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A couple of weeks ago, My wife and I were invited to a backyard BBQ that one of her co-workers put together. It was a friday night, so my wife rushed home from work and we shot across town in time not to miss the party.

When we showed up there was about 30 people eating, drinking and having a good time. About half way through the night, I noticed a couple of guys across the yard who looked like they were having a heated conversation.

I’m nosey,  so I decided to go over and find out what the convo was all about

When I first approached them, one of the guys instantly stopped talking and scuttled away. The other guy just stood there with a puzzling look on his face, staring down at the lawn.

I said, “Hey, how’s it going? I’m Thomas.”

He introduced himself and asked me what I did for a living. I said “I work out of my house, I’m an affiliate marketer, what do you do?” After a long pause, he said “I’m a corporate bitch. I sit around making people I don’t really like money. Like that guy that just walked away over there.”

I said, “That sucks, is he your boss?”

He replied, “Yeah, one of them. But probably not on monday, I just told him I was sick of my job and I’m quitting soon to focus on my online mall full-time!”

“That’s cool.” I said, “So how long have you been running your site?”

“About a year now. it’s up to $300 bucks a month,  all from word of mouth.”

Now I don’t know about you, but $300 dollars a month for a years worth of work doesn’t seem like a lot to me, or enough to quit your job, but ok.

I thought about it for a second and said, “Do you advertise online, like on Google, Yahoo, etc.?”

He replied, “No, that stuff doesn’t work. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising there is.”

I said, “You really believe that advertising online doesn’t work? How do you think Google makes most of their money?”

“Ripping people off who don’t know anything about marketing.” he said.

“Do you know people make millions per year with contextual advertsing, etc.? You should really look into it” I replied.

“Yeah, but it’s mostly spammer stuff and porn peddlers, not legitimate businesses like mine. I don’t want to be a affiliate marketer like that.”

Still a little frustrated, he excused himself and walked away to “spread the word” about his online mall to the other guests and pass out his cheesy homemade business cards he printed out on the old colored inkjet that obviously needed a good head cleaning :). Ok bro.

Lesson for the day? Prejudging opportunity is why people stay broke.

Whatever. 

More money for all of us spammers I guess

If you want to talk about culture shock, spend 5 days in Bermuda then go to Manhattan.

Bermuda is the epitome of the friendly laid back island culture, and Manhattan in the epitome of fast paced, high strung, city life.

My wife, my mom, and I went to Manhattan to get our India Visas renewed for our trip to India this December. Walking into the Indian Consulate was like being transported directly to india: ceiling fans, wiring running across the wall, cockroaches in the restroom, and a VERY long line. LOL

After we finished with that, 2 hours later, we headed to Azoogle’s new (under construction) headquarters. It was great to finally met Audrey, my affiliate manager, in person.

Five of us went to lunch: Me, Shilpi, my mom, Audrey, and Mitch, the director of affiliate management.

After having lunch with Mitch and Audrey, I’m even more excited about working with Azoogle. They really are a great company, they really care about their affiliates and treat them well.

Actually visiting the company you work with and meeting the people there really gives you confidence that your business is in good hands. You have to remember this business is all about relationships, our success would not be possible without great affiliate networks like Azoogle out there.

We depend on each other for success, the affiliate needs the affiliate networks (and vice versa).

The stronger the relationships you build the more successful you will be as an affiliate. Just remember no ones a lone ranger in this business, we all need to work together to really succeed to our full potential.

I know some of you are reading my lifestyle posts and getting angry.

I know how you feel.

I was angry and frustrated for a long time. I saw other people who were successful, had time and money, and everything, it seemed! I wanted badly to be successful too, and of course have the incredible lifestyle that went with it.

The problem was I was completely wrapped up in fear and doubt. I had to learn not to be so attached, I had to learn to just let go and get excited about the journey.

You see, success is a journey and not a destination.

I recently had lunch with a good friend of mine and fellow super affiliate, Jeff Roth. We’ve been friends for years, and in business together in the past. We failed for years, and surprisingly enough we had our big successes around the same time.

I love just talking to Jeff about all the crap we went through, all the years we failed, all the crazy stories! It was exciting, because even though we couldn’t see the results, we know we were doing what 99% of people were unwilling to do. We knew if we kept doing it we would live like 99% can only dream of living.

And NOW WE DO!

Get excited about the journey, and stop worrying about the results.

If you ever studied Hindu philosophy, you understand that the key to success is taking action without being attached to the results.

This is easier said than done.

Set your goals, write out a game plan, and then execute your game plan and forget the goals.

Enjoy everyday, know that even if your next campaign fails that you’re that much closer to finding a winner. Know that with every campaign that fails you’ve learned something that will help you succeed in the future.

Every failure is a stepping stone to success, if you learn from it.

When my wife and I were in the jewelry store at our hotel in Bermuda, an amazing watch caught my eye. It was the elusive and rare Rolex Submariner with a green bezel.

I had to get it, so I called Amex, told them i was going to buy a Rolex, and Shilpi and I went to the jewelry shop the next day and bought it!

Check it out…

This watch is EXTREMELY difficult to get, it’s the 50th anniversary addition Rolex Submariner watch. There are waiting lines for this watch!

Rolex submariner is possibly one of the coolest watches ever made. It can go underwater up to a depth of a 1000 ft., it’s showed up in 11 James Bond movies. It’s been in arctic expeditions where it has withstood -45 degrees Celsius.

When I was riding on the moped, zooming through the narrow roads of Bermuda, rocks on one side, ocean on the other, with my wife holding on, Rolex Submariner on my wrist and black card in my pocket…I felt like James Bond!

WHAT A LIFE!

The adventure (and danger) continues…

On Sunday I finally convinced my wife that we should rent a moped. She was rightfully hesitant to ride a moped with me driving! But what’s a vacation without a little thrill (ie danger) and excitement!

There was a moped rental company within walking distance from where we were staying, once we got there I had a chance to practice riding around the block a few times before we signed the contract and zoomed off.

I gotta tell you, I was sweating bullets! Riding a moped is actually more difficult than it looks, especially when you’re riding through city traffic with Shilpi holding on for her dear life while I drove!

I really had to push myself out of my confort zone that first day of riding. We actually ended up riding all the way to the Bermuda Zoo & Aquarium, that’s half away across the Island. What’s worst, is that we got LOST!

Think about it, you’re riding a vehicle you really don’t know how to ride, you’re driving on the other side of the road, and then you get lost trying to find your way halfway around Bermuda.

Oh, did I forget to mention Shilpi was holding on to me to me the whole time-we had a two person moped. She had more confidence in me than I had in myself.

I have an AWESOME wife!

On Monday, the next day, we decided to take a well deserved break from mopeding. We went helmet driving, check it out…

The helmets are heavy so you sink right to the sea floor, there’s a pump that provides air to the helmets.

It was an amazing experience!

We had a chance to see all types of fish, and pet them, really! We also saw different types of coral that were native to that area.

I’m not very comfortable around water, I know how to swim, but do it only about once a year if you know what I’m saying. Helmet driving was a big step for me, it really got me out of comfort zone.

AFFILIATE MARKETING LESSON…

In fact I’m always looking for ways to push myself out of my comfort zone, that is do something I’m scared of doing, or do something that’s completely new & different.

By pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, challenging yourself, overcoming yours fears, gaining new skills and knowledge, you grow as a person.

The more you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone the more successful you will become.

Here some area where YOU may need to push yourself out of a conform zone:

1. Have you ever felt that fear and trepidation of going into a new market? You know there’s lots of money in that market, but you may tell yourself, “It’s too competitive!” or “Let me hit up some easier markets first, I not ready yet.”
2. Are you afraid to increase your daily budget on your Google campaign, even when the campaign in profitable?
3. Are you scared to let your campaign run for a full day without checking your stats?
4. Here’s a big one I face when I got started: Are you afraid to transition out of doing Googlecash because you don’t know how, and are scared to, make your own landing pages?

The sooner you start making yourself uncomfortable by doing what you fear to do, but what you know you need to do, the faster you will succeed.

Back to the Bermuda Trip…

The next day, Tuesday, we went parasailing. Here’s a photo Shilpi took of us while we were 100 feet in the air:

The final day of our vacation, Wednesday, we had the pleasure of having lunch with Kent and his wife, both local Bermudians and reader of this blog. Having a chance to talk to a couple that lives on the island gave us a new perspective on Bermuda.

Kent has already been very successful in various business ventures in the past. He even did a join venture with Jonathan Mizel. I see him becoming a successful super affiliate, no doubt about it.

Kent told me that his key to success was having a laser focus. When he starts a business he puts blinders on and focuses a 100% of his energy on making that business succeed, and let’s NOTHING distract him from his goal.

Do you do that with your affiliate marketing business?

One of the best parts about living the super affiliate lifestyle is traveling to exotic places. And Bermuda is definitely one of those places.

Take an tiny island with hilly terrain, rain forest-like trees and vegetation, homes and buildings painted in a beautiful array of colors. Now surround that with shimmering blue waters full of breathtaking coral and fish. Now add a laid back island culture with friendly people and great food.

Take all of that together and you get Bermuda.

The first night we checked into the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, one of the top hotels on the island. Our room costs a whopping $450/night.

Our room has a balcony with a stunning view of the harbor. Check it out…

On the next day, which was a Friday, Shilpi and I went snorkeling in Church Bay. The waters where choppy, but we still saw lots of fish. In fact, you can walk around in shallow water and see fish swimming around your feet.

It was pretty incredible!

After getting cut up after stepping on some razor sharp rocks in Church Bay, we decided to take 2 days off and do some land activities.

So on Saturday we went horseback riding!

There was a group of about 6 of us all on horseback. Now, our guide told us the horses were very tame, and would walk in a single file line behind each other, quietly and peacefully.

Right.

Everything was going fine in the beginning. We went through some steep terrain (not exactly for beginners, it was my first time!) Then we strolled through some residential areas, finally we cut through a park and walked along the beach.

It was a fun ride, but then it got a little more exciting…

On our way back from the beach something in the scrubs frightened some of the horses. One horse, in a panic started galloping, the horse behind it followed.

There was another horse that was so frightened that it knocked its lady rider off!! Thankfully the lady was okay, she hit the sand which cushioned her fall.

After that, my wife’s horse tried to pick a fight with the horse behind it, and almost knocked my wife off the horse!

If you think that’s too much excitement for one trip, it’s get better…

In the next post I’ll talk about mopeding like a wild man around the island, helmet diving, afternoon tea time, parasailing and some important lessons about affiliate marketing.

For those of you who were not able to attend the Affiliate Summit this year in Miami, here is the link to my video presentation, “Secrets of a PPC Super Affiliate”! The video footage is focused on me directly so be sure to download the slideshow (PDF file) so you can follow along with my talk while you watch

Check out the video here.

Like I said before, if your not attending conferences like this, your missing out in a big way. It’s a “must” in my book for every affiliate marketer who wants to take their business to the next level.

Since Amit is busy soaking up the rays down in Bermuda, I wanted to let everyone know that the SuperAffiliateMindset.com online shop is now officially opened! We got cool men’s and women’s t-shirts, mousepads, coffee mugs, cap, rockin trucker hats and even a teddy bear for you romantics ;p

We expect to sell out in the first hour, so please limit your order to 100 items each :)

I get a lot of emails from people asking for help, but check out this email Alex Goad got from one of his readers:

Hey Alex,

I’ve been reading your blog for a while and I think it’s great. There’s tons of real info here and I always discover new things.

I really want to make money online so that’s why I’m writing to you for some advice.

1) I read all your stuff about affiliate marketing, but it seems I’d have to learn to write and I don’t like that much. Plus I’d probably have to buy some Adwords clicks and my wife doesn’t like it if I spend money online, she thinks the internet is all a big scam.

2) I bought your Black Hat Ebook and boy, it was the most informative one I ever got. I never saw so much real information in one place. I’m not sure if it’s right for me though because I don’t know how to make a link and I don’t feel like learning html for that. I’m really not much of a techie kinda gal…

3) I read about Bum Marketing and it sounds great because it doesn’t cost any money. But there it is again with all that writing. Just really seems like a bunch of work.

4) I remember when you said that selling your own product in a field of expertise is one of the best ways to make bank online. The thing is, I’m not really good at anything. I’m just a regular guy with a day job. In fact, when I come home, a lot of the time I’m tired and I don’t even use the products that I buy, so how would I make one myself?

5) What I really want is a foolproof system where I can make money on autopilot, why does it have to be so complicated? I don’t want anything where I have to buy software or other stuff. And preferably nothing too complicated where I’d have to learn a bunch of skills since that would take too long. I’m 46 years young by the way…

I need something like that right now so I can buy nice gifts for my family and take a vacation. I also want a new car LOL.

Thanks for your help,

[Name]

I’m sorry, but people who have no desire to work hard or learn should not waste their money on info products and should be focusing on working just enough in their 9 to 5 job so they don’t get fired.

We live in a society full of people with entitlement mentality. They believe that the world owes them something just for existing, and that people like Alex Goad or myself should hand them money on silver platter.

I’m all for helping someone who’s willing to learn and work hard, and I know that 99% of my readers fall into that catagory.

But if you’re a slacker and want to sit on your lazy butt watching TV and do nothing else, when there’s a world of opportunity out there to be successful, and provide a better life for your family, to become more than what you are, THEN YOUR A FREAKING LOSER!

Here’s some of Alex’s response to the guy who wrote him the above email:

“I’m going to give you a secret URL. On that page, you’ll find a button. All you have to do is push it and every time you do, a fresh, crisp hundred dollar bill will pop out of your CD tray and do a jig (to ensure you don’t get bored).

Now I realize it’s not completely automated, so please do accept my most sincere apologies. If you’d like, I can log to the site and push the button for you while you watch Lost reruns. Just let me know.

You know, it’s so unfair, when you think about it. Why should you have to learn anything, isn’t that what we went to school for? Why should you have to invest your hard earned money? Why doesn’t it just fall into your lap during a beer commercial?

The world is a tough cruel place, but I’ll bet a smart guy like you already knew that. I’m just glad I was able to help. You deserve it tiger.”

I was on the ground laughing! I love sarcasm! LOL

I’ve had a lot of my readers tell me : “Amit, this is great information, but I’m a wet behind the ears newbie, how do I get my ppc affiliate marketing business started??”

Here’s what my affiliate manager, Audrey, from Azoogle had to say-she’s a top notch affiliate manager who has years of experience working with affiliates at all levels:

“Here are some helpful tips to tell your newbies.

If you are just starting out in the industry you don’t want to select a vertical that is saturated or extremely competitive.

Health and Beauty has a great and wide demographic. You can target women AND men and the female demographic can range in age from 13 – 50+!

Just think about all the products that sell and appeal to women. Diet pills, lip plumper etc.

You want to make sure that the offer does not have TOO long of a form and TOO high of a cost to the visitor.

Do some research and just jump in!

You can also post questions to other people in the wickedfire.com forum or on digital point.”

This is excellent advice. Starting in an niche that’s not saturated and easy to target is definitely a great way to get your feet wet without getting overwhelmed. It will also give you an opportunity to have some quick success.

Even a little success in the beginning can be enough to raise your confidence enough so that you stick it out that first 6 months to a year before you really start seeing success.

If you’re a newbie the last thing you want to do is try to compete in a market like payday loans or mortgages. These are super competitive niches that will leave you with nothing but a bad taste in your mouth.

Also, if you’re not signed up with Azoogle, then I highly recommend that you do!

WOW! What a great affiliate network. Azoogle is the only affiliate network that has offered to make me a custom affiliate site for free.