Successful affiliate marketers see obstacles as opportunities to learn, not reasons to give up. They have learnt the underlying secret of success – persistence pays.

Persistence brings its own unique pay-off in the form of what I call the four R’s – resources, realization, relationships and rewards.

1. Resources

If you persist with an affiliate program you get to understand the resources available to you and how best to use them for your program. Many affiliate programs today provide support for affiliate marketing in the form of solo ads, classified ads, banners, suggested signature lines, articles for your website or blog, safelist memberships, viral e-books, viral reports, marketing videos and autoresponder message series.

These resources are often backed up by forums, chat rooms, teleconferences, and tutorials where you can learn how to make the best use of these resources for the affiliate program involved.

It is not possible in two or three months to get to effectively use all these resources or fully understand your affiliate program, the product and/or service offering and the dynamics of the relevant target market.

By not persisting with your affiliate program, you are missing learning opportunities and under-utilising the resources available to you (which you are ultimately paying for).

2.Realization

Persistence brings increased realization through exposure to these affiliate resources, to successful affiliates and to the systems that support your affiliate program. You learn (over time) what marketing strategies are the most cost-effective for the product or service that you are marketing through your affiliate program.

You also come to fully appreciate your program’s follow-up system, reporting system and commission structure. Persistence helps you understand better the features and benefits of your product/service offering, the real target market and how to sell to this market.

Persistence can bring the realization of how best to use your personal resources and skills for your affiliate program. It can also help you realize ways to achieve synergy between the various affiliate programs you are involved in.

3.Relationships

Persistence develops relationships over time, particularly if you are active in communicating with your sponsor, upline, downline and other affiliates through the affiliate program’s forum, teleconferences or teleclasses.

Relationships, in turn, bring resources, support, encouragement and ideas to help you to improve your effectiveness and your affiliate income. You can access affiliate marketing coaching through these relationships.

If you do not persist, you cut yourself off from these relationship benefits.

4.Rewards

Persistence can bring a range of rewards. Loyalty to an affiliate program is often rewarded by a sponsor or program owner. Sometimes this takes the form of discounts, bonuses, extra credits or downline members. You may also benefit through the natural evolution of the program as it is refined, improved and upgraded. Long-standing members are frequently given first access to new offerings.

Persistence can result in your emerging as a program leader which in turn can lead to your receiving lucrative offers to act as a leader in another affiliate program.

These four R’s – resources, realization, relationships and rewards – are interdependent. With persistence comes a form of synergy where the four R’s reinforce each other and you receive an even greater benefit from the fact that they are actively working together to increase your affiliate income.

Persistence pays – it takes you to another level of development as an affiliate marketer, deepens your understanding of affiliate marketing, enriches your online experience and brings monetary rewards.

How often have you wondered: Where would I be now if I had only persisted with that other affiliate program?