This is a guest post by Dennis Yu, CEO of BlitzLocal.com, a software company that does local lead gen for professional firms and retail outlets.
Look at the top affiliates– the ones who are actually making money versus the pretenders . What’s the difference between them? You’ll notice that they all work ultra hard, are ultra networked, and are ultra knowledgeable. The catch-22 is that if you’re a one man show, how can you possibly put in enough time to work, meet people, and learn at the same time?
Let’s look at how people fail at this:
- Ultra networkers: You know these folks– they pass out their business card to every thing that has a pulse. Many are but an inch deep, as all they know are people, not topics. They do add value because they can introduce you to folks who do have knowledge– and that can often come off as name dropping. Find them most often in sales. Having great contacts, but not having knowledge is like trying to eat a bowl of cereal with a fork.
- Ultra knowledgeable: Academics. Find them in universities, reading books, writing books and lurking on forums. They are afraid of actually getting started for not knowing enough– afraid to fail, so they don’t try. Zero execution and often no network.
- Ultra hard workers: Often entrepreneurs– fire, ready, aim. The most damaging of these 3 types. They are so ready to move in any direction with no goal– just eager to go, go, go. Lots of open projects– zero of them completed. The aftermath of the eternal fire alarm is a trail of destruction.
Do you recognize yourself in any one of these profiles? How do you avoid the traps these folks fall into? Focus on learning, networking, and execution in that order.
- If you try to network before learning, then you come off as an idiot
you should be researching the folks you meet beforehand, anyway, out of respect. Plus, you’ll have something interesting to talk about instead of saying “So what do you do, anyway?” or asking them questions they’ve heard a zillion times. If you’re going to a conference, know who you’re meeting before you leave, hit up the speakers before they speak (they’re mobbed afterwards).
- If you decide to execute before networking, you run into brick walls
your yet-to-be-discovered colleagues could have told you if only you had asked. Like Sissyphus, you’re going to rolling that ball up thehill for the rest of eternity– making every mistake in the book. But that doesn’t mean that you should do only learning in the learning phase. In truth, you should be doing all three, but have a primary focus in each step. The art of learning by doing, which is to have small active projects you’re learning on is not the same as running a large project and promoting it. This process of learning, networking, and executing also doesn’t mean that you’re not working as hard– you can still work 80 hours a week, but spend your time in the right proportion.
Not sure where to start learning? Try out Shoemoney’s free Internet Marketing Guides
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July 15, 2009 at 1:44 am
Absolutely follow all the steps you offered, but never got success as affiliate. I tried many times, but the best results got in affiliate of gambling and casino websites.
July 9, 2009 at 5:43 am
Having said that all, therefore, knowledge is the prerequisite. As they say, never go to a battle without your weapon.
Hmmn. I think this is very valuable for everyone to read. The net is literally splattered with tons of affiliates but only a few can really testify as the epitomes of success. Affiliate marketing is not just a simple paste the link. That we already know. And yet, many still fail.
That’s why I’m getting into Shoemoney’s Internet Marketing course right now
July 8, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Awesome tips! very well executed!
i dont know what else to say or comment, but this is very helpful advice/suggestions.
July 8, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Quite interesting. It seems that if you want to succeed as an affiliate you need to work harder and harder. Most of the affiliates work for a few month, and after they see no results…they quit…
July 8, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Great post! I found out i am missing the big picture. It takes so much time if you lack some information when starting out. I am just coming out of i need to do everything myself phase. I am hiring people now to do stuff for me. I know it will pay off. But it takes time, lots of hard work and learning from mistakes.
July 7, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Certainly these are very good and vital tips to get ahead in affiliates business.
Few points are really of top notch.
July 7, 2009 at 8:20 am
Well.. I do not have any idea what internet affiliate marketing is.
and i wish i can learn better with your free course
thank you
July 6, 2009 at 3:20 am
Nice article!!
I am new as an affiliate and many times it feels like I am working a lot but not getting returns comparatively. But this article explains how I should go I work further… nice one.
July 6, 2009 at 2:05 am
I would take the suggestion, I would see how far I would go
July 4, 2009 at 10:21 pm
i think i’m still an idiot as an affiliate… but just because i’m still new at this… and all i need is time to learning… and today i found this great post.. thanks fo sharing..
July 4, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Excellent article. Explains why I fall into the “pretender” category….
July 4, 2009 at 10:07 pm
really a sensible blog for those who dream to be a big big affiliate
July 4, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I never achieved much success in affiliate field may be didn’t took much interest. Thanks for your all these good tips
July 4, 2009 at 10:41 am
great information ..you will surely run into a pitfall if you try to venture on a wrong foot and on a wrong time you are very much right you must equip yourself with the right knowledge before you could launch yourself
July 4, 2009 at 7:28 am
It is a perfect writing for affiliates. i am also a failure in affiliate marketing.This is very helpful to me.
July 4, 2009 at 2:20 am
I am new at internet marketing but I love it. I look forward to reading as much information as I can so thanks for the information.
July 4, 2009 at 1:52 am
Great post Dennis
really its make me think deeply and open my eyes to diff think
thanx alot
July 4, 2009 at 12:11 am
i never knew networking is important too, thx for sharing it !
July 3, 2009 at 8:15 pm
It’s unfortunate – it seems many people fail at affiliate marketing due to lazyness or lack or direction.
IMO too many people are looking for the get rich quick scheme.
July 3, 2009 at 11:56 am
I am a failure at affiliate marketing but anyway grab some good tips from here. Will recover all the loss soon. hope So.
July 3, 2009 at 11:43 am
I understand this whole post is very nice and thought provoking and has a deep meaning inside it.
July 3, 2009 at 7:40 am
Being an affiliate marketer is not that easy. I’m planning to enter the field of affiliate marketing but before that, I will study first the different aspects which can affect me as an affiliate marketer.
July 3, 2009 at 5:55 am
Great Insight to where you are and how to get there sometimes we need to be reminded of our basic nature to find the obstacles and overcome them.
Thanks Dennis
July 2, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Gotta love the way you categorized them in the 3 types
July 2, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Real good post, most times it really is about simple fundamentals, thanks Dennis and Shoe.
One thing I try to remember is to stay the course! This isn’t an easy gig by any means.
July 2, 2009 at 10:25 pm
To succeed in affiliate marketing, one really needs persistence & focus. People are just too distracted with everything around them.
July 3, 2009 at 11:57 am
I agree, Distraction is one thing that one should control on. It deviate so many other things.
July 7, 2009 at 10:25 am
Yes, its hard to stay focused, especially with all kinds of headlines thrown at you … guess it doesn’t help to have delicious as your default page, LOL
July 2, 2009 at 12:56 pm
A very good examination of three stereotypes and their inherent pros and cons. For sure we must try to nurture and grow all three of these aspects ofd ourselves in order to be ultimately truly successful.
July 2, 2009 at 11:40 am
Great little article. I need to work on the networking aspect and handing out the business cards I suppose. I know a lot of people who are not moving forward or making money are stuck because they jump at every thing that comes their way, without stopping to do the research and focusing and building up one business idea. I have done this myself though..so I understand it.
July 3, 2009 at 9:21 am
Holly I guess you better start giving undivided focus on networking since that is one of the most important aspect of Affiliate marketing. One of the best ways of doing is to attend seminars and SEO meet ups. These days networking seems to be little tricky but if you will give your best efforts it is achievable within 6 to 12 months of time maximum, all this efforts which we put in shall be one time effort as hard work needs to be done once and after that fruits will keep following you for rest of your life.
July 2, 2009 at 11:06 am
Most people lead busy lives and they are convinced that affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to earn money on the internet. They are convinced that they can build an affiliate business in their spare time. It is possible to succeed in your spare time and many have done it, however a much larger number have failed.
July 2, 2009 at 9:06 am
The funny thing is that eventually you will run out of things to fail. It might be your 10th time, or 100th time or 1000th time, but it is bound to happen eventually if you are persistent enough.
July 7, 2009 at 10:28 am
I totally agree, the hardest part is “trying” if you do just that you will have accomplished something. “You fail 100% of the time if you don’t try”, those are worse odds then at least trying.
July 2, 2009 at 6:27 am
interesting
July 2, 2009 at 5:46 am
Hit the nail on the head, the best place to start is with the shoemoney course. Awesome stuff.
July 3, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I have gone through Shoemoney Tools, it has got everything in it. If you are with ST you can’t get wrong. Thats for sure.
July 2, 2009 at 4:12 am
Very interesting article
July 2, 2009 at 1:44 am
Great post Dennis!
I do tend to be a bit of the “go go go” type but am learning to reserve that! Heh
July 2, 2009 at 1:39 am
What if you combine all 3 into one large project?
July 2, 2009 at 1:31 am
Totally Dennis. I could not agree more. You and I are both known a super-networkers. You guy have no idea how hard Dennis works at networking. After getting little sleep, one of his last times in L.A., he drove all the way to San Diego to network with me. He knew a lot about me before he got here.
I know now Dennis is in Asia continuing the process with others. He is amazing at this.
He always returns e-mails quickly, he is always willing to help in any way he is able to. Dennis is the bomb at networking, and it shows. How do you think he got to post a blog on Shoemoney, …good networking!
dk
July 9, 2009 at 4:08 am
DK,
Spoken like a true pro– it’s takes one to know one! Folks, there is a lot you can learn from someone as positive as DK– so many people like him, plus he has the knowledge and connections to make it happen.
Dennis
July 1, 2009 at 10:24 pm
inspiring to me…learning is a never ending process. being an idiot is the early phase. don’t u think?
July 1, 2009 at 7:23 pm
An excellent post from Dennis.
Though at the outset it would seem to be difficult to identify which category you will fall into, a little bit of true analysis should do the job for you.
As rightly pointed out learning, networking, and execution should be followed in that order. Even the slightest of change could spell disaster. And probably this is one major reason why most businesses faile.
July 1, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Yes, indeed excellent article.
July 1, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Great advise, I mostly fall short when it comes to networking. I will have to do my best at this.
July 1, 2009 at 5:25 pm
I suppose the three types of people who you say may fail also fall into this bracket for lots of types of projects and not just as affiliates. I especially agree with “you should be researching the folks you meet beforehand”, this for me is the most important thing online! Better to put the time in to creating good trustworthy contacts than rushing straight into new ventures..
July 1, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Commonsense advice.
July 1, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Interesting article, but the post title was a bit off so it wasn’t even close to what I was expecting.
July 1, 2009 at 3:20 pm
I think I’ve always fallen under the ultra hard worker category, although I’m trying to work on the other two.
July 1, 2009 at 2:46 pm
I definitely see a little of all 3 in me. I agree with learn, network, execute order. I semetimes execute first.. and do run into that brick wall.
Great post.
hanji
July 1, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Good article, however I don’t find myself falling into any of these categories really. I’m a one man operation. I brainstorm, develop, implement and profit from (or loose) every project on my own. I fly below the radar and make enough money to live the lifestyle I want, which isn’t flamboyant by any means.
I work hard, but try to work smart and not get bogged down will bullshit and focus on starting and finishing projects, successful or now. Lots of AM’s are full of crap and like to hype themselves up, which is fine with me. I could care less with what other marketers are doing. I fly below the radar and I prefer it that way.
July 2, 2009 at 11:42 am
That’s good Marshall. It takes real focus to not get bogged down by the little things. A person has to be good at multi-tasking and focusing.
July 1, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Personally, I absolutely know I don’t have it in me, and am happy to work for someone who does.
July 1, 2009 at 11:56 am
I think most of the people pretend, i think people make only 10% of the money That they claim they are making!
July 2, 2009 at 11:44 am
I don’t think it even matters. It’s true that most people claiming to be making the big bucks are not. But then you don’t need to waste time even bothering with them. You can move forward with your business. People are sick of the online scams so I think honest marketers who are not lying about money and claiming that you can make millions -are going to overtake marketing online. People want the truth!
July 1, 2009 at 11:25 am
Nice article…those three are very ideal to achieve instantly. We all do experience lacking one of them. But the most important is…we learn.
July 1, 2009 at 10:53 am
Yea, I seen all 3 of these types of people! LOL
Great post!
July 1, 2009 at 10:44 am
I was “afraid of actually getting started for not knowing enough” for many, many years. Not that I was aiming to be Ultra knowledgeable, but I just wanted to know more and more, and ended up doing nothing.
Now I’ve taken a different approach, which sounds awfully what was described in the post. Learning a bit. Starting out, learning more as I go. Slowly build up on networking. Execute and take action on what I’ve learned. Learn from mistakes/successes. Repeat.
July 1, 2009 at 9:43 am
“Fire, ready, aim” cracks me up!
July 1, 2009 at 8:18 am
Scary how accurate your description of the three types is
July 1, 2009 at 8:06 am
Until very recently I fell into the third category (ultra hard worker with many non-completed projects). However, when one of my projects started paying off I completely focused on that, and abandoned all the others. Interestingly it was once I started focusing on the other two traits (knowledge and to start networking) that it started paying off, and I realised my other projects were all dead ends. I’m planning on starting a new project soon, but I will be doing a lot more research and planning beforehand.
Although I can now see where I went wrong, this is the only way I learn. I am extremely stubborn, but I’m making a habit of learning out of my mistakes.
July 1, 2009 at 11:04 am
Johann, It’s always good to give proper deal towards the website which is giving you good revenue. If you can give proper time towards the project which paying you good it will give you maximum output in long run. Before starting new projects it is always suggested that you make sure all older projects are doing good in terms of revenue.
July 1, 2009 at 1:12 pm
That’s exactly what I’ve learned the hard way. I’ve had so many ideas (and still have many ideas), but I only completed most of them halfway before I got bored or I realised that it won’t really be able to make a profit. I am much calmer now, and I’m properly evaluating and planning my new ideas before spending a single second implementing them.
I’ve learned that there’s so many other factors involved for an idea to be succesfull, the least one can do is to properly evaluate it beforehand.
July 9, 2009 at 4:10 am
Johann,
Let me know if I can assist in your new project. There is plenty of money to made by everyone. There are so many people here who are so close to success, but just need a slight adjustment to be making money.
Free advice with no catch.
Dennis
July 2, 2009 at 11:45 am
Really good point Ricky. It’s easy to forget this -but important to focus on what is bringing in the revenue. I agree.
July 3, 2009 at 9:16 am
Holly if you will not give proper focus on the websites which is bringing you $$ then one time may come that website completely stops making money, at that time one may feel that instead of dividing focus on many projects it mandatory to go with one & once that is stabilized you can move on with others as per the priority and niche selection.
July 1, 2009 at 7:58 am
Interesting and inspirational but not a full picture. Surely one must have luck, financial backing of some kind to tie over until the affiliate payments actually start coming, etc etc. Woudl be good to have an article on safetynets and caveats and not just encouragement and hype.
July 1, 2009 at 6:42 am
Great TIPS from Dennis in order to avoid DUMPING zone in Affiliate Industry. I have just started my Affiliate career & i must say these are very important topics which he has covered in this post. Most importantly i can say that i have learned Affiliate stuff in depth before i started networking which help me a lot in order to succeed in this business at the beginning. As always thanks for sharing such a Professional post Shoe.