Feb 14 2008
Jeremy Schoemaker

Affiliate Yes… Super Affiliate No

By Jeremy Schoemaker 82 comments

I have been on many Super Affiliate panels and asked to speak about being a Super Affiliate. I dunno that I would label myself a “Super Affiliate”. We have done well with affiliate offers but I was always under the impression that a Super Affiliate was like someone doing so well they were subbing out their leveraged rate. I guess we did that with AuctionAds but does that make me a Super Affiliate? I don’t think so…

If someone were to put me on the spot and ask me who I considered to be a super affiliate it would be someone making more then 1m/month in profit. I have met some of these guys. A few previous attendees @ the elite retreat were doing millions a month in profit from affiliate revenue, but would never want to reveal their methods publicly. The most I have ever seen someone making in affiliate marketing was about 3.5 million a month (in profit) and he would shoot me if I ever even mentioned his name (not that anyone would know who he is). A couple years ago at SES one of these sandbaggers (a good friend of mine in RL) sat around Dillsmack, David Naylor, Kris Jones, Jensense and gave us a peek at his Commission Junction account. It was about 1.5M a month. We were all pretty amazed.

There are many self labeled, super affiliate blogs, around the internet and I think they are all inspirational. There also seems to be a lot of hate slinging around lately on who is the best Super Affiliate. I will state right now it is not me.

So what is your criteria for being a super affiliate? Do you think there are really super affiliates blogging and posting “secrets” in blogs and forums?

  1. devtrench said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:04 pm

    Hell, if they are out there, I haven’t found them. Nobody posts the big secrets, unless they don’t work any more. or aren’t really secrets.

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  2. office@wallpaperfree.co.uk said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    I don’t think you’ll find the real super affiliates blogging about or posting secrets in forums - a) because they’re too busy making the cash and b) because they would be able to make the cash if their secret was out. I imagine a true SA keeps it all very low-key

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  3. Flash Gamer said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:10 pm

    I’d have to agree with devtrench. I sure don’t find any big secrets posted anywhere, and I am online reading all day. I would assume that they don’t have the time or need to share their secrets.

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  4. DC said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:13 pm

    $3.5 mill per month?!?! Good God. That would make me a pathetic micro affiliate.

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  5. carl said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:15 pm

    It seems that the more people blog about affiliate marketing the less they earn.

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  6. Affiliate Confession said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:16 pm

    I was thinking super affiliate status was anyone making $25K per month or over. Don’t ask me how I determinded that, I think I read it somewhere. Making $1.5 or $3.5 mil per month is crazy, and then they go to Elite Retreat to learn more. Wild…

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  7. John said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    7 figures a month in profit…i can only imagine the traffic levels you need to maintain that kind of CPA. I though breaking the 4k /month barrier was huge — i have a long way to go!

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  8. Teach Me $$ said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

    Hi Jeremy,
    Wow thanks for the post, it just shows me that what is the limit, and all these people are doers and want to stay that way.. maybe after a while I could be a fly on the wall where these people hang out…

    Vijay

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  9. al said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    I’m not sure revenue is the only factor. If you’re grossing 100k a month and working100+ hrs a week and your ROI is poo are u really that super?

    -is this in response to all of that WF dirt that has been posted recently?

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  10. Vizion said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:39 pm

    simply wow on those figures. I’m in the same line as the rest of guys - if there are secrets out there their very well hidden…*goes back to searching*

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  11. Copper said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:44 pm

    Especially when that hate slinging is racially directed and brings to question a person’s sexual preferences by people who walk around comparing themselves to Adolf Hitler. That’s just so wicked, dude! Also a great way to make a lot of friends and get a lot of respect in this very small industry. Who wouldn’t want to have a racist Nazi promoting their products? I really hope that is part of a very bad April Fools joke.

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  12. womble said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:48 pm

    I’m a super affiliate - at least that’s what my mum thinks.

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  13. Arejay said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:49 pm

    Great Post! Its nice to see you recognize affiliates out there who bring in big $ , yet are not known on this “interweb world” , these people are the ones who make more then any person who “sells” there methods via forum subscriptions or other ways that just make them money, and the users broke. LOL Have a GREAT DAY with your family!!

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  14. Think Like An SOB said on February 14th, 2008 at 12:54 pm

    How many people that are not into Affiliate marketing, or are mostly content with their offline business would really believe those numbers?

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  15. Brian Free said on February 14th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    I don’t think SA care about who believes their numbers. And quite frankly, I would work 100 hours a week to make a million a month. Do it for 2 years and you are set for life

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  16. Fiscal Musings said on February 14th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

    I’m just getting started, and thanks for showing me how small I really am.

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  17. Chad Frederiksen said on February 14th, 2008 at 1:21 pm

    I think some blogs do post good tips and “secrets”. I have posted techniques that I am currently killing with just because I’m confident I can still outperform people even if they try them. The real secret is, work harder than your competitors.

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  18. Brian said on February 14th, 2008 at 1:24 pm

    Great post. I’m also sick of the hate slinging that has come of late. I read blogs to help me gain knowledge and then translate that knowledge into cash. There are two that I have stopped reading and unsubscribed because of that BS attack.

    In the end, Jeremy you are doing something that you love, you are good at it, it pays the bills and then some. You have nothing to prove.

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  19. $1000 Affiliate Experiment said on February 14th, 2008 at 1:34 pm

    To me a “super affiliate” is just someone who does affiliate marketing full time, and makes enough to live comfortably (not necessarily rock star style). Thats all i aspire to do right now, is to quit my damn job!

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  20. CPA Affiliates said on February 14th, 2008 at 1:46 pm

    I think the biggest thing is that why does it matter if people label you as a “super Affiliate” or not unless you are wanting that label. I think people just like th throw it around…. As i have stated in my blog before i think people are super affiliate if they do more than 10K profit a month (not rev) I stated that just cause there are millions that do much less… plus 120K a year aint chump change while it aint millions, its a nice living…. either way who cares what other people say or think unless you want that status.

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  21. Edgar said on February 14th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    Thanks , for not saying my name

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  22. Brandon said on February 14th, 2008 at 2:32 pm

    Oh yeah???? Well I’ve raked in like $50 over the last 4 months from clickbank. SO WHATS UP.

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  23. Will said on February 14th, 2008 at 2:44 pm

    now I know why my affiliate managers don’t really talk to me lol… i guss I don’t make enough :’(

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  24. Will said on February 14th, 2008 at 2:45 pm

    Yea I always wondered if there were huge affiliate blogging their success… they would probably get so much email asking for help.

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  25. eMonetized said on February 14th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

    Funny how i asked that exact same question on my blog yesterday. My opinion was anyone making over 25k a month (I used to think about 10k). I’d come up with a new word for anyone making over 1 million a month on profit from affiliate income! They are past the “super” word IMO. Ultimately, I could care less if I am ever labeled as a super affiliate.

    Along the lines of what CPA Affiliates said $300,000 a year is much more than the vast majority of affiliates make and it’s enough to live a very nice life.

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  26. Brent said on February 14th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    Yeah, I read that WF post. I would say the super affiliate blogs give good info to beginner-intermediate AF’s (like me), but I know they aren’t revealing their true “secrets”

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  27. Solo Programmer said on February 14th, 2008 at 3:01 pm

    I imagine it’s a lot like the get rich quick guys you see on TV. If you can really make millions with affiliate marketing why would you sell your secrets for a few hundred or even worse give them away on a blog. I guess I’m a bit of a skeptic.

    FWIW, I suspect that most people making huge $$ w/ affiliate offers are probably driving most of their traffic through PPC and not through generic traffic on a generic site.

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  28. DB said on February 14th, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    Personally I work on a very small market (small country) and make 5000-10.000 US$ net profit a month since a few months now. I can only imagine what I could make on a market like in the US which is 100 times bigger (even with more competition) but for now I want to take things one at the time.

    In the end it all depends on how much you are willing to spend, for instance I have a no limit on my visa for adwords. Once I got hold of the right method I let things roll big time. And I know it can be over tomorrow because this market is volatile, but for the moment it is big fun.

    Oh, and thanks Jeremy, in fact it is thanks to you that I tested this field…

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  29. Bans blog said on February 14th, 2008 at 3:35 pm

    So you only make $999,999 a month, Shoe? Keep your head up, you will get there. I consider myself the retarded affiliate.

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  30. The Rev said on February 14th, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    people who say they are Super affiliates are like the office dope who wears a squirting flower, tells knock knock jokes and tells anyone who will listen how funny he is.

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  31. RacerX said on February 14th, 2008 at 4:03 pm

    Great Point. The consistancy is what we look for at my real job in regards to Affiliate. Our program is run through CJ and we tend to listen to the guy making $10K a month more that the guy who had a $30K peak then nothing.

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  32. Jim Banks said on February 14th, 2008 at 4:29 pm

    Mind blowing numbers. Good accountants, professional businesses and no handbooks lying around with the methodolgy. I’d also think that as nice as it would be to have people like that on our network at that level they are likely to be working directly. If they are going through CJ or any network for that matter.

    I’m surprised if you were sitting with DaveN, Jensense et al that anyone could focus on a screen to see the numbers, you sure it wasn’t like $1500 and a few blurry 000’s (just kidding)

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  33. Mitchell Blatt said on February 14th, 2008 at 4:42 pm

    You have to be a “Super Affiliate” if you want to be a Super Affiliate Blogger.

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  34. John said on February 14th, 2008 at 4:45 pm

    I am a super affiliate. I make over 1 Billion dollars a week. Dont ask me how I do it, Because I will never tell anyone.

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  35. Derek said on February 14th, 2008 at 4:53 pm

    The one thing that would make me believe there are SAs out there sharing their secrets is how many people don’t act on the information they are given. Think about it, how many times have you answered a question or shared a tip yet people continue to ask you the same question over and over? People want it handed to them and many won’t put in the work to figure it out even if you share your affiliate secrets.

    Now I’ll admit it would be unreal to find someone that really knows their shit that would want to be a mentor, as sometimes it can get confusing as someone trying to learn to know what information is legit and what is mediokes like JJ Stokes.

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  36. svakanda said on February 14th, 2008 at 5:12 pm

    shit….3.5m a month? do you fishers have ANY idea how much kim chee I could buy for 3.5m a month???? holy crap.

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  37. Zak Show said on February 14th, 2008 at 5:25 pm

    omg 3.5m per month is pretty good ! I hope that i can make only 5k per month to pay my university bills.

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  38. MARK said on February 14th, 2008 at 5:27 pm

    can someone please help me with this affiliate bloggers and stuff i dont need to be a Super affillate but i want to earn some money but for me it is to diffilcut becease i am reading now over 3 months and still don’t know what si effective

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  39. Farmer said on February 14th, 2008 at 7:39 pm

    “(not that anyone would know who he is)”

    I would be you could count on one hand and still have a few fingers left when you count out the SA that the mainstream would recognize.

    Now…Copper, google “fuhrer” and read up on their cultural use for the term. I also never heard of a Nazi Jew before either but hey I’m slow so what do I know.

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  40. Josh said on February 14th, 2008 at 8:24 pm

    Is this in response to the cocksucker at wickedfire?

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  41. Harrisburg Web Design said on February 14th, 2008 at 10:49 pm

    Hahaha. Best comment ever. Well played, Edgar.

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  42. Syed Balkhi said on February 14th, 2008 at 11:34 pm

    wow 1.5 million thats crazy. I thought i was doing good, but apparently not.

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  43. Keith Cash said on February 14th, 2008 at 11:35 pm

    Some good information.
    Something to strive for. Maybe you could let them do series of posts on affiliate marketing.

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  44. Jack Rack said on February 15th, 2008 at 12:20 am

    So then by your system that a super affiliate is someone who makes over 1 million a month, is Jon a super affiliate? Since he calls his blog the super affiliate marketing blog, I’m wondering whether he would count as one based on your opinion of what a super affiliate is.

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  45. James Bashkin said on February 15th, 2008 at 1:21 am

    Amazing! I’ve just made 23 cents so far.

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  46. James Bashkin said on February 15th, 2008 at 1:25 am

    What is it with the hate speech that pops up every now and then in this thread? Not only is it highly offensive, it doesn’t even seem to have a context (not sure if that makes me feel better or worse).

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  47. domprofesor said on February 15th, 2008 at 2:09 am

    No money from blogging, Affiliate Marketing is the best solution.

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  48. Brewster said on February 15th, 2008 at 6:50 am

    I would agree with you here - there have been a number of very interesting posts of shoe’s blog. Another issue is that because people want it handed to them on a plate there are so many people taking advantage of this offering there system for making you a millionaire, and this make it difficult to find the good stuff.

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  49. tyler dewitt said on February 15th, 2008 at 8:12 am

    I think you can find out a lot of information by paying attention to what other super affilitaes are doing and sticking around there blog and combine numberous things you learn from them the thing is I think some super affiliate kind of lay out on the table in a way I mean I wouldn’t say that, but they kind of tip people off about things and I think the problem is a lot of people don’t take advantage of it which granted no ones going to set down and say hey this is what you do and this is how I do it maybe a close friend or someone you know very well, but not just the average super affiliate would say that hard to expalin what I’m saying.

    For example I will get people that call me and ask me how did you rank number 2 for website design in 5 months and I will set up a consulting session with them and tell them what to do and they never do it they go back to there old bad habits that pratically have nothing to do with rankings I mean maybe a little, but not that much.

    I just really think its about combing what your learn from paying attention to what super affilitaes say and finding out what works for your self more then anything its just about applying your self if you ask me I know Amit over at superaffiliatemindset.com gives away some good info. thats for sure.

    As far as a super affiliate goes I’ve always considered someone making more then 1 million a month an all star affiliate and anyone making around 100k a month a super affiliate.

    Some people consider someone making 10k plus a month a super affiliate and 10k a month is not much money I mean dont’ take me wrong a lot of people could live off it, but when it comes to true entrepreneur lifestyle thats nothing maybe around 100k-1mil.

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  50. jim said on February 15th, 2008 at 8:47 am

    I think a lot of those blogs are really just for vanity’s sake, if you’re making bank then you’re not talking about it.

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  51. jim said on February 15th, 2008 at 8:47 am

    holy stream of consciousness batman :)

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  52. DB said on February 15th, 2008 at 9:22 am

    Hm… a real entrepreneur to me is not an affiliate but someone who launches his very own product. I have an own company as well producing products and that is where entrepreneurship is present, not in my affiliate ‘hobby’, because really, it is nothing more than that to me, extra cash on the side… Entrepreneurship - to me that is - is a lot more than using systems to sell someone else’s products or services. I’m sure you will disagree…

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  53. Tom M said on February 15th, 2008 at 10:52 am

    I am sure there are a few really big money earners but most who make the really big bucks are not revealing the true secrets. You seem to do very well and I would say at least, you are in the very above average category.

    Most of those selling the so called secrets are really only making money on selling their secrets not using those secrets. The big earners have no reason to reveal their secrets.

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  54. Josh said on February 15th, 2008 at 12:01 pm

    As someone previously on the affiliate management end, I’d define a Super Affiliate as one who can place in the top ranks of affiliate programs, and replicate that when approached with new offers/niches.

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  55. CPA Affiliates said on February 15th, 2008 at 1:34 pm

    You say that, but there are plenty that have faked it or still do (untill they make it)

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  56. Soroush said on February 15th, 2008 at 2:01 pm

    When it comes to unique ideas and techniques, usually noone wants to share and spoil it as it won’t be unique anymore which is the whole point of making that amount but revealing some tips can be a good way to gain more trust and popularity which later can be used as another source of traffic to offer some other affiliate products or services.

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  57. Think Like An SOB said on February 15th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

    What I meant was that it would seem impossible for someone not doing affiliate marketing to actually believe the numbers.

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  58. Bjarke said on February 15th, 2008 at 6:17 pm

    Interesting post - although you have misspelled David Naylor’s web address.

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  59. RacerX said on February 15th, 2008 at 9:21 pm

    Even more then no reason, they have $1000’s not to! If someone told you where to pick up $100 bills you would go, so would other you told, soon, no more money!

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  60. Toronto SEO said on February 15th, 2008 at 10:37 pm

    No way they are blogging. They are to busy making bank!!! Super would be someone who makes over 100K per month and still has time to have a real life away from the computer.

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  61. James Bashkin said on February 16th, 2008 at 1:33 am

    I must be the affiliate antimatter! Thanks for the tips!

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  62. Paul said on February 16th, 2008 at 1:49 am

    Coming up with a PR topic is tough and writing it is even harder, We do our own and struggle everytime, The format is tricky. But we have never had it picked up by anyone big like CNN. I have gone to that blog and bookmarked it to use it as a resource for the next press release.

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  63. babji said on February 16th, 2008 at 2:27 am

    mba has been most valid and vital role in global market.mba means man poewr thinking.

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  64. John_loch said on February 16th, 2008 at 10:59 am

    And I thought I was doin well pullin 800K last mth.. :) ..kilos.

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  65. oakling said on February 16th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

    I made $1.60 the other month, but that was just through some embedded text link ads. I can’t imagine really working the affiliate thing, but I do think there is some good and realistic information out there about it. I guess I don’t know what’s considered to be “secrets” and what’s published all over the place about it, because everything people say about affiliate marketing sounds different to me as it is!

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  66. Ty Brown said on February 16th, 2008 at 10:39 pm

    Guys that are making millions per month, how many employees do they have? Is this a type of business that can be run with a couple people or do you need a big staff?

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  67. Wilson said on February 16th, 2008 at 11:24 pm

    $3.5 million, if I can make that in a year I know a lot of things I would not be doing anymore

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  68. Erica DeWolf said on February 17th, 2008 at 1:34 am

    Wow! 3.5 million a month? I’m wondering what his ( or her) secrets are. Is it all strategic, or does he just have really good content and reviews that urge people to click the affiliate links??

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  69. Erica DeWolf said on February 17th, 2008 at 1:35 am

    This is true…better to keep your successes a secret, unless you’re in the market to help others, or are extremely generous…

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  70. Erica DeWolf said on February 17th, 2008 at 1:37 am

    I don’t think this is true. Those that are truly successful will suffer little, if any. from “newbie” (i really hate using that word) affiliates.

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  71. Burgo said on February 18th, 2008 at 12:48 am

    Heh… Shoe, what’s with your link to Dave Naylor?

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  72. Nadin said on February 18th, 2008 at 1:00 am

    So Shoe, if not SuperAffiliate, what would you call yourself? You have mentioned many times that you are definitely NOT an SEO guy…

    so, WHO are you?

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  73. Bob said on February 18th, 2008 at 4:40 am

    The secret to being a Super Affiliate is ….there are no secrets, just old fashion work and a lot of it.

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  74. Affiliate Confession said on February 18th, 2008 at 10:31 pm

    That’s 1000 times more than I make per month. I be happy with just $1000 more per month.

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  75. Affiliate Confession said on February 18th, 2008 at 10:34 pm

    That would be “special” affiliate.

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  76. anty said on February 27th, 2008 at 8:56 am

    yes, because they waste their time for blogging instead of building sites :)

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  77. Paid Surveys Reviewed said on March 3rd, 2008 at 8:58 am

    Does Adsense count as affiliate marketing? If so I am not surprised to hear some of the big sites make a lot of cash each month, if not then $3.5m is huge and must take a lot more than one person to administer. With that in mind would more than one person qualify for the singular title “super affiliate”?

    Jim

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  78. Wickedfire said on September 9th, 2008 at 2:27 pm

    Super Affiliate? Someone please give that tag to that stupid Jon Fisher of Wickedfire. Otherwise he would cry like a baby and start hiring some stupids to make some nasty photoshopped photos of yours. He is a super CREEP affiliate marketeer.

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  79. Mikey said on October 1st, 2008 at 1:06 pm

    You are right about one thing, the best and biggest affiliate marketers are people that you have never heard of. They want to be kept unknown!

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  80. Post Valentine’s Videndum » Self Made Minds said on February 15th, 2008 at 4:59 am

    [...] Top 20 websites run by people under 30 with impressive turnovers! .. What makes a super affiliate, 3.5 million a month anyone? … In a valentine’s stylee try Speed Dating for a game and see how quick you can [...]

  81. Googlelady Weekly Diggest February 17 - 2008 said on February 17th, 2008 at 3:58 am

    [...] Shoemoney wrote an interesting post about Affiliates and “Super Affiliates”. I agree with him saying that a super affiliate will be the person who earns 1 Million/Month in Profits (Check In Profits). Also he mentioned that if you think that those “super affiliate” will be posting their secrets, defitively, NO. He said that he knows someone that makes 3.5 Million/Per Month in profits, now let us guess who is this “Super Affiliate”? You can check his Blog Post: Affiliate Yes… Super Affiliate No [...]

  82. Do Super Affiliates Really Exist? | Global Master Plan said on March 4th, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    [...] out there that claim to train you like a super affiliate or are run by super affiliates. I read on Shoemoney a few weeks ago about a guy with a $3.5 million [...]

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