Taking It TOO Easy vs. Burning Yourself Out
This “being your own boss” thing is pretty complicated for one simple reason: you have complete freedom, you’re the only one in charge. If you feel like taking the day off because the sky is blue, you can do just that. If working like a maniac is your thing, nobody can stop you from working and working… and working.
Unfortunately, actions have short as well as long-term consequences. While it’s true that you have complete freedom when it comes to your schedule, it’s just as true that you’re the only one who has to assume responsibility when/if things go wrong.
Say What?
Think about it: if you decide to take it easy, you’ll probably have a great time initially. But if you spiral downwards into a trend which takes its toll on your productivity, it’s only a matter of time until you start making more money. Even if you think that you’ve done your job right when it comes to diversification, there are a lot of unpredictable things which can ruin everything. What if most or all of your major advertisers have to close shop as a result of a new bill or something similar? What impact would something like that have on your earnings?
On the other hand, burning yourself out isn’t a great solution easy. Sure, you might be able to pull it off for a couple of weeks, maybe even a couple of months. But you’re only human, what happens if your body finally starts taking action with an “enough is enough” message? What happens if you can no longer physically sustain your schedule? Don’t let short-term gains dictate important decisions, always take the cons into consideration as well?
Ok, What’s the Solution?
No matter how hard some people try to hype time management products, they’re not always the solutions. You can read a motivational time management book today, feel great and energized for a couple of days and then bam… everything wears off and it’s back to the drawing board.
Nobody on this planet is in a better position to figure out the solution to your problems than you. Nobody. Period. Again: if you don’t let short-term gains (and yes, the short term gains associated with both taking it easy and working like a maniac are tempting) cloud your judgment, you’ll be just fine. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure these things out, seriously.
Read the rest
Most people start out by thinking that being an affiliate marketer is a piece of cake: sitting in front of your computer for a while, checking your stats and… well, that would pretty much be it according to most folks.
In a way, they’re actually right. There are a handful of marketers out there who have decided that they no longer want to hustle, that they want to take it easy and limit themselves to simply keeping their current projects alive. Sure, that involves work as well but still, we could say that these people are “living the live”.
But Can You Do That?
Probably, but definitely not right from the beginning! The problem is that the affiliate marketers who have decided to take it easy are a minority and that getting there was anything but a walk in the park.
Most (probably all) of the people who are now “living the life” have started out as workaholics, there’s just no other way. Learning the ropes, banging your head against the wall, making mistakes: it’s all a part of the game! Some people quit, others keep on hustling. The world can sometimes be a painfully simple place, there are winners and there are losers.
Adapt or Give Up
Unfortunately, nobody really cares if you think that life’s hard. The world is what it is, the Web is what it is. There are lots of life-changing opportunities out there and it’s ultimately your responsibility to make things happen. Ask any successful (online or offline) business owner out there, you simply have to suck it up and hustle when you’re starting out.
After one of your businesses (maybe a site, maybe a campaign, maybe several campaigns) is pretty much on autopilot, then maybe (just maybe) you can afford to take it easy for a while and reap the rewards of your hard work. After the (short) celebration though, it’s back to hustling if you want to stay on top.
If making lots of money online were as easy as most people think it is, everyone would be doing it. Why work 9 to 5 if you can make 10x more money just like that? Here’s the thing: yes, there are countless “harder” careers out there but this doesn’t mean that anyone and his dog can make it as an affiliate marketer. In fact, most people fail miserably because they’re not willing to keep at it when things get tough. Adapt or give up, what will it be?
Read the rest
It’s a pleasure to say that I just signed a lease for a luxury apartment in New York City, and I can honestly say that I’m pumped! However, for those of you who don’t know, I use to live in the Beverly Hills area in California. After my lease was up I headed back to the town i grew up in outside of Philadelphia for a few months until we got some Bevo stuff sorted out. Although the move back home wasn’t permanent, it was definitely relaxing and enjoyable.
When I got back to Philadelphia, I needed to decide where my next move would be. I honestly think California is an amazing place. Perfect weather, very eventful,young and energetic. I loved every bit of it. I thought it was going to be a no brainer to go back long term. That was until one of my good friends from college contacted me about a job he just received in NYC, and was pushing hard to get me to sign a lease with him. At first I shot down the idea entirely. But throughout the summer, I’ve visited and went out in the city quite a few times (including Affiliate Summit East), and every time I had a blast. I slowly began to reconsider.
Another factor to point out is that I knew so many people in the NYC area, whether it’s friends I know from college (Syracuse alumni’s love NYC), people I know from when I played sports, or people I networked with in the industry. The amount of people I know in the NYC area compared to California is substantially higher.
The thing that really sold me was when I went with my buddy to check out the apartment he wanted to lease. It was absolutely incredible, and although it was very pricey, walking around in there definitely sealed the deal for me. Its in a perfect location, I can bring my car, and am in a prime location for networking. Being said, I still think that I will end up in California long term, but as that famous “Just Wear Sunscreen Song” quotes:
“Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.”
And thats exactly what I’m going to do 
Here are some pics of the apartment:
Read the rest
Earn Money by Blogging
Although there is a lot of money to be made in search marketing, blogging affords another great
opportunity to earn money. Blogging is great because it does not require as much time as a website, yet can still capitalize on all three of the advertising models.
Step #1 – Pick a Niche
The first step in becoming a profitable blogger is to determine a niche that you feel comfortable
blogging about. There are three ways you can go in regards to making a decision about the niche of your blog. One method would be to choose a topic you are very familiar with and maintain some type of expertise in. Obviously, it’s easy to write about what you know. Another method to choose a topic would be to pick a topic that has high paying keywords and offers. A final method you can use to pick a topic would be to create a blog based on what is popular. Using Google Trends, at trends.google.com, you can see some of the most popular searches in the Google search engine.
If you go with the first method, you most likely will not need much additional research, as you are an expert on the topic. With the other two methods, it is important that you perform indepth research.
Research is extremely important because you will not keep many readers coming back to your blog if your content is just BS – quality content is the key to generating profits from your blog.
What to write about?
As mentioned previously, content is the most important thing to being a successful blogger. Sumner Redstone, a media mogul, says that content is king in the entertainment industry.
Don’t think on a high level about a topic. Instead, take your niche and peel down to the deep questions people interested in that topic would care about. Controversial topics are always a good way to draw back visitors.
Step #2 – How to Get Readers
Bringing readers to your blog is done in much the same way as luring visitors to your website. Search Engine Optimization is the first and foremost thing you should keep on your mind.
Pick a domain name keeping your SEO tactics in mind. Once you have your domain, you will probably want to install a blog script. We recommend using Wordpress. Wordpress is easy to install and has a number of plugins to use later on as you become better and better at blogging.
Some bloggers attempt to make a small amount of money with a large number of blogs. The reason is that using advanced methods, such as content scrappers, you can automate blog posts across a number of different blogs. Instead, we suggest building up one blog to be a big money maker. The reason for this is that you will learn the whole process of being a profitable blogger by building up one strong, profitable blog. Once you learn all the concepts first hand, you can then experiment with creating many more blogs later.
Step #3 – Make Money
Once you start bringing in visitors to your blog, you will want to focus some of your effort on monetizing the traffic. You can do this by using a variety of advertising methods, including CPA, CPC, and CPM ad models. CPA offers are especially useful if you can find a tactful way to promote a product in one of your blog posts. CPC and CPM ads are good to use on the side of your blog to capitalize on the traffic you bring to your blog.
It’s all about building connections with your readers. If you can build a relationship of trust, readers will return again and again to read your blog. Additionally, trust makes it much easier to sell some of your CPA offers.
A final pinnacle to making money with blogging is to gain so much trust and respect that web site
owners ask you to review their website on your blog. Often, web site owners will pay enormous sums of money to bloggers for a few paragraphs reviewing their website. Keep to the basics – quality content and gain the respect and trust of those who read your blog, and you will see a large revenue stream through blogging.
Read the rest
Legendary. Seriously, all the thanks in the world over to Alex and the rest of his team over at Azoogle for bringing my partners and I out to the Playboy Mansion this weekend. It’s going to be impossible to ever top that party. It was worth the hype for sure. Special thanks to Michael Boghosian too for being a kick ass affiliate manager. Azoogle is the best in the industry for a reason.
Now for the pictures… I took over 400 pictures this weekend, some of which are a bit too X rated to post, but no worries, I am still posting some scandalous ones. Beware, there is nudity! But hey… whats a party with out a little nudity anyway haha. Enjoy fella’s!
Read the rest
Latest Comments