• Section: Money Guide - Category: Affiliate Programs
• Written by Jim Riddell

A wise man once said...

"The things we knew we knew explain our successes less than the things we didn't know we didn't know explain our failures." (Anonymous)

So what's the explanation for the over 90% failure rate for those who try affiliate marketing? Is affiliate marketing a boon or a boondoggle for aspiring Internet entrepreneurs? A very compelling question! So, lets take a close look at why this is happening.

The Hype...
The Internet abounds with wild claims of fast and easy riches through affiliate marketing. Inspiring get-rich-quick stories and convincing (but often questionable) testimonials lend credibility to these claims and excite the imagination of countless budding entrepreneurs thus driving tens of thousands to the Internet seeking their fortunes online.

While it's true that the Internet offers abundant affiliate marketing opportunity, it is also true that only a fraction of those who actually try it wi

ll ever succeed. Most will crash and burn after experiencing the frustration, and discouragement they will feel when they discover that the hype they were being fed was leaving out the most important part of the equation.

What they were not being told was the technological expertise they must possess in order to exploit those towering affiliate marketing opportunities! This is what all those aspiring affiliate marketers didn't know they didn't know and it explains why so many fail!

The Wall...
What accounts for the over 90% failure rate of new affiliate marketers is the high-tech know-how they didn't know (because no one ever told them) they must have in order to succeed! This missing link is known as the wall of technology (or technology trap) and it just so happens that most affiliate marketing wanna-bes lack the high-tech know-how needed to breach this formidable wall. In fact, until they reach it, they don't even know it's there!

So just what is this wall of technology and what is it made of?

Specifically, the wall is the framework (or infrastructure) of technological components that make up today's high-tech affiliate marketing web sites. The little known fact is that these web sites usually integrate at least seven key technologies (SKT) that are essential for any affiliate marketer to succeed in today's competitive environment. Each of these SKT (as found built into the websites of successful affiliate marketers) is outlined below:

1. An HTML editor (To create, set up and edit, online, an affiliate marketing web-site)

2. An auto-responder (To create a positive personal relationship with customers and build an email database or customer list for future sales)

3. Sales tracking software (To monitor advertising and sales results over time in order to evaluate promotional efforts and fine tune sales campaigns)

4. Audio & video hook ups (To build the persuasive power of the pre-sale message and keep pace with competition)

5. Split testing software (To test one headline and/or sales copy against another in order to find the most effective approach to the market in order to increase conversions)

6. Credit card processing (To automate customer payments for their own digital products and/or other affiliate products)

7. Dashboard software (To observe, evaluate and control the functioning of their website or sites)

In addition to the SKT there are a few other skills conveniently left unmentioned by the hierophants of hype (sometimes euphemistically referred to as "the Gurus") that an aspiring Internet entrepreneur must master before even attempting to become an affiliate marketer. These little discussed and seldom mentioned (but absolutely critical) computer and Internet skills are listed below. You should, at a minimum, know how to...

a. Use a mouse
b. Point and click
c. Surf the web
d. Use search engines to find products and services
e. Understand and use keywords and phrases
f. Conduct effective keyword research
g. Keep a "favorites" list
h. Find an available (and suitable) URL
i. Register a URL once found
j. Find

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