Affiliate Programs: What Is The Magic Number?

The fact is that there are many people who are a member of too few affiliate programs and there are many people who are a member of too many. There are only a handful of people who have found the magic "sweet spot" right in the middle and those are the happy people who are making the most money.

Why is too few affiliate programs a problem?

Joining too few affiliate programs is a problem for 3 major reasons:

1. The bottom line is that you absolutely, positively MUST start earning multiple streams of income. One income stream, even 2 is not enough in today's world. If you are only relying on your job as your main source of income right now, you're a sitting duck for a financial disaster. If you lose your job or your health, God forbid, you could be in big trouble financially. Most people are just one paycheck away from bankruptcy.

Affiliate marketing is the same way. If you're relying on just one or two affiliate programs to pull in the bulk of your income, you're extremely vulnerable. Even if you've built up a big residual income in a program, if it goes out of business so do you.

2. Joining only one or two affiliate program does not give you enough experience to compare strengths and weaknesses of different programs. It leaves you being unaware of different possibilities and that's very dangerous to your fiscal health.

3. There s a saying that "If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." If you only have one or two different products or programs to promote, that's not enough to solve the many different problems people will be coming to you for. You need to have a variety of tools in your affiliate toolbox so you can pull out the right one at the right time for the right person. If you don't, you will be leaving money on the table. It's that simple.

Why is too many affiliate programs a problem?

Joining too many affiliate programs is a problem for 2 MAJOR reasons:

1. You will get way too distracted. Focus has great power and if you have too many things to think about at one time, you'll get confused. When you're confused, you don't take action. When you don't action, you don't make money.

2. People won't take you seriously. If you're promoting everything and anything, people will sense your lack of sincerity and have no desire to do business with you. One of the big secrets to affiliate marketing success is promoting things you have some experience with and believe in.

But there a magic "sweet spot" somewhere in the middle of having enough products and programs to promote that keep you diversified and capable of solving multiple problems for people.

For example, if you get 100 people to visit your website and only have one product you're promoting and your website successfully converts 1 out of 100 visitors to a sale, then you've made 1 sale. But if you have a couple more products on your site that are related but different, you may find that you get 3-5 people out of 100 who buy from you because they find other things that solve their problems. So just having a few different options for people can multiply your income 300% or more without any additional effort.

In my experience, 5-6 different affiliate programs in a niche is the generally the best starting point. This gives you enough experience with different programs to compare their strengths and weaknesses. It gives you enough diversity so you can offer your prospects the right solution at the right time. And it broadens your own affiliate portfolio enough so that you can survive a disaster just in case one of the affiliate programs you are promoting falls on hard times.

No matter what niche market you are in, I encourage you to you diversify your affiliate portfolio and get at least 5-6 high quality, top paying affiliate programs to promote in order to ensure your short-term and long-term success.

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Elston Tuitt has a flair for writing articles on a diverse range of subjects. He helps anyone who wants to build a successful proven home business. He is a business owner, entrepreneur and a website owner. Elston recommends you visit his Blog and Home Business Ideas Website