If You HAD to Start Over - What would you do Different???

[jasonmangrum]

If ONLY I Had A "Time Machine"... Here's what I'd have done differently...

Hey all,

Jason Mangrum here.

First of all, great topic. I've thought about
this one a few times myself.

Back when I first released my Instant Marketing
Miracle JV Software I would be ten times more
successful than I am now if I would have focused
on building my list of interested prospects!

Back in the day I did TONS of JV's and that's
pretty much what got me to where I'm at now,
but those affiliate links from my partners went
straight to my sales page, which didn't have
any option for joining a list... (doh!)

Man, if only I'd known what a "squeeze page"
was back then... you'd probably see my face
on a TV infomercial by now. I thought I had
everything set up right... even gave 75% of
each sale to my JV partners which was unheard-of
back in those days... but didn't think to capture
the names and emails of every visitor my JV partners
sent to me that didn't buy my software right out.

So the moral of this story is you *can* be successful
without building a list... just by leveraging other peoples'
lists... but you'll be TEN times more successful if every
single ad you write from now on sends your visitors to
a lead capture form where you can follow up with them,
survey them, find out what they want to hear, and give
it to them! It's never about the sale... it's about building
long-term relationships with your subscribers.

I've since went on to establish a list of 50,000+
highly responsive members and getting more every
day of the week. We don't learn from our successes,
we learn from our MISTAKES! So, learn from mine.

Until next time!

 

[AffiliateGuild]

Good Advice for New Affiliates - 25 Affiliate Tips To Success

Thanks Linda for raising this issue!

Good Advice for New Affiliates - 25 Affiliate Tips To Success

1. Too much time building websites will bog you down. Make easy to maintain sites.

2. SEO does matter if you want targeted traffic.

3. Get a newsletter email opt-in on every page of every website you own.

4. Either get a forum or get a blog going.

5. Write about your affiliate programs

6. Focus on conversion not payout. Commissions are important though.

7. Get really, really niche.

8. Find affiliate programs that will be around awhile.

9. Find a search engine friendly cloaking script for your links.

10. There is more to affiliate life than Google! Diversify!

11. Learn about your affiliate programs and speak intellegently about them.

12. If you don't see what you want to represent, go get it. Consider your own affiliate network.

13. Make friends with Affiliate Managers ... and if you have a lot of traffic ask for a bigger percentage on payout.

14. Work with reputable leadership 5Star

15. Buy from the affiliate program if you want to know how they work. We do it all the time.

16. Monetize your websites.

17. If you have enough traffic sell ad space. If you have good SEO ranking, charge more for ads.

18. Ask for the sale. Most affiliate program banners don't close sales, you must do it.

19. You must work 8-10+ hours daily to be a successful super affiliate.

20. Keep it really simple ... accomplish your goals with focused resources.

21. Find affiliate programs that offer a wide variety of advertising opportunities from banners to datafeeds.

22. Find affiliate programs that require strong marketing ethics and follow them, WIN-WIN.

23. Find affiliate programs that payout on schedule everytime. You're in control here!

24. Look for affiliate programs with affiliate tracking for phone sales you generate.

25. Look for affiliate programs with solid servers and software that works 100% of the time. Other affiliates write about the bad ones, so be aware and read the affiliate forums and blogs.

That's it! Happy Marketing!
Bobbie

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Jason and Bobbie,

Welcome to 5 star and thanks for making your 1st post here so valuable.

Please pop up to the intro forum and introduce yourselves, then jump into some other threads. Sounds like you both have some great experience to share.

I know Bobbie does because we've had a couple very informative phone calls.
Good to see your post Bobbie and hope you both become regular posters.

 

[Maestra]

I AM starting all over again

Learning from painful affiliate past, but encouraged with some recent developments, and your posts over here (learned quite a lot!!!) I am starting over again. Why do I think this time would be different than before? In short, this time I am applying the same principles I have learned in offline marketing. Besides, my mindset has changed (to the better, I'd say!).

(Aside the fact that online and offline economies have been through significant changes, compared to 10 years ago...)

#1 Affiliate progs portfolio (not in order of importance)
Before:
- I have entered into any and every programme, promising lucrative provision, hoping at least something would turn into success.

Now:
- I am concentrating my efforts, purposefuly and meaningfuly. Just like when applying for a job: my CV is tailored to a certain occassion and prospective employer, instead of being an exhaustive, bulletted autobiography. The same goes for the intended portfolio of my aff progs and derived choices offered to the visitors.
- Selling anything and everything, or working in finance business - if something else is what really like - just because it promises countless flows of cash, isn't my thing. (Although I have come up at the idea how can I meaningfuly use affiliate programs to save money and at the same time promote whatever I can think of ordering... but that's another story And it's not about clicking on your own links!)


#2 Having a site, and how would it look like
Before:
- I didn't have site, and if I had one, it would probably be - again - about everything and anything I had to offer, either as a person or as a professional.

Now:
I am taking a completely different approach: I might have some sort of 'central board', linking to my various sites, but effectively, just like with CVs (again), for each area worth offering, I will develop its own space, one by one. Of course, whenever possible, web-ring-ing possibilities are warmly welcome. (This is a great breakthrough for me, since I've finally got the idea how can I avoid being either a superficial all-rounder or narrow specialist!)

Just like when creating an assortment in the supermarket, its owners look at the overall assortment and calculations, not concentrating only at the single products and their contribution margins, so the whole site and my web presence matter - I see myself as a customer's friend, not a greedy (re)salesman.

Therefore, although carefully chosen, not all of aff progs I am supporting will be available on each and every site, but only those most significantly contributing the overall vision I have for that site.


#3 JVs
Before:
- JV ideas havent' occured to my mind, not even close. Even if they did, I wouldn't have a clue what to do about them.

Now:
- Thanks to my latest researches, including reading posts on this site, I have come across and am more able to use this idea! As for criteria, JV portfolio also has to "fit in"

#4 Education and 'professional development'
Before:
- I didn't go to school -> back then, I simply jumped into the water and started to swim. I haven't asked around, searched for the experts in the field, best strategies, programs, tactics, etc., what to pay attention at, etc. (Ten years ago, most of them were also starting!) Although usually a "smart shopper," I wasn't acting like one, probably because I didn't take it as something worth being serious with.

Now:
- I know and am aware that affiliating (whether successful or not) can take the time, effort, and money, so I don't want to waste it but use most efficiently. And if I do something, however small, I want to be well-prepared, because I intend to do it properly, in an excellent manner (like everything else). Since I have realized it is possible for me to succeed in Internet mktg as well (there IS a system, after all!), I have started to test and develop my personal board of advisors (super affiliates), resources, etc. in order to gain necessary education and practice required to ultimately become success (or at least I'll know I did my part). I am not such a big potato to pay 1000s of dollars for various courses, but until I am in the bigger league, I am searching for those within my budget and those 'small secrets' that experts do uncover (for peanuts or free). (Moreover, sometimes only time will tell who is a real deal and who isn't!)

- if possible, I would seek for somebody who I can learn from (individually or in group of 2-10 people) - a mentor, advisor, with system approach; or at least someone with whom I can exchange experiences. While I am not a big fan of MLM-ish meetings and making MLMs my way of life, I'd like to have smbd to be able to turn to, without being grabed by the neck or considered simply as a jumping board.

#5 Stand behind yr products
Before
- whatever product we were talking about, online or offline, I wasn't aware of the importance of my own experience as a consumer/customer. More often than not, I would simply go for a supposedly lucrative product, although not being able nor willing to use it myself. I would also offer the product because I knew prospective buyers (e.g. financially able, or interested in the product), while I myself wouldn't have been one at all. E.g. I have been selling expensive travelling tours at a discount price (still expensive), hoping that I would make it (someday) enough to go there and check it out.

Now:
- I put myself in the shoes of a consumer, and a prospective customer, while taking myself as a person into account as well: I can credibly promote only if I have "been there, done that", i.e. only those products/services that I have experience with, that "fit in", support my passion, have reliable customer service; if I am happily using them, this already is my benefit, regardless of the potential affiliate payout. On the other hand, as an affiliate, I am also looking for an affiliate 'customer support', % commissions, payouts etc.
- there are products that are not in my line of promotion, although I am using them.

#6 Planning
Before:
- I went without a plan, especially business plan, financial goals, etc.

Now:
- I have made my research, selected appropriate business and marketing plans, and already have tried some of them
- I am remodelling my offline business towards online orientation, and each aspect of marketing will be carefuly tested, chosen, with its own mini-plan along the overall marketing, business and business owner's (me) strategy. Furthermore, there will be financial and other goals for each "department", therefore for affiliate section as well. Plus I am thinking of developing my own affiliate or rewards program.

#7 Order of development
Before:
- I've stumbled upon certain affiliate programs, and thought this would be enough. Eventually I got the idea - you should have a site first, and then I realized - site... about what?

Now:
- thanks to the SBI! (no, I don't have their site yet! but I have read some materials), and some other studying, I decided to finally listen to my deeply burried intuition: build the content that warms up the visitors heart, then go with the technical stuff

#8 Technical stuff, Admin, etc.
Before:
- I didn't have a clue how many things are involved into building a successful business
- as for technical side, I thought (and have been mostly right), that there's lot of manual work I have to do myself (and learn if necessary)

Now:
- I know there's lot of work to do, but it's not impossible (I knew that), nor it has to take days and months, even if you don't have the team of IT specialists to back you up - e.g. I am already testing some keyword searching solutions instead of manual searches
- I know the competition is harsh, there are millions of pages, and as much as I have the will to do everything right, I would rather automate those things I cannot thorough-search anyway, and pay my attention where it makes better sense, e.g. strategy, building relationship with clients, content development, etc.. Sounds like SBI!s Brainstorm It! or Think It!
- I am also looking for an assistant or a complementary partner: I like having things taken care of, but don't have nor time nor nerves for this (too boring!)

#9 Conclusion- Different mindset(s): I have decided to learn and to do what it takes to be successful in this. But, as for me, being an affiliate is only a part of the deal. I still don't want affiliate (or any other) marketing to take over my job and my day. If I see it taking over more space than I am willing to give it, if costs begin to outgrow benefits, or it simply doesn't serve my purpose(s) anymore, I am cutting it down. I am building my life, and my professional reputation and education around my passions, my "whys" in life, so everything else (including aff. progs) has to fit in, otherwise it is simply a waste of space.

I have many hobbies, and my business can potentially build several other businesses around the core one. But, again, I am taking the offline marketing approach: after deciding how deep and how wide would I want to go, I am narrowing the list down to one hobby and one part of my business, and building it up, while considering only those affiliate programs that - just like any other part of my business - contribute to the big picture, not the other way around. Because the point of my being here is not to sell something and collect money, but to provide a truly useful information and/or service to my visitors. Since there are different types of my visitors, I might even develop various sites according to their needs (and offer appropriate affiliate programs), so e.g. a corporate customer would not see information offered to those self-employed or start-ups. And when I see that I am handling that one site well - and its aff progs (which may take weeks, or months), then rinse and repeat...

So, 10 years ago, I wouldn't have (such good) a clue what to do with an SBI! site, but now... it would mean a huge difference. So, after almost a year of shopping, online world, here I come! I'll eventually have one site (hopefully SBI!), either now (as a winner), either when I save enough to cover all SBI! subscription related costs (a bit tricky and expensive in Croatia, if you try avoid credit card trap).

 

[StephenR]

EXCELLENT POST Maestra.

"...but to provide a truly useful information and/or service to my visitors..." I could not agree with you more. Do not deviate from that mindset and there is no reason you can not accomplish whatever you set out to do Online.

 

[hurricaneshutters]

I would have improved the look and feel of the website soon to increase conversions! I would have added more articles and additional content pages to get more free traffic.

 

[Scratch2Casher]

purplebear, I really wouldn't worry too awful much about hurting anyone's feelings when you get an email offering you an affiliate account... those are sent from an email list that you ended up on somewhere, no one is sitting there and wondering or waiting on you to join.... not being a smartass, just telling you the truth about that...

Just wanted to say that I do sometimes, when encountering a site that I think can work well with my site, send a personal email to the webmaster. And if it's a site I really like, I even wait for a response. Not that that should make a difference to people, but affiliate managers have feeling too.
But of course, business is business...

 

[fahren]

I would not have done a web page but went straight to a blog. Also focused on how to get directed traffic.

 

[Lisa76]

Interesting Fahren...I know some people get tons of traffic from a stand-alone blog but most people use the traffic from their sites to make their blog popular. So do you not have a website at all?

 

[fahren]

Yes, I do but it's so pitiful I'm redesigning it

 

[MissM25]

Great thread, great advice! Shortens the learning curve for newbies like me. Thanks to everyone who posted.

 

[krunk]

more focus

I would pay more attention on learning how to draw in consistent streams of quality traffic.

 

[TonyMB]

Treat It Like A Business From Day 1

Hi Linda

What an interesting question

The strange thing is that I have just completed a full review of my online activities and realised that I need to go back to basics and start over again especially if I want to achieve my dream of creating an ongoing lifelong independent income that will enable me to achieve other dreams and goals (e.g. spend 2 years travelling the globe)

Here are a few pointers that I have drawn from my own online experiences over the last 5 years:

(1) Write down your goals and dreams BEFORE you start
It's critical that you are very clear about where you're heading and what you want to achieve. As Stephen Covey says 'start with the end in mind'. I have met too many people who jumped into Internet Marketing chasing the quick money, who quit the day job way too soon, only to end up broke with shattered dreams a couple of years later.

(2) Be prepared to work hard BEFORE you become a success
It really infuriates me that there is a growing psychie that the Internet somehow represents the ultimate 'Get Rich Quick' opportunity and it somehow produces Millionaires on a conveyor belt. Of course the Internet represents an incredible tool to help you achieve incredible LEVERAGE which has the potential (once you have become a master of the skills that are critical to your success) to provide you with a substantial ongoing income and free up your time to pursue other goals and interests. BUT...it is crucial that you are prepared to WORK VERY HARD in the early days until you've created sufficient revenue streams that provide you with the income you need for the lifestyle you choose.

(3) Build your business on a REAL cost model
Everyone is looking for 'something for nothing' and the reality is that there is no such thing. The recent buzz about blogging, PLR articles, adsense incomes, virtual real estate sites, data entry (adwords), schemes to achieve high natural search rankings, instant sites, resell rights, etc, etc is creating a culture where newbies are drawn into the 'trap' that they can become wealthy online for FREE. Simply NOT TRUE.

I have now developed a cost model for my business which is based on accounting for real overheads such as hosting fees, domain names, pay-per-click campaigns, professional web-site designs, software to automate more of my businesses, paid for membership sites, attending free and paid for seminars, hiring programmers when needed, etc, etc. I now have a much clearer picture of my business, the turnover I need to achieve and a process that evaluates where best to make further investments in my business for effective growth.

(4) Set more financial goals and targets
I remember when I first had that 'moment' when I realised the potential power of the Internet and the sheer excitement I felt when I could see that I could develop a large independent income that would completely transform my life. I also remember how I got sucked into the 'sensationalisation and hype' surround Internet Marketing and I felt hypnotised by the prospect of earning a 'significant six figure income' within months (at the time I was making $250k as an IT contractor) which would replace my income and I would then have the time to do other things...

What I didn't do is set measurable financial goals and targets to help me focus on developing my business and seeing it develop gradually over time. Recently I was discussing a new perspective with friends here in the UK and realised that the vast majority of people in the UK are working to bring home less that ?2000 ($3500) per month. In other words they are blowing their brains out working a job that most don't truly enjoy 40-50 hours per week to earn a measly ?500 ($850) per week! CRAZY! And yet if these same people could work on creating a part-time, low risk, low investment, Internet based income of JUST ?100 ($180) per day it would revolutionise their lives.

Make sure you don't get drawn in by the hype and the promise of big bucks. Set stepping stone goals that as you reach them (and maintain them) create more opportunities and chioces in your life.

(5) Build your business on PROVEN foundations
This is related to the previous point. If you truly want to change your life forever and use the power and leverage of the Internet to provide you with a lifelong ongoing independent income then you need to build your business on proven foundations that will ensure your business will continue to thrive for years to come.

Too many people get drawn into the 'make a fast buck now' and spend enormous amounts of time creating temporary income streams (e.g. Junk sites built with Traffic Equalizer, Adsense content sites [since Google enabled advertisers to set a totally different bid price for their ads on the content network to their bids on the search network!!], etc) that they have simply created a different job for themselves.

Be very careful where you source your information and advice from. For my money the best of the best are the following people:

• Corey Rudl (R.I.P.)
• Jim Edwards
• Jimmy D Brown
• Yanik Silver
• Mike Filsaime
• Stephen Pierce
• Perry Marshall
• David Cavenaugh
• Jeff Johnson

I have deliberately left out some of the other well known people because I have found that their approach is more about getting your $$$s rather than being completely open with you. In my opinion an example of what I mean is John Reese. Yes I bought the original Traffic Secrets (and I made a few thousand $$$s as an affiliate) and I also signed up for 'The Reese Report' where John was 'going to explain and show us exactly' how he developed his VRE empire that did $500k in its first year from a standing start...Not! Personally I found it extremely frustrating as he always seemed to be holding something back - yes the information he gave was OK but it was not something new, just a different perspective...hmmm (Sorry about that I needed to get it off my chest )

(6) Focus on ONE THING at a time
It's very easy to get distracted and sidelined when building your business, especially when you are constantly bombarded by promotion after promotion, and especially when things are going as well as you hoped and you're starting to doubt things.

It's critical that you have a plan of action with lots of stepping stone goals and you stick to the plan - see it through to the end...BEFORE you start the next project. There are thousands of people who started off with the best of intentions only to end up 6 months, 12 months, 2 years later with a big bag of nothing and nothing to show for all their TIME, EFFORT & MONEY! Don't let this be you.

As a final comment, don't worry about all the little tricks, etc. If you find yourself seeking out the next trick, the next black hat method, the next underground secret, then you have a business that will probably fail.

Build your business on solid, sound business fundamentals, using a real cost model (so you can afford to use PPC, etc ), offering great products and services to a responsive market (and email list) and you will have a business that will produce a wonderful lifelong income for you and your family.

Cheers

TonyMB

 

[LonnyFX]

Never over optimized some of my sites, and I'd also start participating in the affiliate industry sooner

 

[gdicashflow]

Power Of Duplication

I wish I learned the true ?power of duplication? a little sooner in this biz.

 

[Wazzy]

Do something! Do anything! Stop procrastinating and act! Although I don't elieve in rushing into anything blindly, I wasted a lot of time (2 years) researching things to death. Things will be different now.

Mike

 

[Friedmett]

Very good question!

I have been in affiliate business for 2 -3 years but have yet to brake even. So every little step is like close to starting over.
I'm a member of Referralware, Juvio and Coaching for profits. The system is very good when it works so its always a question of how to set it up so it can run properly.

The lead thing is costing and what to do with a downline is not something I have fully finalized but thanks to a new different aproach I found earlier this month I now know where I was missing and what should be done in order for the system here to work like it should.

So I would build the system like I have just learned to answer the question.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Friedmett,

Have you ever tried REAL affiliate marketing? You seem to have lots of smarts and Internet marketing savvy. You could possibly do very well!

You keep talking MLM and downlines. Typically with that type of program most people don't ever make money.

I don't want to go off topic on this great thread and start talking about the differences, but if you want to start SELLING REAL PRODUCTS where you get a REAL commission per sale, free to join with REAL support directly from the company, instead of selling biz opps where most of the $ passes to your upline, then you are in the right place to learn affiliate marketing.

If you want to talk more about this, please start a new thread called "MLM vs Affiliate Marketing - what's the difference?" and we can have a nice little discussion.

 

[uxcell]

Yes, every one is sick for being outstanding and successful, but dream will be always a dream if you just think without action. Take action as important as use our mind to promote the efficiency and effect.
Thanks for this forum, we can share our mind freely meanwhile learn a lot from here.

 

[eh2zed]

I still consider myself "starting out" since I'm only about a month in. I have time to change directions. My first mistake was I fell for every ad I saw on affliate marketing thinking I needed every thing that was offered out there only to find out half of them are worthless and only using me to pad THEIR bottomline without helping me at all. My second mistake was I never listened to anyone at first thinking "I went to school for marketing how hard could it be?" Well I'm here now aren't I so it obviously isn't easy to start. From now on I will take advice given and listen to it. Finally, I will make sure theres room on my credit card because I need a site and when I'm maxxed out it makes it kinda difficult. lol