offers weak commissions. Think of it this way. You’ll be putting a lot of time and energy into marketing products for others. Unless you’re selling a high-ticket item, you won’t make much money on a 25% commission. Don’t let this dissuade you from pushing the popular $7 reports because, historically, these can generate a lot of income for you. These reports often have high sale rates, so you can make a good profit by promoting them. The best approach to take is to find a product that will pay you 50-75% commissions on each sale.

Second, don’t be persuaded by big promises. Be discriminating in your promotions. If you hop on the bandwagon with a product that is touted as the next big thing and it turns out to be a bust, your credibility will die along with the campaign. Be sure to thoroughly review anything that you promote. Buy the product. Use it. It may be tempting to jump on the bandwagon and strike while the iron is hot, but until the product launches you have no idea how the public will receive it. Once you’ve reviewed the product, you can write a comprehensive product review and post it on your site. You may be promoting someone else’s product, but anything you get involved with puts your name on the line.

Finally, don’t neglect to collect qualified leads. Treat them as clients not customers. You sell to customers. You look out for the best interests of clients. While your ultimate goal is to make the sale, you’ll want to do right by your prospects. Be sure that anything you promote to your list is personal and newsworthy. If you can tie a current event into the product you’re selling, it will grab your readers’ attention. Successful marketers will often pull ideas from celebrity headlines and tie them into their offerings. Don’t merely promote products. Using this approach will most certainly turn off a lot of the people on your list. People like to buy, but they don’t like to be sold to.

Creating a successful affiliate marketing campaign is easy if you temper your enthusiasm with an ounce of common sense. Promote products that offer a healthy commission so your efforts and hard work won’t be in vain; thoroughly review any product that you want to sell before you release it to your list so you can be sure it delivers on its promises; and continuously collect leads so they you grow and build a list that will create a healthy profit windfall for your business.

First, take a deep breath and relax. As you take your first step into affiliate marketing it may seem intimidating, but the process is really not all that complicated. Don’t get caught up in all the Internet marketing jargon and confusing language. You’ll pick up on the terminology as you go along. If you’re ready to set up shop and start making money, there are 5 basic rules you’ll need to follow to thrive:

1.    Create a website that is easy to navigate. Forget all the bells and whistles. Create a website that is easy for customers to navigate. Smart marketers know how to avoid the 7-second death. The 7-second death refers to the amount of time it takes a website visitor to click away because they’re not interested in your offering. The more you complicate the visual layout of your website, the more likely you’ll lose valuable customers. Keep it simple and make the buying process easy for your customers.

2.    Start small and then increase your Internet presence. Don’t let lack of funds prevent you from starting your affiliate marketing business. At first, you might want to advertise through Clickbank. Then, invest in Adwords. Once you begin making money, you may be tempted to celebrate by spending your first affiliate marketing paycheck, but don’t. Instead, reinvest that money into PPC ads and other ways to increase your presence. Don’t forget to take advantage of YouTube to create videos for your business. Most affiliate marketers begin their journey with baby steps, taking one step at a time.

3.    Pay attention to current trends. You may have dreams of creating the next big trend, but the smart marketer knows that following trends is more important than attempting to invent something new. Let the market be your guide. If a new widget is flying off the virtual shelves, strike while the iron is hot and cash in on current trends.

4.    Be the go-to authority in your field. It’s important to establish yourself as an authority in your field. Start blogging. Give tips and tricks that are helpful for your target market. Create how-to YouTube videos and link them to your website. Your job is to be first in the minds of your target audience when they have a problem they want to solve. Once you establish yourself as the go-to authority in your field, you should see a direct relationship to the number of sales that you make.

5.    Write product reviews. One of the most common mistakes that affiliate marketers make is that they fail to write product reviews for the products they’re selling. Buy the product. Test it. Write a review that is helpful for your prospective clients.

Creating a successful affiliate marketing business is not as difficult as you may think. As long as you have a plan and work steadily toward your goals, you can create a thriving Internet business that will create a sizeable income for years to come.

There are also some pitfalls to Internet marketing–and to any business start-up in general–that many people fall in to from time to time. You’ll do a better job of avoiding them if you know what they are. Here are 3 mistakes to watch out for.

Trying the next thing before you’re finished with the last. This is one of the hallmarks of the newbie marketer. Given the massive amount of information out there plus the ADD nature of the Internet, it’s an easy one to fall into.

There’s always going to be some new product, niche, or marketing method popping up, with somebody claiming it’s the latest and greatest way to make money online. And sometimes, they’re even right. But you won’t make money with them–or with anything else–if you don’t stick with your projects until they’ve launched.

This doesn’t mean you should try one thing, only, ever. Most of us have had failures with some niches or methods, and successes with others. And many successful affiliate marketers have their hands in more than a couple of baskets.

But before you set off on that next project, make sure your first one is fully off the ground: Your web site is built, your blog is fired up, and you’ve driven a little traffic to your site to see how things go. Work those bike pedals real hard, and you’ll be able to feel the breeze and coast for a little bit. But you’ve got to work those pedals hard, first.

Failing to maintain what’s already in place. To continue whit the bike metaphor a little further: even a coasting bike needs to be pedaled once in a while.

This is especially true when you’re starting out. We’d all love a good “set and forget” moneymaker. But if you really want to be a success, you need to maintain your efforts–writing or buying new content, making sure your traffic is consistent, enlarging your traffic sources and finding new products to promote, etc.

Giving up. Someone once asked Thomas Edison how he made it through the almost ten thousand failures that led up to his first successful light bulb. He is said to have replied that he didn’t have ten thousand failures–he had 9,999 chances to learn how to finally get it right.

This is the attitude you have to take with your affiliate marketing projects. Not every one of them is going to be a success. In fact, your first several might not be successes. It’s a tough market out there, and getting tougher all the time.

But if you’ll just stick with it and take an honest look at why your projects haven’t done as well as you’ve wanted them too, you’ll overcome the hurdle that keeps 90+% of would-be Internet marketers out of the game, and finally achieve your deserved success.