Can You Succeed in Network Marketing, or Affiliate Marketing?

Do you know what you need to succeed in network marketing or affiliate marketing?Many people try their hands at network marketing and affiliate marketing and never make very much money, if any at all. Why is that? They come in with these big ideas that they are going to get rich and all of the their financial issues are going to go away, but they don’t. In some cases their financial issues get worse. Why? Is it possible to succeed in network marketing or affiliate marketing?

Can You Make Money with Network Marketing?

Of course you can! Many people do. I have. If you couldn’t then it would have gone away a long time ago. It remains though that most people don’t make any money with network marketing or affiliate marketing. The real question isn’t if you can make money, it’s why doesn’t everyone?

Why Do People Start a Network Marketing and Affiliate Marketing Business?

There are many reasons. They want to quit their jobs or want to be able to work from home. They get drawn in by the promises of being able to fire their boss and build up time and financial freedom. That’s probably the story that you heard.
More realistically, people are looking for some additional income. Maybe their regular income from their job doesn’t cover all of their expenses. I’ve worked with people who have retired from their jobs and want to generate an income because Social Security isn’t enough. I’ve talked with other people who are called “disabled” for some reason and can’t get a job even though they are ready and willing to work.
When I heard about network marketing I had just graduated from massage school and the products from the company I am with matched up perfectly with a massage practice. I decided not to start a massage practice (very physical work). Instead, I figured out how to build my network business so that I could quit my job and be at home with my young kids. I’m still with that first network marketing company and have been for ten years.

Why Do People Fail in Network Marketing?

Many people come into network marketing through less-than-honest sponsors. They are told that it will be easy, they don’t have to do any work, or there’s no selling required. Those are flat out lies.
Anything worth building takes a lot of work, and a business that will allow you to live the life you want to live is worth building. It will take you a lot of work. It is simple, but it isn’t easy. And it will definitely require some selling. How do you think you will make any money if you aren’t selling?
My thing is internet network marketing. I am building my network marketing business exclusively online, and it works for me. So far everyone who has worked with me has also made money online if they do the work and stay with it for more than a couple months.
The challenge I sometimes face is that people come to me because they think that online network marketing is somehow easier than regular offline network marketing. I pop that bubble right up front. Building your network marketing business online isn’t any easier or harder than it is to build it offline. It’s just different. Affiliate marketing is the same way.
You still have to learn your products and your business. You still have to find people who want to buy or sign up. You still have to make sales. You just do it in a different way. The big advantage for me is that I don’t have to leave home. I homeschool my kids during the school year, so I can’t be running off to meetings all day long like you do in the offline world.

There Are a Lot of Distractions

There are a lot of bright, shiny objects out there to catch your attention when you get into network marketing and online marketing. Bright, shiny objects rarely lead you to where you want to go with your business.
Work is hard. Distractions are plentiful. And time is short. - Adam Hochschild Click To Tweet
Most of the programs that I have seen are created by people who claim that they can show you how to do network marketing, but who aren’t actually doing network marketing themselves. Why would you take a drivers’ education program taught by someone who doesn’t drive a car? Of course not! Same thing for network marketing and online marketing programs.
There are many programs out there that teach you how to sell the program itself as an affiliate using gimmick sales techniques that only work for a few months, and that’s all the training you get.
By the time you are done with the program you forget why you started or you are so frustrated that you quit everything.
You have to be very careful about what you are signing up for. Do some research. Find out if the person who created the program is actually doing what they say they are going to teach you to do.

Most People Don’t Believe They Can Be Successful

The most important thing you need to be successful in anything that you choose to do is a strong belief that you can succeed in it. That definitely applies to network marketing and affiliate marketing.
Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Click To Tweet
When you believe that your success is a given, you have more confidence when you talk to people in the offline world and write your content in the online world.
You don’t have to know how to do everything when you start out. You do have to know that you will figure it all out or find people who can teach you. Your belief in your success opens the doors to finding the people and resources that you need to succeed. It will also help to keep you focused and not so easily distracted by those bright, shiny objects that snare so many other, less confident people.

Are You Ready?

As I said back at the beginning of this post, I have been in network marketing with just one company for ten years. If you are interested in building a business that lets you work from home, take a look at my take on network marketing.
I skip all of the hype of network marketing and essentially run my business as an online affiliate marketing business. The benefit of using a network marketing business as an affiliate marketing opportunity is that the company provides many products all in related categories that work together, and there is a built-in community of product users that you can plug into if you want to. You can find out more about how I run my network marketing business online here.

Disclaimer

I have to say it. There is no guarantee that you will make any money in either network marketing or affiliate marketing. As with any business, it takes work, focus, dedication, belief in yourself and the product, and a willingness to learn. If you can put all of that together, with help of course, then your chances are a whole better. If you can’t, then you’re better off with a regular job.
As always, please share your thoughts in a comment below and if you find value here, which I hope you do, please share this with your followers on social media.

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