(Image is 2 panels. If you never know failure-You will never know success.)
96%… seriously??!!
Well, maybe 96% isn’t an exact figure. But enough people use this when describing how many affiliate marketers fail or quit. If enough people are saying then I am inclined to believe that its probably a fair assessment.
Why do you think so many fail?
Expectations
I think that one area that affiliates run into trouble is all of the ads and emails promising that “affiliates were able to make thousands of dollars in just 30 days and so can you.”
Now that statement in itself isn’t a lie, but by leaving out the fact that you still have to put in the work might be considered misleading.
Some of them are dfy or Done for You programs or Make Money Machines. Where you are told you can just set it and forget it.
There is a really big reason why “THEY” were able to get these results. They have already been through all of the pitfalls and wrong turns so they know what they need to do to avoid them.
This only comes from experience.
If you are realistic and put in the necessary work and take the necessary steps, then you could make yourself a lucrative income. 
(Image is of a coffee mug, book and screen that reads Put in the work.)
On the other hand if you really expect someone to do all of the work for you and not make any kind of investment then you are doomed to fail.
Chasing Saturated Niches
When an affiliate chooses a niche, sometimes not enough research is done and they might get frustrated. You need to have a plan and follow it.
Meaning that before deciding on a niche you need to do your research.
There are many different things to consider when choosing. One would be:
• is this product something that I have purchased before? The reason being that by being a consumer yourself you are familiar with the product.
• Is this a product or service that is popular or that you see being promoted by a lot of other affiliates?
• Have you considered private affiliate programs such as,
– AWeber
– Pretty Links Plug-ins
– Blue Host Hosting
Just to name a few.
These examples i found in a great article by Deon Christie.
• Are you prepared to invest both time and money?
(Image is of an hour glass and money.)
This just might be one of the most important obstacles to overcome. If you are just starting, sometimes you may have only a small budget for investing in your business or maybe even no budget at all.
Either way requires some kind of investment.
Just having an investment budget without a plan or researching where to properly invest your money isn’t enough. You need to plan out your advertising to fit your niche and in places that your audience will get to see them
.You are also going to need to invest in the tools that will progress your promotions. Auto posters like FPTraffic to post relevant ads to your social media accounts, would be a great example.
Another great example would be Canva for designing ads and promotional videos.
Without these tools affiliates face an upward battle and that can be demoralizing. That can make some Quit!
Inability To Create Organic Traffic
(Image is of organic dirt in hands.)
If an affiliate is starting out with no budget, then the only route is organic traffic. This method is a grind and takes a committed effort to utilize every free option available.
Examples would be:
• Answering questions and commenting on peoples posts on social media platforms like Instagram or Twitter.
• Answering questions and commenting on forums like Quora or Medium.
• Utilizing online classified ads. An effective but very slow to grow traffic.
• Creating business profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn. Now these two options do cost money but you can cultivate a profile for free until you can afford to upgrade to the business profile. Also, by posting in groups for Facebook and answering polls and commenting on posts on Linkedin.
All of these methods, and there are so many more, involve a lot of work and time commitments that some beginner affiliates just can’t or aren’t willing to put in.
Building an affiliate marketing business is, more often than not, a journey and not a sprint. You need to build a solid foundation with all of the working parts put together properly and in the right places.
And you wonder why 95% of affiliate marketers fail?
Lack Of Creative Content
(Image is of 3 children mimicking “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.)
If an affiliate is say, using a blog website to promote their product, then they are going to have to create engaging and creative content.
Content is what attracts your customers. First by search engine ranking or SEO and by links from your other social media platforms.
The content should be engaging and interesting, being sure to remain relevant to your niche. For example if your niche is back yard accessories, then you don’t want to be writing about what happened during your day or grandmas apple cobbler recipe.
Colorful photos and graphics help to keep your audience interested and links to other relevant articles can help your visitors navigate through your information.
Some find it too difficult to properly research to find relevant information. If you can’t find valuable compelling information you just aren’t going to get traffic.
Part of producing lots of creative content is consistency. Meaning at least 2 articles a week on your blog and spread throughout your other means of promoting.
And it can’t be 1 or 2 this week then a post and then nothing for a while. It takes a real commitment.
Almost To The Finish Line 
(Image is of a person waving a finish line flag.)
Before all of this work gets put in, we can see many affiliates have already failed or quit. Whether from miscues in choosing a niche or chasing after products that are totally saturated with affiliates who have been promoting their product for a while with more experience, they lose their faith in themselves.
Having the wrong tools or not enough of them is like a Major League ball player expecting to be successful with a tennis racket instead of a baseball bat.
But the main reason that 96% of affiliate marketers fail or flat out quit, in my opinion, is that they put in all of this work. They set up all of the right pieces in the right places. They have everything in place with compelling, creative content.
And then they just don’t have the patience to make it to the finish line.
They leave before the prestige.
They just couldn’t wait for the magic to happen!!
I could be that dejected and demoralized affiliate right now except that I am much more curious to see what comes out of the hat!!
I really appreciate you for visiting and hearing me discuss affiliate marketing! If you liked this article then I would like to Invite you to read more of my work.
You are appreciated, thank you!
Please feel free to engage by leaving a question or comment below.
Stephen Providenti