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Million Dollar Marketer Seeking Advice

by Path Theory
22 replies
Got your attention? Good. I'm sure there hasn't been many of these threads before. I'm sure you're wondering why a real million dollar marketer would come here seeking advice. You'd be right to be skeptical. So let me tell you a little bit about myself, and my situation.

I'm sure you've all seen those Garcinia Cambogia diet trials. Littered all over facebook and display networks. About 5 years ago, I got my start working for one of those 8 figure companies. They owned a lot of the largest diet offers. They took a chance on me, and let me manage their email remarketing. After a lot of failures, I finally got it working, and working extremely well. Learned a lot about what determines deliverability, whitelisting the Smtp servers, engaging prospects etc. I did extremely well for the company, and myself.

While I was there, I got my first taste of affiliate marketing. They let me pay for my own servers / Autoresponders, and in turn, they gave me access to their email lists, and let me take a commission for each sale.

I was very fortunate to get my start there. Working closely with some of the top minds in the industry. Since they also ran internal traffic, I was able to see, and learn both sides of affiliate marketing.

I ended up leaving, and starting my own product company with a few other people. We kept that going for about a year, and did very well, but in the end, it just wasn't worth the headache. We were driving all our own traffic (Through facebook). Dealing with the mids (Banks) tying up your money for months on end, distribution, FTC - It was never ending. Made more sense to just drive traffic to other peoples offers. It's what I was good at.

About 2 years ago, I broke off completely on my own. Mostly doing diet / skin / muscle trials through facebook and native networks. I've dabbled in a lot of other verticals - Lead gen, forex, bianry etc. Been profitable in most of what I've tried, but in the end I usually end up coming back to the nutra market.

So this is where I need some input. Start of the year, I realized I was tired of grinding 10 hours a day, running 20 facebook accounts by myself. Yes, 7 figures a year is great, but at the cost of my health and family - Wasn't what I wanted to continue doing.

I decided to open an office, start a new firm. I hired very intelligent and driven college aged kids. Taught them everything I know about facebook and affiliate marketing. They've been running it by themselves with very little input from me for the last 4 months. They do an awesome job, and I reward them well for it.

I have a team of 6 media buyers at the moment. I'm looking to hire 2-3 more people, and I want them to start exploring new avenues. Parts of the affiliate space, or marketing in general that I haven't touched on really.

I believe with my experience, guidance, and resources, I can make almost any method work. I've read up on a lot of different methods - None really in-depth, but wanted to come here and get suggestions on what other types of avenues I should pursue. I'm not really interested in getting into the MMO niche. Don't have any plans to create a course or WSO.

If you guys had a talented team, what methods would you look into scaling?

I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you guys have. I've tried to give back to this forum from time to time.

Side note - I've reached out to a few "Gurus" or "Experts" here, wanting to just chat a little bit - It's always good to make new connections with successful people - And none of them have got back to me. I guess I should have told them I wanted to buy their $9 course lol.
#advice #dollar #marketer #million #seeking
  • Profile picture of the author kevalm
    I would look into ecommerce, more specifically shopify. Most of the traffic for this comes from Facebook ads, and seeing as you have quite a lot of experience with running fb ads to offers, I reckon you could be really profitable with this strategy!
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  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    Originally Posted by Path Theory View Post


    If you guys had a talented team, what methods would you look into scaling?
    It I hired a talented team I would ask this question of them and expect an answer within a few days. I would not, on the other hand, ask a bunch of strangers at a forum

    al
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    • Profile picture of the author Path Theory
      Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

      It I hired a talented team I would ask this question of them and expect an answer within a few days. I would not, on the other hand, ask a bunch of strangers at a forum

      al
      Thanks for your input mate. However, if you'd take the time to actually read what I wrote, you'd see that I mentioned I hired and "trained" a team of college aged kids. They had no previous experience, which is what I was looking for.

      I'm not in the business of hiring other marketers and teaching them the ins and outs of my business. Would be kind of silly of me don't you think?

      While they're doing great on their own now, it's still only what I've taught them. I want them to continue doing what they're good at. Which is why I'm hiring a couple other people, to explore other methods / avenues.

      While I could just let them loose and tell them to figure it out, will be much quicker if I can give them a game plan, or a place to start.

      I'm not looking for people to share their secrets, just a general idea of what's actually working, and - Has room enough to scale.

      I'm not trying to sell you anything, and I really don't have time to wade through half of the garbage on this forum, which is why I started a thread.
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      • Profile picture of the author kilgore
        Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

        It I hired a talented team I would ask this question of them and expect an answer within a few days. I would not, on the other hand, ask a bunch of strangers at a forum
        Exactly.

        Originally Posted by Path Theory View Post

        Thanks for your input mate. However, if you'd take the time to actually read what I wrote, you'd see that I mentioned I hired and "trained" a team of college aged kids. They had no previous experience, which is what I was looking for.
        So are they talented or are they not talented? If they're talented, as Al says, ask them. Succeeding in business is about using your brain and if your staff is as talented as you seem to say, they should be able to come up with better ideas than a bunch of random strangers who know next to nothing about your business.

        Originally Posted by Path Theory View Post

        I'm not in the business of hiring other marketers and teaching them the ins and outs of my business. Would be kind of silly of me don't you think?
        No. I don't think. You teach your employees what they need to be successful. You train them, you develop them, you make them better -- and that makes your business better too. If your business is in such a precarious position that a couple of college kids who know the ins and outs of it are going to threaten it, you've got deeper issues. Besides, you can always make your employees sign a "no compete" contract if you're really worried.


        Originally Posted by Path Theory View Post

        However, if you'd take the time to actually read what I wrote... I'm not trying to sell you anything, and I really don't have time to wade through half of the garbage on this forum, which is why I started a thread.
        So we're supposed to take the time to read what you wrote, but you won't take the time to search the forum?
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        • Profile picture of the author Path Theory
          Originally Posted by kilgore View Post



          So are they talented or are they not talented? If they're talented, as Al says, ask them. Succeeding in business is about using your brain and if your staff is as talented as you seem to say, they should be able to come up with better ideas than a bunch of random strangers who know next to nothing about your business.
          Kilgore, I appreciate you responding in a constructive way. My team is talented, they've caught on very quickly. They're good at coming up with new angles, writing great, engaging ad copy, and following it up and writing compelling presale copy. That's literally as far as I've taken them.

          They write the ads, landing page copy (If the ad is performing well), and launch the ad on fb. I don't allow them any backend, or procedural access. They don't know anything else about marketing except writing cheap, engaging ads / copy. They are strictly media buyers.



          No. I don't think. You teach your employees what they need to be successful. You train them, you develop them, you make them better -- and that makes your business better too. If your business is in such a precarious position that a couple of college kids who know the ins and outs of it are going to threaten it, you've got deeper issues. Besides, you can always make your employees sign a "no compete" contract if you're really worried.
          I agree with a lot of what you've said. I had them sign a non disclosure / non compete during the hiring process. It's not that I don't trust them to take them further, but they are good at what they do, and I want them focused on that, since it's our main revenue stream. Since they don't have any other type of marketing experience besides writing ad copy, they would be starting from scratch, so it makes sense to hire new people, and keep them where they are.


          So we're supposed to take the time to read what you wrote, but you won't take the time to search the forum?
          Not necessarily. If you care to look at my post count / Thanks ratio, I've spent a good amount of time here, trying to help other people. I've had more than a few people reach out to me, that I've spent a great deal of time with helping them along. 2 of which, I'm still in contact with, and are doing extremely well on their own now.

          The nature of this forum, naturally breeds a lot of BS. People looking to make their first dollar, by selling a course on how to make that first dollar. I'm more than happy to share what I've done, and give solid advice on direct response marketing. All I was looking for here, was some new ideas that I might have missed.

          If you'd like to personally reach out to me, to find out exactly the extent of my expertise when it comes to facebook marketing, feel free to.
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          • Profile picture of the author kilgore
            Originally Posted by Path Theory View Post

            Kilgore, I appreciate you responding in a constructive way. My team is talented, they've caught on very quickly. They're good at coming up with new angles, writing great, engaging ad copy, and following it up and writing compelling presale copy. That's literally as far as I've taken them.

            They write the ads, landing page copy (If the ad is performing well), and launch the ad on fb. I don't allow them any backend, or procedural access. They don't know anything else about marketing except writing cheap, engaging ads / copy. They are strictly media buyers.

            I agree with a lot of what you've said. I had them sign a non disclosure / non compete during the hiring process. It's not that I don't trust them to take them further, but they are good at what they do, and I want them focused on that, since it's our main revenue stream. Since they don't have any other type of marketing experience besides writing ad copy, they would be starting from scratch, so it makes sense to hire new people, and keep them where they are.
            I still say you're barking up the wrong tree. Instead of asking this question on this forum, here's what I'd do:
            1. Listen to your customers

              What are your customers saying they want/need? How would they like you to improve? What else would they like you to offer? If you're doing a lot of marketing on social media, this is a great place to get ideas about ways to move forward.

            2. Talk to your staff

              Even with their limited roles, those college kids still know your business far better than we ever will. For instance, I don't let my staff touch most anything financial -- but I still get a lot of good ideas from them. They may not understand the entirety of the business, but they understand enough of it and even without sales data, they can see what's working by doing things like monitoring our engagement on social media.

              It should also go without saying that just because someone has an idea, doesn't mean that he or she is going to be the one implementing it. So if you like your staff working the way they are, you can keep them doing what they're doing (though personally, I think it's a good idea to gradually expand my staff's roles in order to keep them interested and engaged).

            3. Ask probing interview questions

              When you're interviewing for these positions, ask your candidates this question. What would they do? Here I wouldn't necessarily be looking for the right ideas, but rather for people who are able to come up with good ideas and fast, people who will be able to adjust their thinking as new data come in, to respond as the marketplace chances or as new opportunities emerge. Obviously, you'd need to know what general class of people you were looking to hire before you were able to even get someone in for an interview -- but that's where steps one and two come in.

            What I'd do in your position is to take some time off with your staff and engage them in a long term strategic planning exercise. Before even coming to the planning session(s), I'd give my staff some questions to think about, telling them what you were going to do together and how they should prepare (for instance, by being attentive to customer feedback as they worked). Once together I'd want to start by thinking very big picture, but by the end I'd want to narrow it down to specific tasks. There are a bunch of methodologies you might use to help you, so do a little research to help you design your sessions (or better yet, if you can swing it, hire an outside facilitator). At the end of the sessions, hopefully you'd have a fair idea who you'd need to hire and the kinds of projects they would be working on.

            All this definitely takes a lot more effort than posting a few paragraphs to a bunch of strangers on a forum. But I'm just guessing that you might get more out of it than whatever answers we might provide.
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  • Profile picture of the author superowid
    Keep doing the affiliate business and... start the traffic business with 100% satisfaction guarantee! That's what I'll do if I were you with such talented team. Thanks. Have a nice day!
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  • Profile picture of the author Bill Jeffels
    Originally Posted by Path Theory View Post

    Got your attention?
    You have anything to do with those dr oz Garcinia Cambogia guys?

    Bill

    .
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Path Theory,

    Since you are a skilled direct marketer . . . and since you understand the ins and outs of emailing . . . and since you have a team of great writers and lead generation artists . . . I would say that it would be crazy to abandon what you're already doing so well and have proven you can monetize successfully.

    If I were in your shoes I would either license or create your own information products in high demand niches and sell those through direct marketing. Info products don't require a heavy up-front cost, can be delivered instantly with almost zero cost, and can be created by other people if you (or your team) don't have the interest or time to create them yourself.

    How do you find those high demand niches? Eben Pagan, a multi-million dollar marketer wrote The Niche Intelligence Report and outlined three huge high demand marketplaces and 29 "sub-niches" that are evergreen, in high demand, and primed for information products.

    The "big 3 mega niches"
    1. Health & Fitness
    2. Dating & Relationships
    3. Business & Money

    Health & Fitness
    1. Natural Weight Loss
    2. Stress
    3. Muscle Gain
    4. Low-Impact Exercise
    5. Fat Loss
    6. Organic Food
    7. Raw Food
    8. Natural Healing
    9. Wellness
    10. Any Specific Health Problem

    Dating & Relationships (including Parenting)
    1. Dating
    2. Relationships
    3. Marriage
    4. Sexuality
    5. Conflict
    6. Divorce
    7. Body Language
    8. Parenting
    9. Education

    Business & Money
    1. Real Estate
    2. Foreign Currency
    3. Investing
    4. Retirement
    5. Debt
    6. Starting A Business
    7. Making Money
    8. Marketing (Especially Online)
    9. Time Management
    10. Getting A Job

    Of course I'm not saying to attack all these niches . . . maybe focus on and get good at one or two of them.

    Information sales will continue to be relevant for a long, long time.

    The very best to you,

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Gambino
    I tend to agree with Steve. However, I would stick with physical goods as you've been doing... If you're a 7 figure marketer, obviously you can absorb the start-up costs of physical goods. But I'm also bias.

    As, I'm sure you know... The back-end is where the big money is.

    Personally, I would go back to your own branded products...

    Then I would...

    1. Scale up (cross sales... back end sales.. auto-ship programs)
    2. Extend your brand/products... expand markets and niches
    3. Look into building a following and network of influencers on Instagram
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  • Profile picture of the author shaunybb
    Hey


    Well done on your success!


    However, I don't think most people will like you saying this forum is garbage.


    Yes there are some "thin" and pointless posts but they all have at least something to offer!


    You can scale by listening more and taking in account what some of the top marketers have said here today!


    I don't mean any offence BTW


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  • Profile picture of the author lgibbon
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Path Theory View Post

    Got your attention? Good. I'm sure there hasn't been many of these threads before.
    You're kidding right?
    There's another life story posted every hour.
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  • Profile picture of the author luciesmazanska
    With Social Media, Consider Diversifying Your Platforms

    Social media is always a tough sell for ecommerce companies, since it’s tough to figure out which platforms work best in certain markets. There’s a simple solution to this. Diversify, and eventually cut the platforms that don’t work well.

    It’s just like investing in stocks. You spread out the risk and realize which options are making you the most money. Create Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus pages. Spread your content through these mediums, and use social media analytics tools to understand which ones work best. Even if one works better than another, spreading out your social media presence gives all of your customers a way to connect with your company.
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    ★★★★★
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  • Profile picture of the author karakoram
    Originally Posted by Path Theory View Post

    If you guys had a talented team, what methods would you look into scaling?

    I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you guys have. I've tried to give back to this forum from time to time.

    Side note - I've reached out to a few "Gurus" or "Experts" here, wanting to just chat a little bit - It's always good to make new connections with successful people - And none of them have got back to me. I guess I should have told them I wanted to buy their $9 course lol.
    If I was in your position, in addition to knowing what I know, I would look at creating a ad arbitrage hedge fund. Someone did this a couple of years ago, and they are insanely profitable. If you would like to chat about this, let me know.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bill Jeffels
    I don't think he's coming back.

    And I think it's safe to safe to say about my Dr. Oz question the answer is yes.

    What ever works for ya. Until you get caught.

    Bill


    .
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  • Profile picture of the author aizaku
    I'd put them to work in the warrior for hire section,,

    copy the popular jobs and provide even more value..


    -Ike Paz
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidKellog
    Maybe it's just me, but whenever something works (brings me decent money) I always aim in scaling it up and, most importantly, automating the whole job so that I could have much more free time and enjoy life.
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  • Profile picture of the author luciesmazanska
    With Social Media, Consider Diversifying Your Platforms

    Social media is always a tough sell for ecommerce companies, since it’s tough to figure out which platforms work best in certain markets. There’s a simple solution to this. Diversify, and eventually cut the platforms that don’t work well.

    It’s just like investing in stocks. You spread out the risk and realize which options are making you the most money. Create Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus pages. Spread your content through these mediums, and use social media analytics tools to understand which ones work best. Even if one works better than another, spreading out your social media presence gives all of your customers a way to connect with your company.
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    ★★★★★
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  • Profile picture of the author maxsi
    YEAAH agree => with Social Media, Consider Diversifying Your Platforms
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    From $0 To $360 Within 24 Hours (click here) ******* Get 1K Leads per Day...(use this FREE TRAFFIC)
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  • Profile picture of the author absolutelee
    As far as scaling up. One thing I realized, and this is quite recently, is it's easier to figure out how to sell more right where I am than to branch out. Selling more to the same list, for instance. Making larger sales, or sales with more upsells to the same buyers is another example. I learned the hard way not to go broad but deep.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sage Lewis
    I guess my contribution to this conversation would be: It depends what you want as you move forward.

    If you want more money I'd probably look at staying focused on what you are good at. Just do more of it.

    If you want something new that would make a lot of money there are very few guarantees. Just because you are good at one area doesn't mean you are going to be able to work another area. But I've always had a mild interest in buying stuff from China and selling it through Amazon Fulfillment. That seems like a possible avenue to make money.

    Otherwise, if you don't really care about the money but want to do something you love I'd probably look into making a new online publication. I feel like there is a lot of opportunity there. The old media people are not great at presenting their content online.
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  • Profile picture of the author anayb
    I see your main challenge as you're building your real biz is to build the right team, especially when you are bootstrapped.

    For me, building a right team doesn’t mean hiring candidates like me. It is about hiring the candidates who are better than me and provide solutions to the problems. You're doing wrong here not because they're with intelligence, energy and Integrity but they're way less expereinced. Choose the right candidates with a perfect mixture of experienced and freshers’. NOT ONLY FRESHERS. Make sure they have the right attitude and desire to learn.

    And you resist the urge to hire individuals simply because they share the same character traits and background as you. Businesses benefit from having people with different factors of view to challenge and develop the company in the long run.
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