Would you rather be in the NFL or a be big Affiliate Marketer?
My buddies and I debate this subject all the time, and I figured I’d bring it out to see what everyone else had to say about it. Would you rather be in the NFL, or be a serious, high revenue affiliate marketer? Don’t laugh, this is a serious debate, and if you think about it, it makes sense.
I will start off by saying that I know 7 people who are currently in the NFL. A few starters, a few guys on the practice squads of their respective team. Many mixed reviews, but for the most part most say the same thing…. being in the NFL isn’t all it’s made out to be. Many face the day to day pressure of being cut, or deactivated from their respective teams, meaning their life goes from riches to rags within a day. It’s not all glamour and glory. Most people in the NFL are not super stars. Infact, the average NFL career is UNDER 2 years! The minimum salary of a person who makes a roster in the NFL is $330,000 a year. Being on the practice squad is a $4200 a week paycheck for 17 weeks. Do the math, everyone in the NFL isn’t nearly as wealthy as Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but for some reason, the general public see’s players in the NFL as “rich”.
A big time affiliate marketer has the potential to make millions a year. Every single dollar earned by the affiliate, is because of their knowledge of marketing, that CANNOT be taken away at ANY time. I know several people, including myself, who are making a lucrative living, much higher than an average NFL player, doing far less work. I wake up at noon every single day, sit on the beach, drink a Corona, brainstorm, make some phone calls, and THEN go on my computer. There is no one in this entire world, short of God, who can take away my knowledge of affiliate marketing. Their is NO chance of injury, and NO chance of being ridiculed on national TV. Messing up in affiliate marketing is part of the game. If you mess up in the NFL, you may very well find yourself out of a job and humiliated on national TV.
Forbes.com has recently rated an “internet entrepeneur” as the #1 job in the WORLD. This rates above a rockstar and a professional athlete, and there is a reason for this! Being an affiliate marketer is a dream job that allows the best of the best to sit at home, work as they please, and offer the opportunity to make well over the average American salary. It’s the best job in the world, and the reason why I am so thankful for all the blessings that have come my way.
Think what you want, but the next time you start stressing at your favorite sports team…. realize that it’s just a game… and life goes on.
-RB
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What If…
Most people are skating on thin ice: on the one hand, they’re banking high 3-4 figs per day but on the other hand, everything can go downhill in a matter of days or even hours. Here are just a few examples:
-the offer itself is shady and you just never know when the advertiser decides to let greed takes over and starts “overlooking” leads or sales like there’s no tomorrow
-the network you’re dealing with is the only one (out of the networks which aren’t private, so out of the networks you have access to) running a certain offer and those folks may also decide to let greed take over at one point or another
-laws which make pushing a certain offer too much of a risk make their appearance: nobody wants to get sued, so it’s only a matter of time until networks and/or advertisers pull the plug
-the only traffic source you’ve managed to make work starts screwing around
Have you ever asked yourself a few “what if” questions? It sounds strange but the vast majority of affiliate marketers would have no idea what to do if they experience problems such as the previously mentioned ones.
What would you do next?
Would you leave everything else aside and spend a few days brainstorming?
How would you put food on the table? Would you rely on savings? How much money have you managed to set aside?
Would you start liquidating some of your assets? Domains? Precious metals?
If so, would you be taking a loss?
What percentage of the money you’ve set aside or the money you’ve secured after liquidating a few assets would you use in order to fund your new project(s)?
Would you just focus on one project or try all sorts of approaches and see what sticks?
Do you have enough time and/or money to fight on more than one front? Or would you be better of limiting yourself to just one project?
Asking yourself some of these questions would definitely not hurt. Being prepared is always something smart. You know what they say, expect the best but prepare for the worst. Maybe you’ll be able to milk your current project/campaign for years to come but what if that will not be the case? Always take as many possible scenarios into consideration as possible because being unprepared is never smart. Never ever. EVER!
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I Want Me Some TRAFFIC!
What’s your attitude towards scaling? So you have a landing page which converts, you have a great relationship with the network/merchant and a traffic source. Great! There’s just one problem: most people limit themselves to milking that one traffic source for all it’s worth and then that’s it, end of story.
Why would you do something like that? Don’t you like money? Would you have liked money more if the bills were blue instead of green? Why just that one traffic source? There’s a lot of money on the table, why are you limiting yourself to just that one piece of the pie?
What Scaling REALLY Means
Ok, so you’ve milked traffic source A for all it’s worth? Alright, then move on to traffic source B and then to traffic source C. That’s scaling. Keep the engines running and don’t take your foot off the pedal when it comes to the traffic sources you’re already on top of but on the other hand, always be on the lookout for more traffic.
It’s a never-ending process, expression such as “ok, I’ve scaled, now what?” don’t exist unless you trick yourself into thinking that they do. New traffic sources emerge on a daily basis, why not be there with your wallet open?
Polish Your Negotiation Skills
One word: Facebook! If that’s not a love-hate relationship, nothing is. This is what happens when people depend on just one traffic source: you’re in no position to negotiate. Lots of people were/are earning a living exclusively on Facebook and given their track record, those folks are definitely skating on thin ice.
Once you realize that there’s not just one website which controls everything in terms of traffic, you’ll start being in a far better position to negotiate. This is extremely important when it comes to media buys. Get ready to negotiate everything, absolutely everything. Think everything through carefully before spending your first buck: if they want your money, they need to make the deal worthwhile for you as well. If not, you’ll simply move on and never look back. End of story.
This much is certain: we’re marketers and as a result, hunting down traffic sources is what we do. Depending on just one traffic source is a sign of weakness, plain and simple. If you don’t up your game and start demanding the most bang for your buck as an advertiser, traffic networks can and will take advantage of you.
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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.
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Focus, Focus, Focus
If you’re a person with an above average IQ, you probably have several amazing ideas each day. On the one hand, it’s a huge advantage but on the other hand, it’s also something that can work against you if you’re not careful.
No matter how successful or well organized you are, a day still won’t have more than 24 hours and your budget will probably never be limitless either. Yes, it’s true that you need to diversify but that doesn’t mean that you should go overboard. Spreading yourself too thin is just as bad as keeping all of your eggs in one basket.
In Case You Forgot: Focus, Focus, Focus
Most people get really excited about a project at the beginning but end up being distracted at one point or another. The brainstorming process is almost always a lot of fun but when you start implementing everything, things tend to get a bit boring. It’s like that for everyone and it’s perfectly understandable.
While it is understandable, that doesn’t mean that you have to start finding excuses. So you have great ideas? Well, what good will it do if they don’t materialize? Writing stuff on a board or on a piece of paper is great and everything but making money would be kinda-sorta nice too, wouldn’t it? If you always jump from one idea to another, you’ll end up with a lot of “concepts” but no money in the bank. So, what’s the solution?
You’ve Guessed It: Focus, Focus, Focus
Keep your eyes on the prize and be sure to set goals. Reaching a goal always gives you a nice little boost, probably more than enough in order to make it to the next one and so on. Don’t forget to reward yourself, keep it fun!
Ok, so focusing is important. But does this mean that you should let ideas with a lot of potential go to waste? Of course not, be ready to always write a great idea down. Be organized, you’ll thank yourself later on. Notepad is your friend, seriously! Why complicate things? Create a folder, call it “ideas” or something and whenever you think that you’ve discovered the best thing since sliced bread, open notepad or an editor of choice for a moment and let your imagination run wild. Then get back to work, rinse and repeat. That’s really all there is to it.
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