The answer is no. I have found much success by following just 3 simple steps.



1. Find your niche

This is what I would consider to be the most important of all steps. The golden rule, so to speak. If you find "your" niche - the one you are best at - and use it correctly to your advantage, you will see your returns on investments skyrocket. Work with something you know the most about - that one or two things you would consider yourself an authority on. Everyone has something, whether it be cars, movies, fashion, cooking or sports (mine is music and TV). Use your knowledge of these subjects to find the best way to market within the particular niches. In other words if you are a pretty big sports fan, look for sports related offers that interest you as a sports fan, and market the offer as if you were marketing it to yourself.

2. Don't be afraid of failure

Some offers convert and some don't. This is the law of the land in affiliate marketing. Don't get discouraged if one offer makes you next to nothing, because that huge moneymaking offer is always right around the corner. Trust me. I should add here, call it step 2B: Don't be afraid to re-try offers that don't work once or twice. Give everything a few good attempts. Often, it can be all about timing. Something might tank this week, but then blow up next month. Take it from me, I have been in the affiliate marketing game for over 4 years now and I have seen plenty of campaigns fail, but I manage to always come out on top when all is said is done. I don't let the little failures along the way get to me. You're going to have to accept failure, not fear it… that doesn't mean you should embrace it; just put it aside, maybe go back to it in a month, and move on. Like I said, that great moneymaking offer is always lurking around the corner.

3. Find an Affiliate Network that works for you

I have used dozens and dozens of Affiliate Networks in my 4 years in the affiliate marketing game and I have noticed that I am completely unhappy with 90% of them. Sometimes it takes up to 5 days for an account manager to get back to me; that 5 days, in the affiliate marketing industry, can be a lifetime of lost profits. There is no reason not to just stick with the ones that work for you. There are too many to choose from. One of the Affiliate Networks that I work, probably the one I am most happy with and vouch for most often is FluxAds.com. They are great.

Flux Ads not only has lots of very profitable and exclusive offers, but their customer service response time is killer; they always get back to me within literally minutes of sending them an Email. They are constantly making me aware of which ads are converting today, and what is not so hot. This way my inventory is never wasted on offers that won't do anything for me.

If I were to sum this up, I guess it's as simple as this: find 'your' niche, find 'your' Affiliate Networks (check out Flux Ads), and try everything, especially the duds, a few times. Success is bound to occur.

Oh, and because I always put my money where my mouth is, here's the link to the guys I happily vouch for and recommend: http://123.fluxads.com . Check them out and see for yourself.