Any online guru or platform telling you that you can make money in “less than an hour” or “in one day” always fails to mention the most important things. Affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme and the only way you can make money in less than an hour is if after you put in the work, time, and patience over 6 months, a year, 2 years, even 3 years. So, in brief, don’t focus on the quick buck; coaching and mentoring come first.
Isn’t that the case with everything else? We learned much from teachers in schools, colleges, and universities. It’s only logical that we can use some help when we are learning something new, such as affiliate marketing.
It’s true that you can learn much by yourself, even a language, but in the end you always need a teacher to practice pronunciation, cultural do’s and don’ts, and other important factors that come with a language, things an online self-learning course can’t always teach you.
The point is that no business has risen off the ground overnight. It all takes hard work. Sure, we like to chase the shiny objects but that’s all they are, shiny objects that glitter on the outside but offer little on the inside.
Table of Contents
- Facts about Online Courses and Affiliate Marketing
- Courses – Which are Real or Fake?
- Be wary of these red flags
- The Importance of a Mentor
- Final Thoughts
Facts about Online Courses and Affiliate Marketing
Courses – Which are Real or Fake?
Some online courses come highly recommended while you should stay clear of others. Although I don’t focus much on reviews of making-money-online-platforms (with few exceptions) I prefer reviewing publishing companies, books, and I write about related subjects.
My advice: stay away from the online courses that promise you monetary miracles within the first day or week. I’m not saying that it’s impossible, but if it were that easy, then why are most people still stuck in their 9 to 5 jobs?
Before signing up for a course, do your diligent research. Be wary of the following red flags:
- The platform’s founder/owner is a mystery – you can’t find any info on him/her, not even a name
- Lack of transparency
- Pay to join affiliate programs
- An overwhelming amount of dollar signs on the website
- Fake products or services
- It isn’t always easy to spot those, but remember that when you do a Google search, legitimate platforms will be on the first pages.
- Scammers often use stock photos for fake reviews or even fake profiles
- Pics may be blurry – they could be taken from another legit website …
- A good way to find out if something is real or not is by typing the company’s or product’s name in the Google Search bar + affiliate scam. If people have been scammed, you will find reports or reviews on it.
- Upsells with hidden affiliate links for the platform owner
- For example: the founder’s courses require you to get an account with an email marketing provider, and he/she graciously provides you a link to sign up. That URL has an affiliate link, so he/she will automatically get 1000s of commissions for the 1000s of people who sign up.Although this is how affiliate links work, one must always be transparent about it.It is imperative that you let your website visitors know you are using affiliate links. An affiliate disclaimer should be included in your website’s pages.
- Unrealistic promises.
- Make $1000 US in less than an hour!”
- “Fire your boss within a week!”
- And more of those over-the-top claims
- The training platform wants you to promote their course (which you have to purchase of course …), describing it as your “chance” of “getting rich quick.” They do not care if you succeed or not. They just want to make money of your effort.
Note: some platforms make it optional for you to promote their courses as a way of earning affiliate earnings, but it’s not their “only” product. As long as it’s optional, you can be sure it’s legit. Additionally, they also offer you valuable information, training, support, and courses (a good example of such a legit and complete training platform is Wealthy Affiliate)
The Importance of a Mentor
I learned all about affiliate marketing on the Wealthy Affiliate platform where besides courses, classes, and webinars I also got my personal coach/mentor.
Regardless where you sign up for a course in affiliate marketing, having a mentor makes all the difference. The ability to ask questions and always receive help when you need it is priceless.
Let’s say that one particular class is unclear. You can ask your mentor – who has more experience – to explain it to you. When I signed up for Wealthy Affiliate, I did that through an affiliate link on my mentor’s website. He (Stefan) automatically became my personal coach and mentor.
Stefan was great from the beginning, offering his help at once, and whenever I had a question his response time was quick. I could always count on him, and that meant a lot to me. He always had a relevant answer and even extra learning material for me.
It is wonderful to know that you can count on someone, especially when you’re diving into this – which was at the time – unfamiliar territory of affiliate marketing.
When I first learned about affiliate marketing in 2019 I was absolutely clueless, but the training, webinars, and classes were eye-opening and explained everything quite well. Stefan’s personal assistance was a great bonus. I think that every course should offer a personal mentor.
A mentor can be the deciding factor whether you stick with it or you give up.
Although all the courses were well explained and came with examples and assignments, I sometimes needed Stefan to help me. I believe that many people get overwhelmed with all the information on the Wealthy Affiliate platform and a mentor offers that guiding hand, like the one who leads you through the building and shows you where everything is on your first day at University.
Did Stefan make commissions of me? Yes, he did; that’s how affiliate marketing works, but in return Stefan has also given me much value in return.
This is where the real and fake courses differ. The real ones give you true value for your investment. The fake ones don’t, they just take your money, leave you stranded and in a worse financial situation than you were before.
Final Thoughts
If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. Starting something new can be intimidating, and the internet is teeming with scammers but there are also many legit platforms and websites online. As long as you do your research and pay attention to the mentioned red flags you can avoid the dodgy ones.
A mentor is important in any course you take. Not all courses offer this but if they do, I recommend that you take advantage of their expertise.
Thanx Christine – Relevant Info.
Do U have any Techniques about Promoting Affiliate Links?
Hi Rique,
You can promote affiliate links as text or in an image. You can also create banners and include an affiliate link in them. I hope that helps. If you have any more questions, please let me know 🙂
Thanx – I will Add my Wealthy Affiliate Link in my Posts from Now.
Great!
You are lucky to have a one-on-one mentor. I guess, unless you do your research, it’s luck of the draw.
I signed up without knowing anything about affiliate marketing and signed with a guy who has never answered one of my private messages to him or helped me out in any way whatsoever.
Luckily, one of the other guys within the platform has been generously giving his time and experience to help me out. That’s the great thing about the community at Wealthy Affiliate. They are a really caring community of great people 🙂
Hi Andrew,
Yes, it can be luck of the draw with a mentor. Some are great and others are not so dedicated; that can happen. As you said, however, what’s so great about the Wealthy Affiliate platform is that there are many other members who will help, explain, and guide you. The community is indeed very caring and helpful 🙂
Hi Christine,
I couldn’t agree with you more. I have been working on affiliate marketing for a few years now and at first I just wanted to make lots of money because that’s what all the advertisements said you could do.
But, I found that if you find someone who has already done what you want to do (E.g. coach or a mentor) then you are far more likely to make money if you follow them.
So, I recommend trying Wealthy Affiliate as they are probably the best affiliate marketing mentors in the world.
Thank you for sharing and keep up the great work on your articles.
All the best,
Tom
Hi Tom,
Thank you!
All the best to you too! 🙂
You are right having a mentor is a huge thing and asking for help is the other hard part we need outside opinions. I know that we ask for help all the time and feels like im bugging, but it is how we learn.
We went to school and still don’t know everything.
Great article on not to focus on the quick buck get mentored first.
Cheers,
MnD
Hi there,
Yes, always ask for help when you need it.
Thanks for your comment!
Thank you so much for your valuable insight, Christine! So many aspiring entrepreneurs/affiliate marketers are lured in by the “shiny object syndrome;” these websites, as you mentioned, promise consumers millions of dollars overnight, that new Porsche and mansion by next weekend, and being able to fire your boss before your next pay period. Success in the affiliate marketing world takes time, education, mentorship, trial and error, discipline, determination and patience. If you’re willing to work hard and you don’t give up when adversity hits, you can certainly make a steady supplemental, even full-time, income from affiliate marketing. Anything worth having is worth waiting for; let’s continue to shoot for the skies (the sky is the limit!)! Great article! Yah bless you!
Thank you!
Indeed, anything worth having is worth waiting for. I couldn’t agree more! 🙂
It is really good to have a personal coach on the journey of affiliate marketing. I remembered when I started my affiliate marketing journey, there were lots of shiny objects and I spent a lot of money on these scams. I bought different online courses which all told me there was a secret button to make me rich overnight. I tried different techniques that they taught me but all failed. Until I found Wealthy Affiliate, my personal coach helps me a lot. So, you’re absolutely correct, coaching and mentoring come first before your quick bucks. Thank you for this article that introduces Wealthy Affiliate to all who want to succeed in affiliate marketing.
Hi Alex,
I’m glad that you found a good coach. Good luck with your affiliate marketing journey! 🙂
Hey Christine,
great post – you’ve pointed out the key tips to help people avoid the endless list of scams out there, all claiming to make you rich tomorrow morning. If only that was the truth, but these people are just fleecing newbies of their money and leaving them with the bitter taste that everything is a scam, which isn’t the case.
Learning the skills needed to make legit money online does require some time and effort. But having the right mentor will definitely help speed up the process. Your recommendation of Wealthy Affiliate is a great one. Training, Tools, and a Mentor all in one place. With the added advantage of getting coached by the owners!!
There are many pretenders that claim to give you what Wealthy Affiliate does, but they don’t even get close!!
Hi John,
I agree. There are many online platforms that claim they have it all but there are few who really deliver.
You’re absolutely right – the need and importance of having a mentor is essential when it comes to affiliate marketing.
In fact, many of the most successful affiliate marketers attribute their success to having a great mentor. They learnt from someone, tried lots of approaches and ‘secrets’ before they got it right eventually.
A good mentor can teach you the ropes, provide support, and give you the guidance you need to achieve your goals, just like I have also experienced as well in WA.
So if one is looking to make money in this industry, finding a good mentor is decidedly a step in the right decision. Thanks for bringing this up!
Femi.
Thank you, Femi!
Hi Christine,
I like how you explained affiliate marketing and how to recognize a true marketing platform from a scam. I hope what you said, about the post not being on the first pages implies it’s a scam, is not correct. My website hasn’t made it to page one yet but is legitimate. Otherwise, I agree with everything you said. Perhaps you were just referring to affiliate marketing sites.
I too, have found a mentor and she’s wonderful. She has truly taught me how to design a site and how to improve on it. We are both lucky to have one!
Thanks for such an informative article. I’m sure these ideas will help others realize that earning money through affiliate marketing is possible, but like you said it is not a get rich quick deal. Also I hope others heed your advise and choose responsibly.
Nina
Hi Nina,
Yes, I meant affiliate marketing platforms that are not on page 1 can likely be a scam. I did NOT mean blogs and individual websites like ours. 🙂 There are many legitimate websites that haven’t made it to page 1. Very true.
That’s what I thought you meant. Thanks for clarifying.
Nina
You’re welcome 🙂
Hi Christine,
Yes, affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme or overnight success. People with this mindset will feel disappointed when they find out the truth. I love the tips on how to spot the scammy online training products to keep our hard-earned cash safe and the importance of having a true mentor.
I found out that people fail to make money online through affiliate marketing because they don’t have mentors to help them solve all the questions they encounter. I believe a platform with such an excellent mentoring system will allow members to go a long way toward their online success. 🙂
Thanks for sharing,
Matt
Hi Matt,
Thanks for your comment! It sounds as if you also found a good mentor for yourself. 🙂
Coaching and metoring are going to take us further and further if we learn now and all that we need to know.
I understand that in this article we are not focusing on a quick buck, but rather how to make money the right way and and that starts with coaching.
We like to thank you for taking your time to write this detailed article.
We will be back.
Cheers,
MnD
Hi,
I loved your post, it was very informative.
It is definitely not a get rich quick scheme, and I’ve struggled at at times – but now I’m learning to enjoy the journey in the present moment.
I’ve been with WA for a few years now, and gone through a a few niches before finding my true passion.
I’m learning everyday and the WA community have been amazing when I need help.
I found this post very useful and have saved your website for future reference.
You have a wonderful site.
Thanks again.
Adam
Hi Adam,
It’s great that you found your true passion. Sometimes it takes a while, doesn’t it?
Thanks for stopping by and for saving my website 🙂