Avoiding Affiliate Marketing Scams

I see a lot of newbies to the affiliate arena ask the question of whether or not Affiliate Marketing (associate marketing, whatever you want to call it) is a scam, especially when they see a two (or more) tiered program (meaning affiliates can earn off the affiliates they bring into the program “under them”) which is often confused with a Pyramid Scheme
Affiliate marketing programs cost nothing to join and the only way you ever get paid is if you make a sale.

Even in two tiered programs, the only way you make money off an affiliate underneath you is if they make a sale and earn a commission.

There’s no “membership fee” in legitimate affiliate programs. You might come across programs claiming to be affiliate programs that charge a “set up fee” or offer to sell you a “website to market with.” I’d walk the other direction and never look back in either case. Becoming an affiliate is (and should be) absolutely free.

Considering becoming an affiliate is free, you’d think it would be almost impossible to be scammed.

Unfortunately you’d be wrong.

I kind of compare affiliate marketing to weight loss. The actual ability to be a successful with either is there, but most of the money made within both industries is made by selling you products touting to help you DO both. Some are legit. But some play on your deepest desires (making money or losing weight) and sell you crap. There’s no magic silver bullet in affiliate marketing (or weight loss). Both simply require hard work and a commitment to doing what it takes to achieve the results you’re looking for.

Don’t get me wrong – there are some good tools, guides and people out there. But in my experience, they’re the exception and not the rule.

One program that is genuine is SFI been around for years and pays

http://3.1glow.com

The biggest way I see folks with dreams of affiliate marketing get scammed is via purchasing “information products,” tools, “systems” and e-Books that promise to show them how to “make [insert nutty figure here] a day with no work.” Now if I told you that you could lose 100 pounds in 30 days with a new miracle diet – it would likely set off warning bells in your head, but for some reason, telling people they can make thousands in 30 days with zero work seems legitimate to some folks (you *wanting* to believe something can be a more powerful sales tool for these bullshit artists than any sales page.)

Then they show you tons of pictures of their “sales commissions” that very well might be photo-shopped or even more typically, be the commissions they make selling people like YOU the picks and shovels you’re hoping to use to strike gold – and not actual REAL products or services through traditional affiliate programs. Remember that not everyone feels bad selling people a dream, even if they know the odds of that dream coming true suck.

The easiest way to avoid falling for these scams is to educate yourself and look for warning signs. Learn the basics of affiliate marketing before you make the decision to get involved with affiliate marketing.