Most affiliate marketers unconsciously create an invisible
"glass ceiling" that curtails the growth of their own affiliate
business. They do this by failing to create a substantial,
positive profile on the Internet.
Are you reluctant to "stand out from the crowd"? Do you feel
more comfortable being invisible on the Internet?
Most people experience a natural reticence to be "out there", to
"stand up and be counted". How often are the front rows of a
course or meeting left vacant because most people would rather
be invisible up the back!
The same is true on the Internet, particularly with affiliate
marketers. The noun "affiliate" means "connected as a part or an
associate of...", and the verb "affiliate" means "to connect to"
or "join oneself to". It does not, however, mean "lose oneself
in..."
When you join an affiliate program, there is a tendency to lose
your own personality in the "personality" of the program and its
owner. Yet the really successful affiliate marketers are those
who are able to place their own unique identity on what they do.
They stand out by being themselves, showing who they are and
what they have to offer.
Think about your last visit to an affiliate program forum. The
people who most likely left an impression on you were those who
showed a strong sense of humour, an uncanny insight or a way of
viewing the world positively and energetically. These people
leave their mark and their impression. Their forum postings are
like "footprints in the sand" - they are not afraid to be
different, to let their personalities shine through.
If you are going to develop a distinctive profile, you need to
understand your own strengths and capacities. Your
distinctiveness as an affiliate marketer derives from your
unique life history and skill set. You need to find an affiliate
program that will build on these strengths and enable you to
realize your potential.
The real challenge for you as an affiliate marketer is to find
an affiliate offering that draws on your unique knowledge,
skills and competencies. You need an affiliate program that
enables YOU to "shine"!
What "image" or "Internet profile" are you trying to create? Are
you able to be yourself through your affiliate program? Or are
you being an extension of someone else?
You need to find an affiliate offering that aligns with your
desired profile and your unique competencies. This is the way to
create an affiliate business, not just affiliate cheques.
To achieve this, you have to develop yourself. You will need to
progressively develop self-awareness, the capacity to overcome
fear of visibility and a willingness to continuously review what
you are doing. A real synergy will emerge as you learn to
integrate your affiliate offering, your profile and your
competencies.
You will find that you will break through the glass ceiling as
you make a real statement about who you are, what you value and
what you have to offer. You will make a real difference because
you can "add value" to your affiliate offering in a unique way.
This is the only sustainable source of competitive advantage in
affiliate marketing.
About the author:
This article is written by Ron Passfield, PhD, affiliate
marketing coach, who is developing his affiliate business
through the step-by-step coaching provided by the Affiliate
Classroom. Visit Ron's blog for the latest on affiliate
marketing:
http
://www.affiliate-marketing-coach.blogspot.com/
