Affiliate Marketing – 5 Traits of Those Who Make It!

I have been doing affiliate marketing for close to 4 years.  I have met many people along the way.  I remember when I first started and I was so green.  I met this woman on a forum named Dee Dee.  We got to be really good friends.  She lived on the other side of the United States, yet we emailed constantly.  We shared our dreams and we were both determined to make it.  We were both on fire with many aspirations of success.

So four years later, I am still at it, yet she has gave it up within the first 6 months.  We drifted apart.  Last time I heard from her, she was unemployed and thinking of going to truck driving school if she could come up with the money.  So why did I make it and she didn’t.  Back then we were both as green as could be.  Below are 5 important traits that I think must be in place to win in affiliate marketing.

1.  You can not give up:  My friend Sue Ham wrote a book on this.  I have no doubts that Sue has all the traits of those who will make it.  Her story is inspiring.  She did not give up on her dream.  Those that get discouraged and give up or let things get in the way, just won’t make it.

2.  Obstacles are Opportunities:  Those that make it in affiliate marketing see obstacles as opportunities.  If I stopped every time an obstacle was put in my path, I would have quit hundreds of times by now.  When presented with an obstacle or set back, the successful ones look at the obstacle as an opportunity.

I have had all my Squidoo Lens shut down, all of them.  I could have gotten mad and never went back to Squidoo.  I didn’t though, I learned from it and rebuilt it all again bigger and stronger.  One thing a winner does not do is blame others or circumstances for their failures.  They take responsibility for their failures and use it as an opportunity to improve and grow.

3.  Rejoicing in The Success of Others:  I can’t say this enough.  If you aren’t happy when another has success, you will never find it yourself.  It’s a universal law.  If you aren’t happy with the success of another, it’s a refection of scarcity mentality.  It’s possible that you are seeing the success as taking away from you.  No one can take away from you for there is enough to go around.  Money and success are not scarce resources.

This one little change can bring about drastic results with your affiliate marketing.  If you can be happy when a friend or fellow affiliate marketer has success, it will be returned back to you 10 fold.  I sincerely believe this.  Not being happy for another affiliate marketer may be a sign that you fear competition.  This leads me to number 4.

4.  No fear of Competition:  This one sort of goes hand in hand with number 3.  A successful affiliate marketer doesn’t even entertain the idea that others will be a threat for them.  They even assist those that some would view as competition.  I have many friends who are in the same niche as myself.  Dating and Relationships.  I share share share their stuff.  I cheer them on!  Imagine if we all did this!  Oh what a world that would be.  We would all get there so much faster!

Let’s take a brief look at that world.  If we were to all share the work of one another, we would all reach so many more people.  Our audience would grow over time.  All of us, not just a few chosen ones.  If you aren’t sharing you are again, reacting from a scarcity mentality that there is not enough to go around.  Try reaching out to those that you may view as competition and helping them out, and see what happens.

5.  Embrace Contrast:  This is one as a forum owner for the last few years and watching human behavior on facebook alone stands out to me.  Contrast and how you deal with it is critical.  Out of contrast, some amazing things are born.  Running away of avoiding them will not assist in your personal growth.  When we feel contrast, it’s usually a sign to look within.

I have had a lot of contrast on my forum.  I could have locked the threads.  I could have closed the forum.  I could have done a lot of things, but I didn’t.  I stayed and saw it through.  No doubt it was often stressful and I can think of a few contrasts that went on for months, even years between myself and a few others.

After standing strong in the contrast, I learned some pretty helpful communication skills.  My world expanded.  I became friends with and learned from those that I felt contrast with.  Had I packed up my toys and went home, I would have missed all of this. Out of contrast can come great personal expansion.

Another thought on contrast.  If you don’t deal with it, it will keep showing up in your life.  It’s like this in all of our relationships.  When we avoid the contrast, it keeps coming back.  You may leave a job because of unpleasant circumstances for example and a year later, you have a different job with the same issues.  It happens in everything. our relationships with others included.

My bonus tip for today is to invest into your self.  Investing into your business is good, but nothing can help you move ahead further than investing into you.  Find a coach, read some books, become a sponge to better yourself and the rest simply falls into place.  Nothing and I mean nothing will impact your success more than self investment.