Update: Finally Quit My Crappy Day Job!
Published August 14, 2007 by Thad
Well, it’s been a while since I updated this sucker, but my good ole’ redneck marketer buddy Travis at www.bummarketingmethod.com showed my blog in a fantastic video he did today about Onlywire, which you can check out here:
Travis Sago’s OnlyWire Video
So I figured it’s a good time to do an update here, and it’s waaay past due anway.
Well, I’m happy to report that June 30 I was able to kick my $120K/yr day job in the nuts and do Internet Marketing full time thanks to the killer instruction and support I got at Wealthy Affiliate, run by Carson and Kyle, two amazingly helpful and honest guys. It’s where I met Travis too, whose guidance also was VERY key in helping me ditch my job.
I have to say the freedom of being an affiliate marketer and running your own business from home is pretty damn sweet! I ain’t nobody’s bitch no mo.
For anyone reading this who wants to quit their job too….pleease don’t feel like there is some big underground secret to affiliate marketing, or that you have to be incredibly smart. I can tell you firsthand that’s just not the case at all. I’m not that smart and don’t feel like I know any major secrets. But I will tell you what I feel are the major ingredients to being successful at affiliate marketing and what has helped me:
1. Effort! - Affiliate marketing is not a get rich overnight deal. It’s a skill that you learn just like everything else…through learning, doing, failing, and getting back up to learn from your mistakes and try again.
2. Understanding People - Basically, if you’re gonna sell shit to people, you have to understand them, and understand them well. This is really just a matter of doing good research, studying, and listening to your target audience. Go to places like forums where they hang out before you try and market to them…understand what they really want and why.
3. Sell Stuff People Already Want to Buy - Stick with hot markets, hungry markets…where people are desperate or ravenous. The thing is, everything people do is to either avoid paid or gain pleasure. Imagine a spectrum where at either end there is extreme pain or extreme pleasure. Target people who are close to either end of that spectrum (without crossing over into illegal products). If you’re marketing something like…I don’t know…wicker baskets, there’s not a lot of passion or motivation going on there and people are just indifferent about that stuff. Not that you can’t promote wicket baskets profitably…it’s just much more difficult.
4. Focus - Pick one method of promoting something and learn to do it WELL! For me it’s been Pay per click. For others, maybe it’s SEO. But just pick something and get really good at it. This industry is full of distractions and it’s tempting to buy one crappy ebook after another promising you the fast track to success….don’t fall for it!
5. Think BIG - Affiliate marketing has HUGE potential…even for the little guy like me. When I first started I used to feel like I couldn’t find anything to market, now I don’t have enough hours in the day and have trouble deciding what i want to promote next. Also, set BIG goals for yourself….it really does make a difference and expands your thinking as you grow your business.
6. Don’t Give Up! - I see a ton of people who decide they’ll give Affiliate Marketing a try. They’ll join a great site like Wealthy Affiliate, and proceed to just bail on the whole thing after they try a couple things and fall flat. No one gets good at anything if they just give up at the first sign of trouble or a few little obstacles.
Read this funny post by Amit at SuperAffiliateMindset to see what I’m talking about: Why Some People Will Never Succeed at Affiliate Marketing.
And along with not giving up, a good way to put things in perspective is to compare starting an affiliate business to starting a traditional brick and mortar business. Think of all the time, sweat, and money someone puts into opening just about any other kind of business! By comparison, affiliate marketing is the easiest thing in the world. Also, the leverage and potential is so massive…what other sales or marketing industry can you promote just about anything, at any time, to people all around the world?…it’s truly amazing when you think about it!
Anyway, that’s probably enough rambling for now…I’ll try to update things a little more often, since I have plenty of free time on my hands now…well, theoretically…LOL
Peace Out,
Thad
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Hey Thad,
I found your blog via Travis new video. He gave you a nice plug, so I thought why not drop by your side. This was a very nice article you just wrote. It makes perfect sense to me.
Congrats on your awesome achievement of becoming self sufficient!
Wishing you all the best
Monika
Congrats Thad. I’m a firm believer that I’d rather sink doing something I love than swim in a pool of water I hate. Thanks for the tips.
Hey Thad,
Yup, I got led here by Travis’ video
Once again, congratulation on being able to quit your day job; I’ve never got a day job yet (still studying); I hope I never need one then!
Of course, I’d probably still work, but the liberty to choose whether I want to or not is nice
Thad,
Great post, as usual. Thanks for the update.
One thing though … the ladies who sell to the millions of people who buy Longaberger baskets might differ with you big time about whether baskets engender passion and motivation. It appears they really do.
Judith
Judith,
LOL…great point on the baskets. Just pulled that example off the top of my head, but you’re right…it’s suprising sometimes how you can find a really passionate group of people in just about any market.
The main point is to really focus on those highly ravenous or passionate crowds. Makes things so much easier. I have to thank Travis from Bum Marketing for really drilling that deep into my skull so early on.
Thad
Been feeling kinda down today. Amazing how negative emotions sends the productivity down the shitter… Anyway, this post was just what I needed to shake it off and get going again. Thanks.