Affiliate Marketing

How quickly things can change!

About a year ago I joined a promising Affiliate Marketing company with an awesome product (but as is typical, a pricing structure that was a tad high). I never truly warmed up to the marketing plan, largely because although there was an abundance of training material available, I couldn't find a simplified, duplicatable, step-by-step plan to give to others whom I would sponsor into the company.

Maybe such a plan was there, but I couldn't find it.

Well, a week ago my upline told me about a third-party marketing system designed to promote this company. I looked at the system as was immediately blown away by it's thoroughness and professionalism. Thanks to this support system, I could see my efforts with the affiliate company really start to take off.

So I signed up for the system, revised a whole bunch of links and ads, and began promoting the affiliate company via the new support system like crazy!

That was on Tuesday of this week. Later in the day Wednesday the affiliate company sent an announcement to affiliates that they were cancelling the network marketing part of their marketing plan!

And just when I had been fired up all anew and had plans to make the affiliate company my primary focus over the next few months.

Well!

On the positive side, I am still a fan of the company's product, and after I emailed them almost immediately upon receipt of their closure notice and they responded almost as quickly, I learned that there may still be a direct sales opportunity for affiliates who qualify. Just not a MLM component to the compensation plan.

I will know more about it in April when they announce their new plan. If I continue as a marketer for the product, I may write more about it here at that time.

Just goes to show why you should not put all of your eggs in one basket. Also, the value and importance of having an all-encompassing longrange goal that is independent from short range setbacks. 

GT 169 days ago

Bad luck, GT, that must have been a  blow. Glad to see you're remaining positive though.

Lynn 168 days ago

Hi, Lynn:

Thanks for the comment. In one sense, it wasn't a huge surprise. I could see the writing on the wall a year ago, not long after the company first launched. When it launched, the technology being used was relatively new, so the company had a head start. But since then, everybody has started using the technology, so it is no longer a unique advantage.

Also, I have seen many companies over the years run into challenges when using a multi-level compensation plan. A few companies make it work for the long term, but most companies seem to loose ground after the first few years of initial excitement and enthusiasm amongst distributors wears off.

I was with a Network Marketing company in the mid-90s that did phenomonally well for a few years. But two things happened: first, the novelty began to wear off as the "big guns" began exhausting their supply of loyal followers. (Sponsoring success weakens the farther down the experience chain you go.)

Second, because of this company's success, the government started doing audits to make sure the company was on the up-and-up. The company had no real problem, but generally what happens is some of the distributors start to panic and they start jumping ship. That usually has a snowball effect and it can sometimes kill a company.

Sales and revenue began dropping for this company and they eventually closed the doors. Too bad. The product was top quality and I have never liked a compensation plan, before or since, as much as I liked theirs.

But, that is all part of the business of marketing, no matter what the product, the method or the marketing style.

GT 163 days ago

Affiliate Power Central

See the first post in this thread for more details about Affiliate Power Central, my newest website. In addition to plans to gradually add information and (free) resources for Affiliate Marketing, I plan also to expand the focus on personal development.

Many of my friends and associates know that I am a big Brian Tracy fan, and as a Brian Tracy International affiliate, I have been promoting Brian's awesome products on my websites and blogs.

It is my firm belief that success in any endeavor, any walk of life, depends first on developing either your skills or your confidence, or both. Affiliate Marketing is no different. Anybody can put up a website and throw stuff on it, but you also need to improve or develop your communication skills and interpersonal skills so you have a better sense of how to motivate people and inspire them to some form of action. That takes some awareness and sensitivity.

It also helps to build your confidence to overcome the fear of approaching prospects or even making bold statements in your marketing materials, articles and blog posts.

There is a whole range of personal characteristics and abilities that can benefit from a regular program of personal development. Improving in these areas can only help to improve in other areas of marketing that involve only the "technical" aspects of marketing.

I am a dedicated life-long learner and think EVERYbody should be focused on that, too ... of course!

GT 160 days ago

Affiliate Power for the Home Business

As mentioned earlier, my new Affiliate Power website is a Wordpress site, which means it is a blogging platform. So, I have been trying to post blog comments as I am able to (although I have been busy lately with offline writing clients).

My most recent blog post is Affiliate Power for the Home Business. Of course, I talk a little about the process and the benefits of Affiliate Marketing and a few ways to use it to generate residual income. For example, promoting an affiliate program that involves selling memberships or subscriptions with monthly or annual renewals. Or finding an affiliate company where you send prospects to the company's website and the prospect's activity and sales on that site are tracked and you are credited with sales, now and for a certain time into the future.

Anyway, that's the gist of it. You are welcome to read it if you want.

GT 156 days ago

Home Business Opportunity

I've been incredibly busy offline with client writing projects and a few unexpected family things (good for them, but not so good for me and my deadlines! LOL) However, a week or more ago I did manage to post a new blog post on my Affiliate Power site. It is titled Home Business Opportunity.

The main focus of the post is to highlight one of the Affiliate Marketing programs that interested entrepreneurs can use to generate home business income. To emphasize my main point, I use the illustration of planting a "money tree" and I offer readers the "seeds of success" so they can plant their own money tree.

The idea is to start today so you can enjoy the fruit tomorrow. Too many people wait until a crisis hits before they start taking any action to prepare for the future. I recommend taking that action today to prepare for your financial future.

Of course, most members of Telekinetic Marketing are already leaders and forward thinkers, so you don't really need to hear the story. But that's what my latest blog post is about.

GT 144 days ago

The New Psychology of Achievement

Due to my offline writing projects, I haven't done an awful lot of marketing and promotion for my Affiliate Power site, but I did manage to write a new blog post the other day. The title (and link) is The New Psychology of Achievement, highlighting one of Brian Tracy's audio progams.

I had a long highway trip a few weeks ago, so I used the time to list to this audio program ... and I wish I could have put the car on autopilot so I could take notes and write down all the inspirational ideas the program brought to mind! LOL

Anyway, if you are interested and have a few minutes, check out the post at Affiliate Power Central. Who knows? Maybe Brian will inspire you to greater personal achievement and satisfaction!

GT 137 days ago