Are Paid Affiliate Marketing Tools Worth It?
If you spend more than 5 minutes involved in the online “internet marketing scene, you’ll come across some kind of affiliate marketing tools. Often, they’re extremely expensive tools, such as the $2000 Google Cash Detective Program. It’s natural to wonder if they’re actually worth it, or if it’s all a bunch of hype designed to get wannabes to fork over their hard-earned cash.
Unfortunately, it’s a little more complicated than just saying, “Yes, they’re all good” or “No, don’t buy products”. There are good ones and there are bad ones. On the bright side, I can say definitively that if a product is over $100 or $200, you absolutely do not need it to be successful. Most of the successful affiliates I know do use some tools, but I’ve never once met a top affiliate who honestly used all the flashy, expensive products. Even the gurus who promote them are often lying about how much they use the tool they’re promoting.
You should also remember that those expensive products treat IM gurus much the same way that luxury brands treat Hollywood celebrities – they give them everything for free. Yes, the guys are making tons of money and they could buy the products on their own. That doesn’t matter. Giving it to them for free gives them a reason to try them out.
I’m not saying that fancy tools can’t make your life easier, because they definitely can. What I’m saying is that I’ve never seen a $2000 product that would turn a $10/day affiliate into a $1000/day affiliate. Tools are better for making your existing high revenue business more efficient. If you’re not making thousands already, don’t dump thousands on a product.
Outside of those expensive products, though, there are tons of products in much more reasonable price ranges. Should you buy those? Well, I won’t say that you shouldn’t. Many of the products you see are great – Twitter Adders, Facebook ad management programs, article spinners, and so on. The real issue is this – WILL YOU USE IT? If so, then go for it. Most have a money back guarantee, and even if you can’t get your money back, your losses will be minimal.