This is a fundamental mistake new affiliates make. They choose a website theme that is much too general. They choose to make a website about computers or credit cards or diets or insurance.

These are all profitable topics of major interest to many people. But topics are too broad and you'll be running yourself ragged trying to be all things to all people.

Solution? Make your website theme as niche as you can - while still being profitable.

For example, instead of a website about computers, why not a site about laptops only? Instead of diets, why not diet patches? Instead of credit cards, why not no-fee credit cards? You get idea.

By doing this you'll be way ahead of most affiliate marketers. You'll also be setting yourself apart from crowd - people will remember your website as a 'specialized' website and you'll be first website they'll visit when they want a laptop, or a diet patch review or a no-fee credit card.

Reason #3 Poor Choice of Affiliate Program

If you're an affiliate who isn't making money you think you should be making - maybe problem isn't anything you've done. The problem could be affiliate program.

Not every affiliate program is created equal and for every 1 that makes you money, there are 10 that won't. It's not your fault, that's just way it works. You've got to test and try different programs to find true winners.

Experience will show you which ones are a good fit for your website and your visitors. Learn from that experience and then spend more time and effort on programs that make you most money.

And don't just go by highest EPC numbers (earnings per one hundred clicks). I know of one affiliate who purposely seeks out low-earning EPC affiliate programs because he says there's little competition for them. He makes a tidy little sum from several of these affiliate programs that other affiliates are ignoring.

Your personal experience is best indicator of what will make you most money. I've tried some affiliate programs that were (apparently) huge earners. They didn't make me a dime. I've tried others that didn't look so hot as far as earnings and they make me $1000+ per month. It really depends on you and your website.

If you're not making money you think you should be making - and you feel you're doing everything else right, it could just be your choice of affiliate program. Try changing affiliate programs and see if that increases your sales.

Those are 3 main reasons why 95% of affiliate websites don't make money they could be making. Steer clear of these pitfalls and you'll be on your way to being in that top 5% of affiliate marketers making big bucks.

K. O'Neill is contributing writer to Web Conversion

For more free tips and articles on how to improve your web conversion rate and make more sales, visit:

DIRECTIONS: Find a good and reliable web merchant who offers products you are impressed with. Remember, you cannot sell, or re-sell to be more exact, a product you don’t believe in. You also have to consider if said goods are sellable. You could determine this by conducting some research on target market. Here’s a tip though: anything is marketable on web, if you have time, patience, and willingness to seek out potential customers.

Once you have chosen a web merchant, you have to study terms of affiliate program he offers. Important things to consider are modes of payment and commission percentage. Make sure that web merchant would be able to pay you through payment method you have availed of. The commission scheme must likewise be favorable to you. Here’s another tip: for sales, do not settle for less than 20% commission.

If all is to your satisfaction, sign up.

You will then be given a link that, when clicked pursuant to a sale or a hit, would inform your web merchant’s system that you are eligible for a commission. Do not lose this link, as it would be your bread and butter for affiliate programs.

Now, all you have to do is to strategically place this link on your website. Additionally, you must make a sales pitch to your visitors so that they’ll consider clicking on said link. This can be done by discussing something noteworthy, say for example, a how-to guide on recovering lost data, and in body of your article, you could suggest your readers to try a certain product like a backup system, whose link is provided therein. Also, you could make a sales page, which is basically a page dedicated to product you’re trying to resell, and which can be accessed from your site.

As an added option, you could also make your own e-book and distribute it for free. The e-book itself should tackle something important, but should contain suggestions about use of product you’re reselling, with appropriate link that would garner for you your commission. Also, you could join online forums that are dedicated to market that product would be perfect for. Include your link in your signature. This would expose it to people who would view threads you participated in.

© 2005 Gunnar Berglund

Gunnar Berglund has been a "internet- hardworker" for the last five years He publishes The meonit Gazette http://gazette.meonit.com and run http://www.meonit.com and http://www.grabinternetprofits.com