UA Myth 1. A High Commission Rate Means High Earnings
This misconception is common among beginners who are just starting to learn the basics of media buying. After all, it seems logical: the higher the commission rate on a given product or service, the higher your earnings should be. In practice, though, it often works out differently …
Let’s look at an example from the finance niche.
Many affiliate marketers assume that so-called credit/loan niches are only worth pursuing from 2,000 UAH per lead (a lead being a completed deal or purchase) upward. But the approval rate on these leads is so low (roughly 3–4%) that it barely pays off if, say, you’re running ads for the affiliate program. Meanwhile, there are advertisers willing to pay half as much per lead, but with an approval rate on your conversions of 8 to 20%.
Which would you choose? Which is actually more profitable for you? Exactly. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush 🙂 With an average approval rate of 13–15%, you’ll earn more overall. Even if that means 700 UAH per lead instead of 1,000 UAH.
Myth 2. You Need Your Own Website to Do Affiliate Marketing
You don’t need to have your own website or blog. There used to be almost no other option besides building a site, filling it with content for a long time, and then slowly starting to place links. Those days are over — put simply, alternative options have appeared.
Today, you can use the following to promote affiliate offers:
- Social networks — like Facebook.
- Paid ads on social networks — learn the specifics of each platform and you’ll become an affiliate marketing pro.
- Dedicated traffic and promotion platforms.
The list above is just the tip of the iceberg. You can use several platforms at once or focus on becoming a specialist in one. But having your own well-promoted site will always be an advantage.
Myth 3. Affiliate Earnings Are Fast, Easy Money
This myth doesn’t just cling to people who are new to media buying — even those who’ve been working online for years still believe it. The mistake isn’t that fast earnings are impossible. They are possible. It’s just that if you do manage to make easy money on affiliate offers, that’s luck, not your own personal success. People get used to easy money fast, but the easy streak always ends. And not everyone manages to switch back to putting in real work.
Media buying, working with targeted traffic, and studying affiliate programs — all of this is work, a business, and if you like, a science too. People who’ve made this their main source of income know that. As in any line of work: put in the effort, give it everything you’ve got, and the reward will follow.
Myth 4. Affiliate Programs Are a Scam — You Can’t Make Money From Them
The people behind this myth are the ones who say or write that you can’t earn enough from affiliate programs, or that there’s no real money in it at all. This fourth myth is the opposite of the third: some think everything is easy, others think everything is hard. It’s best to avoid both extremes. Know that it’s all up to you!
Yes, you can earn money with affiliate programs. If you stop chasing instant results and instead study and work at it consistently, day after day, you’ll get there. What that result looks like depends on the person.
People who honed their affiliate marketing skills day after day have reached results of hundreds of thousands of hryvnias a month. And that’s not the ceiling. In fact, the very fact that there’s no cap on this kind of income should be reason enough to get started right now.
Myth 5. You Need Money to Get Started
This myth about “starting capital” is the most serious obstacle facing anyone deciding whether to get into affiliate programs or just forget about it. How many times have you heard the same thing about starting your own business? It’s the exact same excuse. A psychological way of putting things off until some eternal “later.”
To get into affiliate marketing, you don’t just not need starting capital — you don’t need money at all. Sure, running ads costs money. But to study? To even start learning, does that cost money too? If your answer is yes, this probably isn’t for you. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and nerves.
To start working on your own site, you can pay around 200–600 UAH for a domain and hosting. And that’s for a whole year! But you can also start out on free hosting. Every obstacle is in your own head.
Parting Words
We’ve just gone through 5 common myths about earning money with affiliate programs. Don’t assume these are the only mistakes holding you back — there are other obstacles too. The main thing to remember is a simple truth: you can figure out anything if you put your mind to it.
