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You don't need to be in Silicon Valley or need to have any of the things you have mentioned to promote your affiliate link in an effective way. None of the people I talked about have any of this.
As I said you need to know how and where to promote your ref link. Maybe you are targeting the wrong audience and this is why you didn't get the results you were expecting!
Having a platform could be beneficial in spreading your affiliation link faster and in more effective manner. If you have a platform to influence, the higher the probability you will reach more audience you can encourage into using your link or code.
It's also of importance to know whether or not you are targeting the right audience. Having the proper audience will help you have more successful referrals and affiliation clicks.