I’ve noticed and experienced something over the past couple of weeks
that may be of interest to you if you’ve been trying to make
affiliate marketing work for you.

It has to do with the concept of “work ethic” but it will
have a profound effect on your productivity, motivation
and success if you follow these steps.

But why should you read this post in the first place?

If you have tried affiliate marketing, and it’s not working for you…

If you are frustrated about not getting enough traffic to your site…

If you tend to jump back and forth from one “system” to another,
one offer to another, or between different niches…

If you are spending way too much time in front of your computer
and have no income results to show for it…

If you feel overwhelmed by information, directions, stuff to learn,
and the weekly flavor of internet marketing fads…

…then you may get surprising results when you apply what
I’m about to share with you.

You are not treating Affiliate Marketing as a business!

If you are facing any of the above challenges (and a bunch of others too)
you are NOT treating your affiliate marketing efforts as a business.

And that’s all!

To understand  I mean by that, let’s look at some characteristics of a business.

A business is when you have certain tasks assigned to people
who are executing them.

A business is when you have a plan that outlines your business mission.

Including what value your business provides, who your ideal customer is,
and how you go about getting the value to the ideal customer.

And that would include a marketing plan, a follow up plan,
a fulfillment plan, and a customer service plan.

And each of these plans have a set of tasks that fully describe how
that plan is executed.

And each task has a process map that tells whoever is assigned that task
what to do.

What to do first, what to do next, and what to do after that.

And then, each of these tasks can be assigned to a specific person or group
who will be responsible for its execution.

And in return that person or group will get paid.

Do you have any of that in place for you Affiliate Marketing?

If you’re with me so far, ask yourself – honestly – do you
have any of these business staples in place for your
Affiliate Marketing (or whatever else you are doing to make
money on the internet?)

If you don’t then the entire chain of events that ends in
someone getting paid is not going to happen.

Yeah, you may get lucky and make a few sales here and there,
but you will never create the success that you’re dreaming about.

The example of affiliate marketing is actually so much EASIER
than any other way of making money on the internet.

Because all you need is a marketing plan and possibly a follow-up plan
(if you want to build your own list while affiliate marketing which I
would very much encourage you to do).

You still need to define your value proposition though, and
identify your ideal customer.

So there you have it – 3 tasks:

1. Define the value proposition or purpose of your business

2. Find your ideal customer and learn all about them

3. Create Marketing Plan

Now we get to the “work ethic” part of this blog post.

Because now that yo’ve identified these tasks – who is going to do them?

You think you can get them from another eBook or hi-ticket
study course?

You think anyone will do them for you for a reasobnable amount
of pay?

You think it takes anything to do them that you don’t have or know already right now?

You still with me?

Then the answer is: YOU!

These are the fundamental tasks in building your business that
YOU will have to do.

You and you alone can do them in a way that makes sense
for your business.

Therefore: Treat these 3 tasks like a JOB right now so you get them done!

Imagine that someone outside of yourself had HIRED you to
perform these 3 tasks within the next 7 days.

Pretend like you had actually received a retainer fee of $x to
get them done on time (you can enter any amount here that
makes you feel good about yourself when you do this JOB.)

Commit to doing these tasks, because that’s how you get
good at anything you want.

Phew, pretty long post… now go make some money!

(…and let me know how it goes with this!)

I got two very inspiring ideas from the stealth master of internet copywriting, Rob Canyon, yesterday.

One is about goal setting, and how what you keep around in
the open in your daily work environment (such as your desk…)
might have profound effects on your mind and success.

It may sound to you a little bit like “The Secret”, but hear me out!

Ask yourself if the little items that you have lying around (or even
orderly stacked up) on your desk take over a portion of your
attention.

I’m not sure about you – just think about it for a moment…

I know, having stacks of bills that need to be paid on my desk
has a profound effect on the pressure that I put on myself.

To come up with ideas to make more money.

To apply urgency to ideas and implementations.

To quench my creativity because there is no time for that.

And what kind of “goal” is that anyway – paying your bills?

Now let’s turn this around for a minute.

Let’s just say you’ve taken some time to set actual goals that are worthwhile of your energy, of your creativity, and that inspire you.

Inspire you enough to take action and actually work towards them.

Inspire you to put faith and trust into the path in front of you. The path that will take you there.

Now, let’s say you had come up with a way to keep those goals out on your desk, where they can continue to penetrate your mind.

Continue to inspire you.

Sticky notes is just one idea how to do it.

And you don’t have to set goals for ALL areas of your life.

Here is the execise:

• Hide your bills from plain sight (but do pay them – as much as you can at least!)
• Keep your goals out where your bills used to be
• Observe carefully the changes in your mind and document them

Let me know how it goes in the comment section!

Talk soon,

“I feel inspired” – This video is a bit longer, but if you have some time (and maybe don’t know what to blog about), you could watch this awesome project of “story teller” Jonathan Harris, who “builds tools that allow large numbers of people to tell their stories”.

I stumbled upon this video on TED when I was thinking about how fascinating our stories are to each other. So that even when we are trying to come up with content that is relevant to “doing business” and “making money”, the most powerful content we can come up with is a personal story.

Our stories are what really engages each other and builds true relationships. Relationships that allow us to know, like and trust each other, which is the basis for any relevant “transaction”.

If you’re pressed for time watch at least the first 9 minutes or so (the “I Feel Fine” project) as this is closely related to “blogging”

Speaking of authentic – also watch Richard Hill’s first blog video and “self-challenge”.

And please do leave a comment here! Let me know that you’re alive, what you think and what you would like me to blog about next!

Have fun!

Thomas