STM Forum is the largest affiliate forum. Experts and promising newbies gather here to exchange their experiences. Today we would like to share a big interview with Amy Cheung, STM Forum Senior Moderator. Let's dive into the ins and outs of the affiliate industry. Check the interview and enjoy!
Hi Amy. Please tell us how you assess the role of the STM Forum in affiliate marketing in 2023?
Members of STM mainly joined STM for two reasons: knowledge and networking. Whether you’re a newbie with zero experience, wanting step-by-step instructions on how to buy traffic, or an experienced affiliate wanting to swap tips and tricks with other veterans, or an affiliate of any experience level looking to join a mastermind to run campaigns with other affiliates, or a representative from an affiliate/traffic network looking to announce your products to affiliates, you will find what you want on STM.
Is there an entry threshold into affiliate marketing, or is it possible to start without a huge investment?
There are too many variables that will determine how much budget is needed before a new affiliate will start making money. In fact, some people will give up before they hit on profits. But I would suggest having at the very least $1500 as a starting budget for learning the basics over say 2-3 months — $1000 for buying traffic, $500 for tools such as a tracker, hosting, and spy tool.
Of course, the higher the budget, the more experience you will get, and the more affiliate offers and advertising angles and traffic sources etc. you can test, and therefore the higher your chances of success will be.
What are the essential services for advertising campaigns? Are there indispensable tools for an affiliate marketer?
- A good tracker software with the right hosting, an intuitive user interface, and fast redirection speed (crucial!).
- One or more spy tools that allow you to spy on ads and that are running on the platform(s) you’re buying ads on, along with pre-landings and affiliate offers, and other data. This way you can get inspiration on what may be working well at the moment, and improve from there.
- A fast CDN to ensure your pre-landings load quickly.
- Access to other affiliates, where you can ask questions and get answers, and/or find people to collaborate with. (The STM forum is perfect for this!)
- If running on social ad platforms or Google, having access to solid agency accounts can result in greater longevity of ad accounts. Test a few agencies that are recommended by STM members before choosing one to stick with.
What do you think about affiliate marketing courses? Should beginners take them?
Absolutely! For anyone who is brand new to buying traffic, I would recommend the '40-Day Tutorial' that can be found on STM. It uses pop traffic as a teaching/learning tool, to teach new affiliates about the basics of running paid traffic campaigns for a lower price. The course teaches about how to set up tracker software, how to create ads/pre-landings, how to sign up to affiliate networks and choose affiliate offers to run, how to sign up to traffic networks and set up campaigns, how to optimize and scale campaigns, etc.
For affiliates that already know the basics, I would suggest just testing extensively - whether it be testing more advertising angles, more audiences, more traffic sources, more offers, more geos, or more niches. Spend time on audience and niche research, and learn everything you can about how the algorithm of your chosen traffic platform works. Doing all this will teach you more than what most/all courses out there ever could.
Why can you get banned from the forum?
We have a set of very clear rules, that all members are encouraged to read when they join. We only ban members as a last resort, and usually only after we’ve issued one or more warnings that are not heeded.
The most common cause of bans is Spamming. This is usually done by representatives of affiliate or traffic networks. Self-promotion outside of specific areas of the forum is prohibited in order to ensure the quality of forum content.
Mutual respect is also very important to us. Fortunately, 99.99% of our members are nice human beings that treat one another with respect. Insults and unfounded accusations will not be tolerated. All bans are final.
There is Telegram, for example, a huge platform for communication. Do you think there is a risk that forums in Telegram will replace online forums?
Honestly, it’s not just a risk. It has already happened. There are people with shorter attention spans, that prefer learning through chat and social platforms, compared to online forums like STM. But I don’t believe they can completely replace forums, which are great for long-form content. For example, those long, multi-part newbie tutorials I wrote for STM, can never be posted to a chat!
Also, trying to search through a chat for ANYTHING can be a nightmare. Whereas all of the 50k+ threads with 400k+ posts on STM are just a search away.
People that like to learn more in-depth knowledge through long-form content, will come to STM. Those that like to learn through chat, can go to Telegram or Dscord or Facebook groups.
What trending niches would you single out? Which do you think will be on top in 2023 and 2024?
Health/Nutra is going strong. People’s health isn’t getting better in general, partly due to all the stress of inflation and the impending economic recession. And the desire to look and feel young, slimmer, and more muscular will always prevail. And there isn’t a shortage of new (or rebranded) products/offers to promote. Straight sales, COD, and trial offers are all going strong.
Leadgen is a general 'niche' that isn’t going anywhere. For as long as there are businesses needing leads, lead gen will be a business. Again, with the economic downturn that is so prevalent in many parts of the world, some types of finance offers are doing well, including loan, debt, and refi.
Ecom has cooled down from the Covid days, but people have gotten used to buying stuff online, and will not stop any time soon (if ever!). With the economic downturn though, people’s buying power is decreasing, so affiliates will need to get more creative with audience targeting and advertising angles.
Dating is an evergreen niche that serves a strong human need and desire. Targeting niche audiences with a relevant niche offer can help to avoid competition and increase conversion rates.
Also, it would seem that antivirus, VPN, mobile apps, and utilities are making a comeback. Offer payouts can range from under a dollar to $100 so you can find something that suits your test budget. PC fix software, driver update utilities, antivirus software such as Norton and Mcafee are just a few examples.
For more info on what niches are popular this year, download the free comprehensive report, What’s Working in Affiliate Marketing 2023.
What about crypto? Do you see an increase in interest in this niche? Are affiliates crazy about it?
I know there are affiliates that are still running crypto, but this niche isn’t nearly as popular as it was a couple of years ago. But this is just based on the affiliates I’ve been talking to, and the posts I’ve been reading on the forums. Your experience may differ.
What about Nutra? As far as I know, it has been trending for a long time, but throughout the year it's been losing its popularity among the affiliates. Is it true in 2023?
I still see quite a good number of affiliates running Nutra. As far as I can tell, the problem isn’t in the lack of demand. It’s because ad costs have increased, ad platforms have gotten more strict which has resulted in more ad account bans, and also competition has increased as more affiliates enter the industry. But affiliates are creative and resilient so they’re still finding ways to make it work.
How is TikTok performing in 2023? Does it have prospects to become the best source in 2024? Why?
Tiktok’s ad algorithm has become more mature and stable since it was first made available to advertisers. And its ad market share has been increasing year on year, threatening Google and Facebook/Meta. Will Tiktok become the best by next year? I don’t think it will just yet, because Meta and Google have been around much longer and are very established. But at the rate Tiktok’s market share is increasing, it definitely has the potential to be one of the top 3 best sources in the near future.
What do you think about TikTok's intention to develop internal search advertising? Will this be a powerful boost for affiliates that want to work with this source?
Anything new is worth testing! And I believe that as usual, first-movers that manage to make the traffic work for them will clean up before saturation occurs.
One more question, Amy. Do you feel happy working in the affiliate marketing niche? How do you deal with fatigue and, possibly, burnout?
Personally, I have diversified from doing affiliate marketing full-time to running other businesses. Affiliate marketing can be hugely rewarding and exciting, and has the potential of making a lot of money in a short time, but it can also be a very stressful business, just because of the uncertainties and the amount of money that is at stake, and the potential for things to go wrong. Offer can be pulled. Pre-landings can be banned by Google. Ad accounts can be banned. Profitable campaigns can die from saturation or a slew of other reasons. This is why most veteran affiliates I know will eventually crave more stability. Many of them have started other businesses or services or invested their money — basically building or investing in assets that can bring in more stable and predictable money than affiliate marketing campaigns.
I would urge all affiliate marketers to do the same: Diversify your income streams if possible to hedge against your affiliate campaigns, so that you can ride the highs and still survive the lows.
Moreover, getting sufficient rest is important. Try not to sit in front of your computer all day. Get adequate exercise. Eat right. Meditate. Work out at the gym. Go for walks in nature. Go out with friends. Have a healthy social life. Spend time with family. Sleep at night and work during the day instead of the other way around. Only with a healthy body and a healthy mind will you be able to stay neutral when running your affiliate marketing business, and to make wise business decisions.
Summary
The STM Forum offers active user expertise and archives of affiliate questions. Affiliate marketing is a dynamic industry. To be aware, read the forum update and follow @trafficcardinal, an active member of the community!
