Posting Checks…
Paul at uberaffiliate posted his earnings today. Good start!
I hate checks like this…and Shoemoney’s and MArkus at PLentyoffish.
I personally know no less than 20 people/groups doing what Paul showed or more every month (some weekly some even daily!) from solely affiliate/lead gen type stuff. Cashing the check takes 10 minutes (these checks dont go into the ATM… the tellers gets to see them…you may even let people cut in line at the bank so you get to make your deposit at the hot teller…) earning them takes considerably more time…
The difference between good (most of the readers of these blogs) and great (where Paul is) and blow your freaking mind (where a few people I know are) is dedication to testing.
He probably lost $5k or more just to fine tune these accounts. He does not just throw a million keywords against the wall, he actually thinks things through and has a strategy.
People who achieve this are not doing so by the seat of their pants. They invested in infrastructure and programmers and design people and relationship building and most of all focus - I dont know a single successful super affiliate that is making 50-100k+ at IBM and doing this on the side - I cant say that I even know any that started as a part-timer.
Some got laid off, some dropped out of college, some stumbled into it while working on something else (me). None are idiots, none are not amongst the brightest people you have ever met, every single one of them works their butt off.
Some are one man shops, some are teams, some are Inc 500 companies destined to go public. The scale is different with each, but the bottom line with all of them is that they are not just dipping their toe in and seeing if they can make it work.
This is not Amway or Excel or some other Pyramid scheme marketing scam that we “hope” to get rich at. These people work damn hard. Paul is probably the most professional 19 year old I have met since I was 19 and he was 2!
Bottom line…checks like these are bad for the business, it draws a ton of new people in with the promise of riches which they believe to be real, it jacks up bids, it clogs blogs/forums with useless newbies posting how they figured out a way to earn $43.85 each day on zip submits or some such - To make Wicked Fire Jon happy, this kind of stuff probably makes ebook marketers a mint as those shysters sell the ’secret’ to the sheep.
Statements like these are also invaluable for those who are close to breaking through, they show people to persevere and encourage people to take chances (google should send him a commission check, they will make 10x the revenue he posted off his post) and some of those will work out and eventually post their own checks, repeating the entire cycle. I suspect a small part of Paul’s success was saying if that guy in Nebraska can make that much then imagine what I can do…
Stop freaking sitting around… dont look up in 5 years and realize if you had just done something back in the glory days, you could have made yourself $20 million.
I spent the weekend with 2 old friends… One who made a ton of money in the 1.0 and the other who is still talking about how he could have made money if only… One lives in the present and does really cool stuff, the other the past and is bitter as hell… Don’t be that Guy!
November 21st, 2007 at 12:35 am
Good post, all true information. I don’t work 2 hours a week and go vacationing every other…I work my ass off 8 hours a day 7 days a week (for the most part). I love what I do though, so I will not be one to complain.
November 21st, 2007 at 1:51 am
I think Paul just answered the question to his last post, “Why Isn’t My Blog Growing?” Without question, throwing out real numbers is the best way to attract attention online. Even second hand, the interview I did with Markus Frind back in early 2006 gets the most pageviews on my blog to this day.
The amusing thing is, online advertising spending is supposed to be something like $25 billion for 2007. If my numbers are right, that makes the $200k about .000008% of the pie. Fake screenshot, eh?
November 21st, 2007 at 2:52 am
Great post. Diorex, do most of the people you know making ‘great’ or ‘blow your freaking mind’ (love that term) money do so through PPC or do you know anyone making that kind of money doing other types of affiliate marketing (SEO, Blogs, etc) besides PPC?
November 21st, 2007 at 3:15 am
Love it Diorex - very to the point and inspirtational for those of us who THINK we are there but then see stuff like this and realize we need to work smarter and harder and continue building our teams.
Drop me a line @ my email in the comments I want to touch base with you.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:32 am
Really true Diorex. But for some guys like me, who have earned some little money with IM, this figures really shows what is possible at all.
So I always take this pictures as an insperation and everytime I see some of those screenshots I work a little bit more. I completly understand your point, but for me there is also something that keeps me working harder to achive these goals too.
November 21st, 2007 at 3:39 am
Great post! my favorite line is “Good start”.
I find this industry incredible. Someday, I hope to meet some of you guys and get some feedback.
Seeing these very late posts I think these are the people who want to learn from the best and have the drive to move forward.
Cheers!
November 21st, 2007 at 9:15 am
I agree completely you wont ever see a check from me… But people want their publicity, their 5 minutes of fame so they post it up and ride the wave… BUT i also agree to those that do people dont understand the hard work behind the funds… just like a large company it takes work only difference is online you can do it alone and be successfull BUT you have to work hard and persevere!
November 21st, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Wow, you hit it on the nail there. Those eBook marketers really mess things up for a lot of people. The information in the book may not be bad, but the way they tell people how they can make millions is the dirty part. Sets up for a big fall.
November 24th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Good post and all true said.
Despite what the newbies think we work hard to make a good living in this biz.
I’ve missed a few great opportunities before, but it’s all in the past , new things pop up all the time. Stay up to date with the industry, follow the trends and with enough determination and persistence to get the things to the right scale anyone can succeed!
Mike
November 27th, 2007 at 8:58 am
Interesting comments. People from almost any profession could post a check and show how much they make and impress people. From Basketball, tourism, flipping burgers to whatever. You have to put time into it though and become good at it. McDonald’s store managers can make over 100 g’s a year, and owners 7 figures, but they don’t do it by talking about it.