Time, money – it costs to be fraudulent

In the affiliate marketing world it is very common to get a call from an affiliate who claims to be the next Steve Jobs. Funnily enough, this potential affiliate also has the greatest website in the world and they are able to generate millions of pounds worth of traffic in the space of a month. It doesn’t take a lot of experience to realise these people are black hat affiliates trying to make a quick buck. In the age of technology and incredible tracking analytics it’s near impossible (and rightly so!) to make a profit with fraudulent traffic.

So what does it take to be a genuine, successful affiliate?

• A basic knowledge of affiliate marketing
• The know-how to optimize traffic
• Being able to target market segments
• Knowledge of social media ads
• Owning a site that caters to a need
• DELIVERING WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL!

Some of those may sound a bit technical if you are just starting out. However, we are lucky enough to live in a time where there is so much data and knowledge available that you can teach yourself almost anything.

Ironically, fraudulent affiliates could use all the time they spend scamming networks to learn how to become a top-notch partner. Herein lies the beauty of the affiliate game; there is so much traffic out there to be tapped into with some genuine hard work.

We are not suggesting it’s easy but with research and subscriptions to some affiliate marketing blogs you can gain a deep insight into how to start out. Getting started is one of the most exciting parts of affiliate marketing. You’re able to learn exactly how the ads that you see every day come together to know what you want even before you do!

Let’s face it, one of the greatest things about being an affiliate marketer is that you can run a campaign remotely, whether this is during your day job or, ideally, sat on a beach. I task you to find another (legal) line of work that is lucrative, doesn’t require a degree and makes money while you are sleeping. Once you are at the top of your game, you can go some way to let Darren from Kent find his perfect life insurance deal, and all while you snooze.

So-called black hat affiliates all seem to believe that by signing up and ticking a few boxes they can get away with sending fraudulent traffic. There are some publishers that go to such lengths to hide their wrongdoings that they, ironically, go to more effort per day than a legitimate affiliate does. If they focused this energy in the right way they would save themselves time, money and embarrassment. Although being legitimate takes more time, the rewards are much greater in return.

The advice I’d give to fraudulent affiliates is this:

Save us all a lot of time and save yourself a lot of effort- be legitimate!! Your way of working will always fail, and Monetise will always catch you out!