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Expansion and Diversification is an Affiliate Marketers Best Friend

5 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on August 2, 2007 in Affiliate Tips, Working Online  

Ok I know it has been a while since I posted. I apologize, I have been enjoying life too much…. Wait a second I don’t apologize, but I will be posting more. I wanted to give a little insight in this post and talk about Expansion and diversification in Affiliate Marketing.
First, if all you have had success out the gate congrats, but for most this doesn’t happen. BUT even people I know that have had good success out the gate (revenues of 100K a month), I know some that are back working their 9 to 5 or looking for 9 to 5 to pay the bills.  Why… basically they didn’t have any expansion or diversification plan… they banked one or two hot offers and they slowly died off. To really make it in this business you need to expand… try new offers outside your comfort zone.  Try diversification with other affiliate networks… whatever you do don’t just sit there and live the fat cat life for a few months only to find yourself working for the man again because you didn’t plan.  An old saying that I love is “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!” But I feel that if you plan to succeed you will succeed if you truly put forth the effort and don’t expect something for nothing.  A great example is Shoemoney…. He made and still makes money from ringtones, but the huge payout days have passed… but he had forethought and in turn created Auction Ads. Which was recently bought, for how much I don’t know, but I figure between 1 and 5 million. Of course he still runs affiliate campaigns and builds sites and he doesn’t want his online empire to die so he continues to look for the next big thing.  I encourage you to do the same not just what you are promoting today… but what are you working on today, that will still make you money a year from now ( 2 years, 5 years, etc..). If you don’t have anything that falls into that category you are just waiting for a bust or plan on killing yourself everyday to keep afloat.
1. Plan for Today
2. Plan for the Future.
3. In the Plans Diversify (Campaigns, companies and revenue streams)
4. Enjoy life!  (It’s no fun having a load of cash and not enjoying it)

Affiliate Summit East 07 – Networking, CPA Networks, Kris Jones, Shoemoney

5 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on July 14, 2007 in Affiliate Summit, Affiliate Tips, Working Online  

I am back finally from Affiliate Summit East 07 in Miami. It was a blast! This time I didn’t take any pictures…. Yes I know I should have but I didn’t so sorry no photos.  Compared to This Year’s Vegas conference Miami was much better.  It seemed as though anyone and everyone was there.

Of course I talked with various CPA networks I currently use and had some interesting conversations with some networks that I will be giving a try. I gave away the T-shirts that I brought with me, I was surprised how many people stopped me to say hey or ask for a T-shirt.

I went to the Jamster Party (Thanks Shoemoney) which was actually kind of lame (we arrived 30 minutes late but were the first ones there) but I did get an opportunity to talk with a great affiliate guy (Dave) that runs Coupon Code. We had some good conversation about what he is doing in the affiliate world and what I am doing. It was interesting to discuss what has changed and where the affiliate and mobile space is headed.

The only session I attended besides the keynote speaker was the monetizing communities with Lee Dodd and Jeremy Schoemaker (Shoemoney) doing a Question & Answer session. It was a good listen, as they talked about how to start a forum from nothing, monetizing existing forums better, subscription/premium membership and using a current site to start up a forum.

Probably my highlight of the conference besides meeting all the new people was sitting down in private and chatting with Kris Jones (Pepperjam), Jeremy Schoemaker (Shoemoney), and Lee Dodd (Sprint Users). We talked about Elite Retreat but also talked about online marketing, affiliate marketing, and growing businesses online. 

There are many other great people I met during the conference (Chris, Ken, Forest, Kathy, Nathan, Paul, Jaun…)  and will be in touch with in the future. I must urge anyone in the affiliate / online world to attend an Affiliate Summit if you haven’t already!

Insanity Marketing – To many affiliates do this.

6 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on June 6, 2007 in Affiliate Tips, Working Online  

Instanity Marketing, this thought popped into my head and figured i would blog about it. First off lets break it down.

Defininitons:

  • Insanity – extreme folly; senselessness; foolhardiness. I heard one guy describe it this way Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result.
  • Marketing – the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling

So what is insanity marketing…. to me it is doing the same thing over and over but yet not improving your sales or leads. The funny thing is that i get emails like this ALL the time, I was marketing just like they said on Digital Point, Shoemoney, (insert any blog or forum you regulate ) etc… but yet i am bearly making money or even losing. I can’t seem to make more but i keep applying the same marketing techniquess. 

Well Duh… change your techniques, try something different. So many people are followers and they will do just as you say. The key to really make it in online marketing is to not be an Insanity marketer but to be a Shape Shifter Marketer.  Still apply what has worked in the past but change to make more and to appeal to a new crowd or to stand out so your offer doesn’t blend in. If all you do is try the same stuff over and over you may make money but you are not going to break out and make huge money. The online world changes and adapts daily so does your online marketing.

Don’t be an Insanity Marketer.

Blogging Disclosure – Disclose or Not Disclose that is the Question

1 Person Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on June 5, 2007 in Working Online  

I came across the Post on Shoemoney’s Blog Debating Blogging Disclosure With Rand Fishkin On Net Income and figured i would throw in my 2 cents. In general I feel that everyone has motive or reason for making posts or reviews on products or just writing in general.

I mean everyone writes for some reason, maybe to gain attention, to earn money, to get links back, to make a name for themselves you name it. Even the people that say they write just to write are hoping to one day land a book deal or something. I look at it as everyone has something to gain and that in one way or another they are probably on the take in some shape or fashion. 

People gain credibility because they are credible. Example (neither person discloses), If someone is directly on the take and all they review is all positive stuff about 80% crap items, or whatever. People stop reading. If someone is on the take and still post their own honest opinions then people will come back to read more. I look at it this way, if you disclose or not it is really up to you, but ultimately the readers of your content at some point will realize either your posts are gold or crap,  and it really won’t matter if you disclose or not.

Thats my 2 cents, whats yours.

CPA Affiliates T shirts are in!

10 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on June 1, 2007 in CPA Affiliate Announcements, Working Online  

With the new design and layout, I finnally descided to get some T-shirts made. They came in late yesterday afternoon. Of course the best part for my readers is you will have a chance to get one! I haven’t decided how or what will have to be done to get one but there will be plenty of opportunities. I might just choose from time to time an awesome comment and send them a T shirt.

Front of CPA Affiliates T shirt
CPA Affiliates T Shirt Front

Back of CPA Affiliates T shirt
CPA Affiliates T Shirt Back

Well Time to enjoy the weekend!

How to Make 5 Million dollars

13 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on May 16, 2007 in Working Online  

Who wouldn’t want to know how to make 5 million dollars? A million isn’t what it used to be. I got inspired to write this post on how to make 5 million after reading Smart Money, they had an article about how to make 5 million and I found it interesting. I thought I would share some of the info and some of my thoughts on how it relates to online marketing world.

First off some interesting facts (Pulled from Smart Money Magazine June 2007 issue):

  • 70% of great family fortunes are less than 13 years old. (stats from the Harrison Group)
  • from the 70% the Majority are Entreprenuers
  • In the US 1 in 12 families have atleast 1 million tucked away (this includes home equity, investments, etc..)
  • To be in the nations top 1% you need more than 5 million.
  • Only 10% of those worth over 5 million inherited it. 
  • 80% either started their own business or had a large stake in the business they worked for and it saw massive growth.

Now you are probably saying those are some interesting facts but how do i make that 5 million? First off as the stats show you most likely aren’t going to get there by working a normal 9 to 5 job behind a desk for someone else. You also need to have a drive to succeed and not give up even in the face of failure. Many people that succeed or make it big many times fail at first, but the important thing is they got up and kept trying.  This means going after something you love or have a passion for. Let me repeat that, it means going after something you love or have a passion for.

Without big risk there is no big reward. Which is why you most likely won’t become rich working a 9 to 5 for someone else. The risk may mean at first giving up some free time, then looking towards quitting your 9 to 5 to persue your dream or goal. But there almost always has to be some risk to the big reward.

If it is something you can’t handle on your own, find people that can believe in and get behind your vision. Nothing like having a partner or coworker that is constantly telling you it’s not going to work. If you don’t have the skills to completely do what you want to bring someone on that can or even train yourself by going to school or classes.

Now to the part about online Marketing. Everyone that reads this has an AWESOME opportunity at hand. With the LOW cost of startup for an online business LITERALLY anyone can do it. To get started you can literally get going for less than 20 bucks a month. ( don’t stop for starbucks a few days out of the month and you got it covered.)

Now do some research. Save your money and don’t buy e-books as the knowledge is out there for free 99% of the time. Just visit some of the great forums out there, read and ask questions.  Two good ones are Digital Point and Earners Forum  

Get behind a product or area of interest and start a website, blog, online community about the product or area of interest. If one already exists can you improve upon it or have a site with a different angle or offer something the other sites or communities aren’t. Start promoting it, tell friends and family. Utilize sources like Press releases, Google Adwords, Text Link Ads or ReviewMe to get the word out there about your site.

Now you have a site up with traffic and people visiting you want to monetize it. You can use various sources like, CPA networks, Google Adsense, CPM networks or even AuctionAds (alows you to show users the latest auctions for certain product or category and if they buy you get a commision).  Once you have your first established site try branching out into new areas and use the ‘techniques that worked for you but always be on the look out for news ways to promote and monetize your sites.

If you actually take the time and effort to provide a great site or resource around a product and get the word out you will start making money online. The key is having the drive not to give up when you only have 10 visitors a day or 1 lead a week. Also keep in mind it’s not always about having one site or idea make you 5 million it could be many or even 100′s of products or sites. Maybe you say you don’t need 5 million maybe you need 10 or maybe you only need one, either way they internet has a wealth of opportunities avialable if you will only be willing to put some time and effort into it. I hope this also helps inspire people to realize that even an average joe can become worth 5 million just takes some effort, ideas and risk.

Monday Post – Taking a Break after Mothers Day

4 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on May 14, 2007 in Working Online  

*Note this post has nothing to do with making money (unless you like spending the money you make on fishing). After marketing for Mothers Day last week, I decide to take a break on monday and go fishing with my wife. We went fishing in southern louisiana near Lake Charles and had a Blast caught over 40 fish, A few Red fish ( No keepers), Bunch of Speckled Trout and 3 Flounder. Below is a Pick of me with two of the big trout (about 3lbs each) and a cooler Full of speckled trout (MMMmmm can’y wait for the fish fry next weekend)
David Adams with Two Trout

Cooler of Trout

Hope everyone had a good mothers day. Tuesday I will be punching away on the keyboard, responding to emails, and analyzing stats. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s Almost Like Christmas

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Posted on May 10, 2007 in Working Online  

As of lately i haven’t been doing much posting. Due to 3 reasons, Mothers day, New PC, New Server.

First off was getting some campaigns setup and ready to roll for Mothers Day. While it hasn’t been earth shattering it has been good. Hopefully those that decided to tackle it are making a nice chunk, and not just blowing dough on PPC campaigns.

Secondly, I got my new PC in. Dude I got a Dell…. Sorry i couldn’t resist :) . But seriously it was time for an upgrade for me. So I went with a Dell Optiplex 745 with Windows XP Pro (Untill they get all my programs working in Vista, i sent Bill an email about this), Intel Core Duo, 2GB Ram, 2X250GB Hard drives and ATI Video card… and the setup wouldn’t be complete without Dual 20″ Ultrasharp Monitors, plus a wireless keyboard and mouse cause I hate Wires. Picture Below.

New Computer 
Lastly, I am setting up with a New Host. I am pretty excited about it cause my reliability at my last host was somewhat poor (in this market even minutes down can mean hundreds lost) BUT it was cheap so I can’t complain. After I run some tests with my new host and uptime stays I will give them a plug here or if they suck I will let you know also.

Monday Grind and a Big Push of Marketing

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Posted on April 30, 2007 in Working Online  

Well I had a Great weekend, money wise and fun wise as i went to Astros Game Saturday night and of course i feel my presence brought them out of a slump to win that game (they lost the last 6 prior). No I am on the Monday Grind… for whatever reason my mondays always start of slow. Usually i “take off” on monday’s due to this cause as i look at my stats and it drives me nuts… the crazy part is by the end of day everything is back to normal… maybe it’s all the people actually doing work on monday mornings….  and not surfing the internet. With that said I am going to make a big push in marketing over the next few weeks.

I am making the push mainly just because i can. I have been testing some campaigns making tweaks to landing pages, keywords, trying different methods of promotion etc… All this test and tweaking is proving worth while so now I am getting ready to make my push… why do i call it a big push well because i am not holding back i am going full force and driving strong as for past two weeks i have had things in coasting mode mainly because i needed a break from staring at spreadsheets and pie charts of my results.

Thats it for today….

I got Pinged by Shoemoney – What Magazines Do I Read?

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Posted on April 23, 2007 in CPA Affiliate Announcements, Working Online  

I got pinged by Shoemoney for the topic of What Magazines Do I Read?

Well I Read the Following magazines regularly:

Entrepreneur
Inc.
Forbes
Smart Money
Fortune
Fast Company
Revenue

Best thing of all is all the magazines I read I got 100% FREE I have never paid for a magazine subscription thanks to this site All Free Magazines

For this i am Going to Ping:
Brian Gardner
Linda Buquet
Capitalist Pig
Chad AKA Sonicreducer

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