Affiliate motivation is different for everyone. Not every affiliate is motivated entirely by money! Of course money is a key factor as to why affiliates do what they do. But there’s other things at play. Some affiliates want to build a lifestyle which gives them more control and flexibility. This then becomes the driving force behind their actions and motivations. Once they achieve this, their motivation can change.
If you’re starting an affiliate business from scratch, your affiliate motivation is a key factor as to whether you’ll achieve the success you desire. If your motivation wanes, and you lose momentum, how does this affect your daily action steps? Have you drawn up a plan for achieving your affiliate goals even? DO you really believe that affiliate marketing is going to give you what you want from life? Have you a high sense of passion and focus, or are you lacking in belief that it will even work for you? All of these factors will contribute to your affiliate marketing success, or lack of it.
Affiliate Motivation – Keeping Yourself Motivated
If you’re anything like I am, you go through pits and troughs in your affiliate marketing business. Some days you’re up and other days your down. The key is to maintain a consistent methodology of working on your affiliate business whether you are in the pits of despair or high as a kite! What has helped me a lot is creating mini habits using small achievable goals on a daily basis.
It’s fine to be working at your business when you’re in a great state of mind. But when those doubts come calling, you need a strategy which you can maintain as a minimum. My minimum daily strategy is to write a blog post. Most days I can do this now because I’ve built up a habit of doing it on a regular basis. But there were times when I was uncertain whether blogging would actually create results for me. When you’re in doubt mode, you procrastinate and stall. You wonder whether all your efforts will amount to anything. You doubt yourself and think of quitting.
At this point you need to have a strategy for moving forwards; something you can do to chase away the negative thoughts. Blogging for me is this. It forces me to focus on something productive and pro-active. When I’ve done my blog post for the day, I can let myself off the hook a little, and relax. Often, writing a single blog post inspires me to write another. But I stick to a minimum when I’m having a bad day!
Affiliate Motivation – Negativity
Holding yourself accountable to building an affiliate business can be tough. You need help! When I started affiliate marketing, no body I knew did it! Everyone I spoke to was doubtful and negative, so I learned not to talk about it and avoid the subject. Most people told me to put a date on it, when I would quit if it didn’t work out. Or that affiliate marketing was a scam of some kind. Is affiliate marketing legit? I would wonder in moments like these!
If your friends are negative towards what you do, it’s better to keep quiet and slowly prove them wrong by succeeding! Keep your affiliate business to yourself until your belief in it is so strong than even the most verbal cynic can’t bring you down.
Of course you will soon learn who kills your spirit and who encourages you. Make certain not to keep going to the wrong people for advice. Anyone who discourages your affiliate journey is not helping. Quite the opposite. You can only maintain a certain self encouragement for a certain time. The more naysayers you allow into your life, the harder this will be! The more people you find like you, who will help keep you motivated and accountable, the better it will be for your affiliate business.
Affiliate Motivation – Know Your “Why”
In Simon Sinek’s book “Start With Why”, Sinek points out that your “why” is the most important factor in pretty much any difficult endeavour. In all pursuits which are meaningful and difficult, a strong reason for doing it often means someone is successful.
Write out your “why’s” for doing affiliate marketing. Here’s some I like to keep my eye on when I’m not feeling great about things as an affiliate:
- I want to be my own boss
- I’d like to never have to work for another boss, or employer again. Affiliate marketing offers this possibility
- To never have to commute again
- I want to leave behind financial struggle forever
- Affiliate marketing lets you work when and where you want. No other business I known of offers the same flexibility and earning potential
- I want to matter – to be in a position to help others on the same journey
With a good enough “why?”, you’ll survive any “how? “
Affiliate Motivation – Keep Your Belief High
When your belief in what you’re doing as an affiliate drops, you often stop working. This has a compound effect of setting your back months. If you maintain a small daily habit of spending time on your business, the habit itself will keep you moving.
I’ve been through many peaks and troughs with affiliate marketing. Some days are just tough. But once you have seen results from your activities, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Before this happens you need to keep going and keep your belief high. Read positive self help books and learn about maintaining a positive self image. Download free motivational ebooks pdf here.
Don’t allow negativity to enter your consciousness where your affiliate business is concerned. If it does, or someone says something negative, or you read something negative, look for ways to avoid the same happening again. Protect your positive mental attitude. Look for leaders not naysayers! Plenty of people want you to fail. Don’t hang out with those people!
Small Wins & Super Achievements
Building an affiliate business isn’t easy. It’s a way to generate income in an independent way and can give you huge freedom to live life on your terms. It’s an amazing achievement to even sell a single product online. Give yourself a pat on the back for even attempting such a feat!
To maintain focus and trust in the process you need to celebrate small wins. A small win might be getting a website up and running, or getting your first website visitor landing on your website. With these small wins you can learn how to reward yourself for each small step on the journey.
So make sure you reward yourself each step of the journey because it’s a long journey. Enjoy the ride and remember large achievements don’t happen overnight.
Join A Community
If you’re an affiliate marketer it’s so much more difficult if you’re going it alone. Join a community of leaders and coaches who are holding each other accountable and helping people succeed online here.
