Affiliate marketing scams – 8 Red Flags to watch-out for.
It’s easy to give you names of scams but what happens when you come across a name that is not on the list? You will be stuck. To be more helpful, it is better to give a list of what to watch out for in a scam and that way you become more savvy and can navigate the internet with more confidence at spotting scams.
Get to know who is a scam or not in the affiliate marketing industry by knowing what to look out for each time you come across a platform you may want to get involved with.
It is better to know what to watch out for than to depend on reviews that may actually be inaccurate.
Here is a list of affiliate marketing scams – the affiliate marketing red flags to look out for so that you will never be scammed again.
Get to know the tricks and traps that some platforms or websites in the industry use.
Once you know the following, you will smell an affiliate marketing scam miles away!
This article is part of the training to help you to train your mind to be internet savvy.
The first affiliate marketing scam red flag – money making websites done for you! 
Even though the affiliate marketing is a very lucrative market, there is a huge failure rate with affiliate marketing students because it requires time to be successful.
Most affiliate marketing programs will sell you the dream and not the reality. They show you how much you can earn and keep it sugar coated.
The best way around this is to go with a program that has brilliant training for you so that you can stand on your own two feet and forge your affiliate business.
Some affiliate program training hubs focus on how much you can make then proceed to tell you how easy it is to do because all the work is done for you; that all you have to do is pay a fee and sit back and wait.
Beware, this is a red flag! If it were so easy why would they need your money when they can easily set up websites and collect cash from the internet so easily? The only easy money to collect is from those that believe this trap.
Rather go with a training program that will teach you how to fish, than handing you fish in exchange for your hard earned cash. You gain nothing in the event that that website fails and disappears from the internet – they usually do fail and disappear!
A website that trains you to fish gets you ready for your own fishing. You get lifetime knowledge that will put food on your table over and over again when applied.
The Second Affiliate marketing scam
Reviews
Reviews have become scams too. Most reviews have become all about one upmanship – you bash my company and I will bash yours kind of thing.
This comes from a selfish instinct to protect what’s yours but what does it do to a beginner who is looking for genuine information about where to start? It misleads!!!
Do not rely too much on reviews, they are usually about wars between organisations and using this to lure customers.
The best thing to do is to find programs that offer free trials and especially those who will not ask for credit or debit card details. That way you can have a look and decide for yourself with no obligation. This leads me to the next scam.
The third Affiliate Marketing Scam
Do not become anyone’s cash machine
Some affiliate programs offer a free trial but as soon as you try to sign up for their program they ask you to add your bank details. That way they start to bill you after your free trial period.
This is arm twisting. Kind of not having a choice to opt out after.
Look for free trial offers that do not ask for bank card details at sign up. That way you get to look at what the program offers without being held to ransom with your account details.
Any program that asks for your bank’s details at sign up or before you have a truly free trial run, you should avoid.
The fourth Affiliate Marketing Scam
Your instinct will save you. You come across a very convincing website with all the good offers and suave smooth talking gurus then beware.
If it’s too good to be true it usually is. Most affiliate marketing training gurus depend on the gullibility of the reader. Do not become one of these naive readers.
This article helps you to open your eyes before you jump into the affiliate marketing world. Learning about what goes on in this industry from a genuine training program is best.
If you learn all the basics first then jump into other affiliate programs having understood the basics first is the way to go.
The fifth Affiliate Marketing Scam
Dependency
They want you to depend on them for everything so they can fleece you. Most less genuine or outright scams will not appear so at the outset for a beginner.
One big tell tale sign is a program that promises to do it all for you and all you have to do is reap the benefits! Reader beware! A lazy attitude will lead you to be harvested.
You get to depend on them to set up everything for you and they heavily depend on your money to keep afloat. So these programs will promise to do it all for you.
What actually happens is that you get sucked into a program that has very high fees but teach you nothing and when they go down, which they usually do, you go down with them.
Learning how to run your own website is a lot of effort at the beginning but it puts you in control of your own business ensuring longevity for you.
So, look for a genuine training program that teaches you how to be on your own feet in your business.
The Sixth Affiliate Marketing Scam
Upsells
This one is not an easy one to see right at the onset. It is upsells.
They tell you how cheap they are and give you a fee that is similar to other programs but as soon as you become their customer they hit you with a lot more conditions and what more you need to pay for your website to work.
The seventh Affiliate Marketing Scam
There is a high rate of failure in affiliate marketing. Why? Because it requires those that are fully dedicated, who take action to make it. Most give up.
If you are allergic to hard work or taking action then affiliate marketing is not for you. The gurus who bank on those that don’t want to work hard capitalize on this but, at the end of the day they just get your money for nothing or very little in return.
This is also why those that offer flashy objects lack substance.
False Free trials
They tell you it’s free and yet they add their own logo somewhere on your website. All you become is their advertising agent through your supposedly free website.
Our Suggested Solution
There are authentic platforms out there on internet but we have one that we have known and used for more than 10 years. It is a training program that will teach you how to do affiliate marketing or how to create your own business to sell your own ideas or products, their hosting is brilliant and they have three levels of membership
1. Free membership
- free membership. you pay nothing, they don’t ask for your bank details, they don’t add their logo or adds to your free website and you have no obligation to stay if you don’t like the platform.
- Premium membership. Should you decide to become a paying member after your free trial it is $49 a month.
- Premium plus membership. $99 a month.
There is a lot more on offer with this program but too much information will only overwhelm you, after all, you have an opportunity for a trial run without having to pay anything.
Why not have a look for yourself, after all it’s truly free, no strings attached because you can also leave at any point if you don’t like the platform.
Have a look and see what it offers to truly decide for yourself if this is for you.
CLICK HERE to read more information about the platform on another article on this website.
Or just go straight to a niche finder tool to explore your business idea.