Today, I want to talk about why you shouldn’t do affiliate marketing. I know this goes against what I usually share, but the reality is that many people don’t realize how much time and effort it takes to succeed in affiliate marketing.
Many people turn to affiliate marketing as a solution to their financial problems. During tough economic times, when people lose their jobs or have low incomes, they hope affiliate marketing can help them make money instantly.
I want to tell those people right now: If you only have $50, or you’re struggling financially, and you think this is your chance to get rich, then you shouldn’t get into affiliate marketing.
In this article, I’ll share six reasons why most people fail in affiliate marketing and how to avoid these mistakes.
At the same time, I want to give you a realistic perspective on how affiliate marketing actually works.
And why, if you’re desperate to make money fast, you should find a job instead of relying on this business model.
Mistake #1: Underestimating the Time and Money Required
The biggest reason many people fail in affiliate marketing is that they underestimate the time and costs needed to get started.
Every successful affiliate marketer I know has a website, publishes content on that website, and drives traffic to it. To do this, you need two things: money and time.
For example, to create a website, you need to:
- Purchase a domain name
- Buy hosting
- Have a tracking solution
- Use a landing page builder
These four basic tools alone can cost anywhere from $200 to $400, depending on the options you choose. There are both expensive and budget-friendly tools on the market.
If you don’t have at least $400, you should consider getting a job first, saving up, and only then thinking about starting affiliate marketing.
For an advanced setup, you might use competitor analysis tools like SEMrush or AI tools like Jasper to generate content automatically. But these tools also come at a significant cost.
Simply put, if you don’t have the time or money right now, affiliate marketing is not for you.
Mistake #2: Rushing and Sacrificing Value
Another common mistake is being too impatient and compromising content quality. Many people rely on AI to generate low-quality “spam content” that no one wants to read.
But how do you expect to make money like that? To attract readers, your content must be:
- 100% original (no plagiarism, no copying)
- Valuable so readers engage with it, click on your affiliate links, and generate commissions
If your content is just “basic”—like hundreds of similar articles AI can generate effortlessly—who will read your blog? Who will trust you?
People want to engage with humans, not a cold, robotic AI.
The same goes for video content. If you’re mass-producing low-effort videos like fast food, you’re wasting your own time and your audience’s time.
Mistake #3: Underestimating the Power of Relationships
This industry is full of ideas, and there are countless affiliate campaigns that can make good money. But if you don’t network or engage with the community, you’ll miss out on huge opportunities.
For example:
- Affiliate marketing rules are always changing, including ad policies
- New offers appear daily
- New strategies emerge for optimizing websites and generating traffic
- More powerful tracking tools are released
Many true affiliate marketing experts don’t share on YouTube—they’re too busy making money. The best don’t teach, and those who teach often aren’t the best.
Mistake #4: Choosing the Wrong Affiliate Product
Many people choose the wrong affiliate product and get their ad accounts banned immediately. For example:
- Google and Facebook have banned many products such as weight loss supplements, dietary supplements, and financial products.
- If you don’t know this and run ads for these products, your ad account will be suspended right away.
So, don’t just pick a random product that someone on YouTube claims can make you quick money. You need to stay calm and make well-informed decisions.
Mistake #5: Falling for Fake “Gurus”
The truth is, there are countless so-called affiliate marketing “experts” online, especially on YouTube, where videos about making money online are everywhere. But let’s be realistic:
- If someone tells you that making money with affiliate marketing is easy, they likely have an ulterior motive.
- Many of these “gurus” run affiliate networks, and they just want you to promote their offers so they can make money.
Affiliate marketing is real, but it’s not as easy as they claim.
Some people don’t necessarily scam you, but they don’t reveal the full strategy—they keep the real business secrets to themselves.
People don’t share valuable knowledge publicly, they only explain half the process—the basics.
With just that information, you’ll struggle to create a profitable campaign. To run ads successfully, you need a detailed tracking system. That’s why some rare, high-quality courses teach you the complete process.
There was even someone on YouTube teaching how to promote auto loan offers on TikTok. But after analyzing it, I realized they owned the affiliate network that provided that offer. They simply wanted more people to run ads to help them make money.
Always remember: Affiliate marketing is NOT a get-rich-quick scheme.
Mistake #6: Losing Focus and Procrastinating
Many people get distracted when doing affiliate marketing. We call this “Shiny Object Syndrome”—when you see too many money-making methods and try them all, but in the end, you make nothing because you don’t focus on one thing.
I’ve been through this myself, so I completely understand.
In reality, affiliate marketing is all about publishing content.
- With affiliate SEO, if you create valuable content and help readers make buying decisions, you’ll earn commissions.
- With paid ads, you need at least $20 per day for testing ads before you have a real chance of success.
Sometimes, we see people making millions from dropshipping, and our hearts start racing—we immediately want to jump into the game.
But we need to stay calm. If you haven’t built up the resources or experience, don’t try to “jump too high.”
Take it step by step. Master one method first—then scale up.
Conclusion
If you are struggling financially and desperate, affiliate marketing is not a shortcut to immediate financial relief. Before investing in any course or tool, make sure you have a stable source of income first.
If you only have a small amount of money and hope to quickly turn it into huge profits through affiliate marketing, you’re heading in the wrong direction—get a job first before diving in.
Treat affiliate marketing as a serious business and truly invest your time and money into it. That’s the real path to success.
