3 Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a hot way to make money right now. Based on all of the products on the internet offering to teach all of the secrets is enough to make me wonder what is the downside to affiliate marketing.

In this article we will look at some of the bad things that can happen to you when you sell products as an affiliate.

I guess you would have to start with returns. Have you ever gone to a store to return something you bought. Maybe you didn't like the item. The color was wrong. The size was wrong. You suddenly realized you couldn't afford it. This happens in affiliate marketing as well.

Most products bought online come with some sort of a money back guarantee. This is especially true for information products. Because they are easily downloaded almost any information product sold online comes with a give it a look and if you don't like what you see we will gladly refund your money.

Clickbank is the largest information affiliate program in the world and they will give you your money back or replace a product for up to 8 weeks after you buy it. This is more than enough time to check out what you bought.

From an affiliate standpoint you are not going to get paid on every sale right away. Most affiliate programs have at least a one month time lag. For example all sales made in January will not be paid until February or even March depending on the program.

Clickbank is a little better. You can earn up to a 75% commission and get paid on the 1st and the 15th with a 2 week lag. This is one reason many people promote Clickbank products.

If you need immediate cash affiliate marketing is not the way to get it. However once you get your pipeline full you will start to see checks on a regular basis if you are making sales.

Another downside to affiliate marketing is you must understand the commission rate you are being paid. Different companies have different rates and sometimes that will change based on the product. There is nothing worse than thinking you are earning more than you are and finding out when your check arrives in the mail.

Know the fees that you are being charged. Many affiliate programs make their money on the fees they charge. This could be just a few percentage points on the sale or it could be a fee they charge to process your check or make a direct deposit. This is a part of doing business, but as an affiliate you need to know what these charges are.

Actually making sales is not as easy as it sounds. Most of what people offer to teach you is about getting your own website and then how to get traffic to it. You certainly need to know these things or you will not have any sales to worry about in the first place. The good news is you can learn how to do it if you treat being an affiliate as a business.

In summary go into affiliate marketing with your eyes open. Yes you can make money selling other people's products as an affiliate, but it is not all peaches and cream.