Affiliate Marketing - Stupid to take a step back and follow my passion?

21 replies
Context: I have been experimenting with making websites for almost a year. I have focused on Amazon affiliate marketing, and currently run a small website that makes $1500/month.

The problem: I love making websites and learning about seo. While I have been successful with writing product reviews and amazon "best" guides, I really hate the process. I just don't have the motivation or desire to write articles like "the 3 best automatic cat feeders" (yes, I actually researched that keyword).

My plan: I want to learn how to make websites that I can feel good about and that provides real value to people. A website that I could tell my friends about without feeling like a slimeball marketer trying to make a quick buck. Something sustainable that has the potential to grow and challenge.

I still like affiliate marketing, but there has to be a better system. At this point, I am becoming less interested in making money than in finding something that I love to do.

I want to be more like Ramit Sethi or Matt Kepnes who have websites that they are passionate about, provide massive value to readers, and yet still provides a means of comfortable income.

Does anyone have any advice or resources for creating something like this?
#affiliate #back #follow #marketing #passion #step #stupid
  • Profile picture of the author professorrosado
    A "real" value would be helping people achieve what you have which you could do various ways including a website, video training courses, coaching services, etc. You can do these things as well as venture into whatever other passions you want to.

    You may find that your "hated" process can be easily remedied with my suggestion.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816290].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    It sounds like you just are picking topics which you aren't passionate about. What if you started to pick topics that you are passionate about?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816301].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
    Well, I can say this: If I had to drop every one of my businesses, semi-retire, and simply stick to the one business, I'd run a blog on a subject that I'm passionate about.

    The trick? Combine passion with income-potential. Whether I'm running a business that receives 100 visitors a day, or several million, I have monetization down to a fine art.

    I was watching The Mentalist the other night with my wife. The lead, Patrick Jane, quotes confucius: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."

    A few days ago, I happened to bring up the quote, in support of doing what you love in IM, but I think my point was lost on a handful of people. To clarify, then, the point (when it comes to IM), is to strategically do what you love, combining both subject-matter and marketing strategy.

    Give you an example. I like to write novels, novellas, shorts, and screenplays, both short and feature-length. Are they my bread and butter? No. I'm the type of chap who likes too many things to settle on the one (for now). Anyway. Quite a few years back now, I began promoting myself, using what I know of IM to grew an audience to a pen name for mostly novellas and screenplays. Within less than a year, I had film directors, producers, and studios contacting me and wanting to do business, and, out of it, I also spun a social empire for the genre I was writing in (not around the pen name, around the niche/ genre). The majority of my work in IM prior to that had been primarily about the money.

    Having been around the block in IM, I'm really not used to learning fundamental lessons, but I did this time around. It was a truly wonderful sensation: getting paid (quite a bit) for simply doing what I'd actually do for nothing at all. Fast-forward, and here we are in 2016. Nowadays, I only operate ventures that I'm passionate about, and I think this is the area that threw those people in the other post. Strategy. Now, I happen to love collecting rare books, and while I know a decent market exists for them, and I could certainly tap into it, I'm well aware that I have other passions that can afford a stronger potential for profit. That - is half of the strategy. The other half, marketing, boils down to concentrating on aspects of IM (to power the business based on the passion) that you're passionate about and have a facility for becoming an expert within. And, in this regard, I suppose I'm lucky, because I can get my geek on within most areas of IM; everything from SEO to social media, viral marketing, PPC, PPV, apps, and so on goes the happy IM merry-go-round.

    So.

    In your shoes? What you're essentially talking about is a passion project. I'd do the very same thing, and I happen to think your reasoning is concrete. In fact, I now it is - from experience. I wish you all the best. I think you're in for a fun ride!

    - Tom
    Signature

    I Coach: Learn More | My Latest WF Thread: Dead Domains/ Passive Traffic

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816306].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Slarkey
      Originally Posted by Tom Addams View Post

      I get up each morning and each hour of the working day is based on those same four words, whether it's growing socials, infusing media with viral potential, seeding it, syndicating it, or simply writing a forum post.

      - Tom
      That's a truly inspiring way to live, and I'm really grateful for your insight.

      I totally get what you're saying, because right now I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. I have a website based on a topic I know nothing about. I get up in the morning and wonder why I'm not motivated to grow my business, it's silly.

      Originally Posted by Tom Addams View Post

      Just to add.
      Back when I started out in IM, the real money was in SEO. And SEO, as you know, covers a multitude of areas within IM. Well, back then it was fairly easy work. Search engines were still young and relatively basic and their algos were, similarly, simple to figure out. What resulted from this was a legion of internet marketers who chased the buck, instead - as you mention - aiming (primarily) to help people. You chased the keywords. Sure, you added helpful information to your platforms, but that was secondary. In those primordial days, it was about rank and bank.

      All that has changed. Search engines are fairly clever, but that isn't even 1% of the reason for the change. The big change has been brought about by social interraction. The worth of something is no longer determined by how clever Tom is at ranking in Google. People determine worth, and they let everyone (including search engines) know about their evaluation. So, when you bring up a business intent on providing "real value to people," you're on exactly the right path.

      - Tom

      Could I ask what methods you recommend when choosing content in your niche?

      All of my experience comes from finding long tail keywords that I can rank for in google. Should I just throw that out the window and focus more on what I think my audience is looking for?

      P.s. The Mentalist was one of my favorite shows to watch.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816353].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
        Originally Posted by Slarkey View Post

        Could I ask what methods you recommend when choosing content in your niche?
        Good question. I'll give you specifics; first, a story. A little while back a guy produced the first film to come out of his own production company. The budget had been pretty low (at a guess, I'd say well under $100K) but he was excited for a handful of reasons: it was his first film, the pipedream had become reality, and he had managed to secure someone fairly well known in the genre to appear in it. Now, as I'm sure you know, before a film gets distribution a type of market research takes place. It happens first with dailies, where certain members of the cast and crew will review the latest coverage, second with producers and backers who get a screening of the finished movie, and it concludes with test screening, where members of the public get to watch it pre-release and share their thoughts at the end (on little white cards). Well, the guy in question did all three, and he went all-out for the test screening: he rented a disused mental asylum for the evening; perfect, given the subject-matter of the flick. Later that evening, when everyone had gone home, there he was pouring over the reviews. As you'd expect, those from cast, friends, and family were positive. But the rest? The pits. The flick, according to the majority, stunk to high heaven. And the producer simply could not understand the reaction. He was a fan of this type of movie, and he loved it. Sure, you could say he was biased, looking at it through rose-tinted glasses, but no, hell with that, he thought. "I'm a fan. I love the flick. Other people will, too!" And? Well . . . turns out he was right.

        So.

        Originally Posted by Slarkey View Post

        Could I ask what methods you recommend when choosing content in your niche?
        When we work within a passion niche, we are the target audience. If you run a blog about '80s arcade machines, and you own 30 of them, and for the last 30 years you've been addicted to them, you understand the niche inside and out and you are your own audience. And this means a lot of different things. One of which: you know just the right kind of content to deliver, and exactly how to deliver it. You are, after all, and, in a sense, writing for yourself. You know the headline that will grab you; the image that will get you clicking; the type of writing (and the content of it) that will have you chomping at the bit to take action, because everything we write as jobbing bloggers, whether the content itself is monetized or not, should be written in order to elicit some form of action-taking. Point is, you know what and how to deliver the content; articles, images, videos, infographics, gifs, you name it, you know it.

        Is it enough, though? No. As much as I like the idea of that film producer being right because he was a fan, the movie pleased him so therefore the movie would please others, and though all of the above is true indeed, those of us lucky enough to be our own audience will always have strong insight into content provision (and most other areas of the business), the fact is we can never rely on merely our own thoughts. Use them, yes. But . . . we have to give people what they want, the audience in sum. And to do that, we have to learn what they want. IM, for me, and I would suggest this should be the case for every other marketer, is primarily science. Which actually surprises me, because I never was the most analytical of people, despite various lecturers trying to drum it into me as a kid. Take content provision. How do we know what content to provide? I could expand all day (all year) on tactics, but, time not being on my side, let me give you two pretty good suggestions. First, tap "viral piggyback" into WF search and look for a thread created by Tom Somebody-Or-Other. Second, become a student of the locations where your audience hangs out. Study everything. (Literally.) All the answers - right there.

        - Tom
        Signature

        I Coach: Learn More | My Latest WF Thread: Dead Domains/ Passive Traffic

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816869].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
    Just to add.

    Originally Posted by Slarkey View Post

    My plan: I want to learn how to make websites that I can feel good about and that provides real value to people. A website that I could tell my friends about without feeling like a slimeball marketer trying to make a quick buck. Something sustainable that has the potential to grow and challenge.
    Back when I started out in IM, the real money was in SEO. And SEO, as you know, covers a multitude of areas within IM. Well, back then it was fairly easy work. Search engines were still young and relatively basic and their algos were, similarly, simple to figure out. What resulted from this was a legion of internet marketers who chased the buck, instead - as you mention - aiming (primarily) to help people. You chased the keywords. Sure, you added helpful information to your platforms, but that was secondary. In those primordial days, it was about rank and bank.

    All that has changed. Search engines are fairly clever, but that isn't even 1% of the reason for the change. The big change has been brought about by social interraction. The worth of something is no longer determined by how clever Tom is at ranking in Google. People determine worth, and they let everyone (including search engines) know about their evaluation. So, when you bring up a business intent on providing "real value to people," you're on exactly the right path.

    I get up each morning and each hour of the working day is based on those same four words, whether it's growing socials, infusing media with viral potential, seeding it, syndicating it, or simply writing a forum post.

    - Tom
    Signature

    I Coach: Learn More | My Latest WF Thread: Dead Domains/ Passive Traffic

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816317].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
    At this point, I am becoming less interested in making money than in finding something that I love to do.
    That's the point where the fun really starts!!
    Signature
    Get Off The Warrior Forum Now & Don't Come Back If You Want To Succeed!
    All The Real Marketers Are Gone. There's Nothing Left But Weak, Sniveling Wanna-Bees!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816378].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Diskretni
      Originally Posted by Brent Stangel View Post

      That's the point where the fun really starts!!
      Exatly,you start with new ideas and some of them turn out to be really helpful to others,the less you are interested in what you are currently doing the more creative you are for other things.
      Signature
      "Grind now, relax later!" - Me
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816581].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Gal Ganor
    Deleted .
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816456].message }}
  • I would keep doing what is making you money because you still need to eat and pay rent, but incorporate an hour a day into building something you are passionate about (or whatever number works for your schedule). Do that consistently over time and you may find that your passion project has grown into something that can now support you as well or better than the stuff you don't like.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816489].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Slarkey
      Originally Posted by solidwealthsystems View Post

      I would keep doing what is making you money because you still need to eat and pay rent, but incorporate an hour a day into building something you are passionate about (or whatever number works for your schedule). Do that consistently over time and you may find that your passion project has grown into something that can now support you as well or better than the stuff you don't like.
      Great advice for sure, but I currently work a day job on top of my website building. If I get spread to thin I think everything would start to suffer a bit. I think I could let my current projects just go on autopilot for a bit and be fine.

      Originally Posted by WFMarcus View Post

      Success inspires others, and if success means offering big value to someone and a comfortable income - start with the first point, the second will come naturally.
      That's a great comment. I know from experience when I first started I was really motivated by reading about others who were living the life I wanted, and it helped me a lot to take the first step. Thanks for the practical tips

      Originally Posted by Tom Addams View Post

      When we work within a passion niche, we are the target audience. If you run a blog about '80s arcade machines, and you own 30 of them, and for the last 30 years you've been addicted to them, you understand the niche inside and out and you are your own audience. And this means a lot of different things. One of which: you know just the right kind of content to deliver, and exactly how to deliver it. You are, after all, and, in a sense, writing for yourself. You know the headline that will grab you; the image that will get you clicking; the type of writing (and the content of it) that will have you chomping at the bit to take action, because everything we write as jobbing bloggers, whether the content itself is monetized or not, should be written in order to elicit some form of action-taking. Point is, you know what and how to deliver the content; articles, images, videos, infographics, gifs, you name it, you know it.

      Is it enough, though? No. As much as I like the idea of that film producer being right because he was a fan, the movie pleased him so therefore the movie would please others, and though all of the above is true indeed, those of us lucky enough to be our own audience will always have strong insight into content provision (and most other areas of the business), the fact is we can never rely on merely our own thoughts. Use them, yes. But . . . we have to give people what they want, the audience in sum. And to do that, we have to learn what they want. IM, for me, and I would suggest this should be the case for every other marketer, is primarily science. Which actually surprises me, because I never was the most analytical of people, despite various lecturers trying to drum it into me as a kid. Take content provision. How do we know what content to provide? I could expand all day (all year) on tactics, but, time not being on my side, let me give you two pretty good suggestions. First, tap "viral piggyback" into WF search and look for a thread created by Tom Somebody-Or-Other. Second, become a student of the locations where your audience hangs out. Study everything. (Literally.) All the answers - right there.

      - Tom
      Thank you for all of your comments, this has been more valuable than you could ever know. I read through your Viral Piggyback thread and by the end it had me in stitches!

      I really loved your suggestions though, especially about being your own audience. That's always one of the things that bothered me with my current SEO/keyword system.

      With keyword research it's just pure data. While it's nice to know what people are searching for, it could be outdated or meant for a different target audience. It really doesn't help you connect with your audience and understand them. The information is good on a basic level, but the minute you try to go deeper it's like trying to navigate using a map with holes in it. It's easy to get lost if you aren't familiar with the area.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10817667].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author aizaku
    Originally Posted by Slarkey View Post

    I have focused on Amazon affiliate marketing, and currently run a small website that makes $1500/month.
    cool, it's time to outsource the content creation part of this, wouldn't you say?

    you can find a good writer here on the WF or on any other outsource site..

    Originally Posted by Slarkey View Post

    Does anyone has any advice or resources for creating something like this?
    well we all know there is a market for what you're into. Why not put yourself within a niche of a niche and build websites on the genesis framework (wordpress website):

    Genesis Framework by StudioPress

    this way, you KNOW your target audience and you can align yourself with a proven premium brand.

    on top of that, you can be a genesis framework affiliate via: ShareASale

    I'd also place adsense on your 'build a website' website... I know a lot of IMers avoid adsense on their sites. and rightly so, if you are in a niche like baby shower which can be profitable in other ways, it wont be profitable with adsense because of the lack of advertising dollars in that space..

    But in the "build a website" niche it definitely is profitable! SO you have three income streams, the adsense, genesis framework affiliate and your main profit source "building websites"... Plus, you're doing some thing you love!

    best of luck,
    Ike Paz

    P.S. There is nothing scammy about amazon product comparison affiliate sites, you're helping ppl decide the product for them. I'd be proud of that.
    Signature
    >> 2018 Money Making Method Video Guides [NO OPTIN] <<
    80% Of These Proven Guides Are Free... ]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816524].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Marcus W K Wong
    "I want to learn how to make websites that I can feel good about and that provides real value to people."

    This is the very core of every moral fibre online. Yes, there's plenty of fund-hungry sharks online but at the end of the day - it's all about growing value in the community known as "Earth" and leaving a (digital) footprint.

    This is just a personal take on things but our passions are quite similar (I love building emails, writing copy and I go nuts over funnels).

    Here's an idea, If you love making websites, the most immediate value I can recommend is to consider is hosting some local charity events. You can do what you love (build websites) and learn about SEO without compromising an existing business/operation focused on the dollar, dollar, dollar. You can see the immediate positive effect on people and get live feedback at any point. Take on the hard yards to build a rockstar website with an engaging landing page, content (you can get paid contributors or have community created/backed content), and the "value" you perceive is what I'd question most. Check out some kickstart projects on Kickstarter.com. There are some great pitches (and some that won't interest you too) and you can see immediate value in what they're offering to the world. Be it actionable content for the viewer, or to enlighten them with a new trusted technology to ease into their lifestyle.

    For me, passion sparks from actionable repetition in an interest. I wouldn't think twice to do what I do everyday even with the thought that it might be exhausting, the positive outweighs the negative. It's evident when Success has a certain "brilliance" to it and the Failures (and exhaustion) were simply a lesson learnt (a very VERY long lesson). Success inspires others, and if success means offering big value to someone and a comfortable income - start with the first point, the second will come naturally.

    P.S. Thanks for making me google "the 3 best automatic cat feeders"
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816541].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author AronParker
    Do what you're passionate about, don't look for confirmation - get to work,
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816551].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author George Schwab
      Originally Posted by AronParker View Post

      Do what you're passionate about, don't look for confirmation - get to work,
      right on, and that's what's it all about.

      sometimes one sentence says it all
      Signature

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816573].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SalahStudios
    You may not want to hear this but the the realest advice I can give is to search within, audit yourself. In 2016 there is a niche audience for everything. Become more self aware, ask the people closest to you what you excel at and then monetize it. The angles are unlimited.

    This video gives some amazing practical advice for internet marketers trying to get there: Gary V: Do What You Love
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816595].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author gr8money
    I have a project that's made with love, and passion and is long term. Its still new though. I sent you a pm with my skype. Check it out if interested.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816680].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author shaunybb
    Hey there


    Well done on earning the money you have so far!


    I understand that site might not be your passion, but find your passion


    and apply the blueprint you have from the other site!


    You obviously have one to make $1500/month


    Good luck!
    Signature
    ====>READY To Be Successful Online? FIND OUT more!?<====
    You FAIL online because you have the WRONG information.....
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816724].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Alexis Gil
    Best way to achieve some goal is to start. In your case if you know who are your favorites why don't address to them with this question? Maybe you will get the answer straight from the horse's mouth. If not maybe you can get some advises from this guy - Matthew Woodward Personal Blog. Good luck!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10816979].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MartinaK
    I think it is a great awareness about yourself and definitely should follow your passion. Once you are in your flow everything all puzzles will fit.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10817016].message }}

Trending Topics