Upon speaking with some of the C2M Publishers at the Affiliate Summit West Conference one of the discussions that kept coming up was what to do or what were some ideas to implement when you just feel like nothing is going your way. Unfortunately, for the ones who asked this question you already know how I responded with a VERY “in your face approach”. Fortunately for me, everyone of you took it better than I expected. I was actually trying to piss someone off because that is how you separate the people are dedicated to making money online VS people who are just interested in it. There’s a huge difference there and I assure you, it’s a very selective process that is done everyday online. If you’re serious, I’m serious. In this business, people have to pick their battles intelligently or ultimately you are just wasting time.
For people who dont know me, or will stumble upon this post in the future I will let you in on a little bit about myself and experiences. I never claim to be an expert because I dont think there is one in ANY business. I would consider an expert to be someone of perfection and nobody is perfect, so there. I have however made a living online the last few years as a personal publisher and as a consultant on many publishers and corporations behalf. Sure, I was not an expert nor claim to be but I was damn good at what I did. I fooled Corporations and Companies into thinking I was a PPC Management Firm (sry if you heard this before ha) when in reality I was handling their accounts from home in my underwear. To this day, they dont even know it. I handled everything from landing pages, site development, ad copy, keywords, tracking and ultimately their entire cash flow from ad spend to profitability from my computer.
Trust me when I say that I have been in a ton of “oh shit” situations. Imagine being in multiple situations with people who care nothing about the “problems” that arise. All they care about are profit dollars. They do not give two shits about anything else. You dont produce, you dont get paid. I learned one very important lesson when I was managing other people’s businesses as well as my own thru the years.
You’ve got nobody but yourself to rely on when this type of thing happens.
So with that said, let’s go over some of Ruck’s Rules Of Preventing Marketing Failure.
1. Expect The Unexpected And Always Work Off A Worse Case Scenario – As a marketer this is by far the most important one. Those days of checking out cool ebooks with flashy cars and bullshit bling in the headers are gone for you if you are reader of this blog. You have moved passed that crap (I hope you have anyway). You now know and realize just how hard you have to work in this business to stay afloat. I will tell you right now that staying a float is really a synonym for being a “lazy f#cK”. Here are some of my bullet points for expecting the unexpected and working on a worse case scenario:
- Expect the offer to end eventually. Even better, expect the offer to end tomorrow.
- Expect competition to make your life a living hell especially if it’s a good offer.
- Expect that nobody is going to give you anything useful to help scale your campaign.
- Worse Case Scenario – The offer will end at any moment.
- Worse Case Scenario – The Network you work with will tell you the offer is ending only to put it on private after the miraculous data you gave them allows them to put their “bullshit In-House Search Team” on it and ultimately drive you out of the market.
- Worse Case Scenario – The offer is going to suck even after your research and instincts tells you it could work. This scenario alone should put you in build it as fast as humanly possible mode to spend as little time and resources as possible in setup phase.
2. Learn From Mistakes But Dont Conclude It Doesnt Work After One Shot – One of the most overlooked aspects of marketing is that marketers test an offer and assume it doesnt work. Now, we are all pressed for time but I learned something very valuable while managing other peoples niches, campaigns and their money. DONT EVER OVERESTIMATE A FAILURE. I’ve seen publishers create a review page for an offer and it just not work for them. So what? Did you test a regular presell? Did you test an Optin Squeeze Page offering something and then a follow-up recommendation later? Typically, the rule of thumb is that it takes 7 contacts before making a sale. I dont know who come up with that (nor do I care) but I have always thought about that while building email lists. So many marketers think that cpa offers should be a one shot deal and I will tell you right now, you are seriously crippling your business. So before canning a campaign think about some other alternatives of how to market your offer such as:
- A Presell only for the offer
- A review page
- A multiple comparison review
- A Squeeze page highlighting something to get people on your list and following up
- A direct linking campaign
Not only is the WAY you marketer your offer of importance but how you marketer the offer with WHAT METHOD on WHAT TRAFFIC SOURCE. A very typical scenario comes from new marketers under the impression that Facebook and/or Myspace advertising is the greatest thing since baked bread. However, 99% of those that try will fail. Why? Most of whom I speak to always give me the same answer.
- Marketer – I tried the campaign on Facebook and it didnt work
- Me – Oh yea, how did you promote it
- Marketer – I cloaked the offer and went straight to it
- Me – Ok, did you also try preselling, reviewing, or getting optins from it?
- Marketer – No, should I? I mean it didnt work the first time ya know.
I’m here to tell you that you are seriously just kicking your own ass. Matter of fact, thinking and responding like that is why this business is so great. With 99% of the publishers thinking like that, you make it so easy for someone like me to tell people that I know who will put in the work and probably benefit EASILY from your mistake. Never Over-Estimate a failure. It can cost you big time.
3. Prepare For Battle – Your entering into a business model where people like myself and thousands of others are looking to cut your throat. That’s right, I might be a friend to you but if you step into my vertical be prepared for the biggest fight of your life. I’m going to smarter, I’m going to work harder and ultimately I am not going to quit until you piss off. When you finally give up (which you will), I’m going to go headhunting and look for the next weak link.
This business is the most cutthroat business you will ever get into. Marketing and Advertising is dirty no matter what you think about it. No business, no company, no publisher is going to let you stand for very long if they can help it. If you dont have the “take no prisoners” prepare to be that guy in prison who picks up the soap without thinking about it all the way thru. Your going to take hard rides being the best, that is what makes you best. Why should you stand around and let the next guy have it any easier than you did?
You dont have to be the best in this business to make money but you DO have to be better than the next guy/gal to make MORE than them. Staying afloat is for the prey. Their are predators everywhere you look and it only gets worse each day. Prepare for the battle of your life, because it is not going to be easy.
4. Learn From Your Mistakes – When it’s all said and done, you either made money or you lost money. If you lost money then figure out how, why. Sometimes that’s not easy to do unless you just conclude that the offer you had sucked, the traffic sources you ran it on blew, and no matter how you tried to market it, nothing really made a difference. Cutting losses and moving on is inevitable. It’s going to happen more times than not. Learn from your mistakes though. If the offer lost you money you can always look at and get something positive out of it.
- How much time did I spend? If it was a lot, even though I lost money I can figure out ways to trim the time it took for me to finally conclude that it all sucked.
- How much money did I spend on this loser? If you found yourself at the end of a losing campaign conclude all spend from ALL traffic sources and marketing types of the offer itself. This will give you and idea of how to lower spend next time and not break the bank.
5. Be More Dedicated Than The Next Guy – You are going to fail. Almost every time in fact. Those of us who have built our businesses online and keep at it knew it from day one. Realize it fast. You have to work harder than anyone else. Complacency in Marketing is Suicide. You basically just kill yourself. Just because you bank on an offer with a positive ROI dont mean shit. Seriously, if you are happy with that, congratulations on being a successful marketer right now. However, your not successful in this business until you can keep building and reach your goals. If your goal is to just have one profitable offer, I commend you on a job well done but I have yet to talk to someone that didnt want it all. A piece of the pie is only satisfying for so long. Everyone wants more, it’s human nature and more so as a business person.
Dont stop building. All I can tell you. The second you stop building you are putting yourself at a huge risk. You are already at risk BY building in this business because what is going for you can end at any instant. Try absorbing some of the risk by not slowing down. In the end it all comes down with what you are happy with.
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Affiliate Summit West was a great show. That’s an understatement, Affiliate Summit West was f’in incredible. I know I wont get to thank everyone here but know that I am throwing out e-hugs like they are going out of style right now.
First off – Convert2Media Publishers. WOW. Truly at a loss for words. Convert2Media was in one of their rooms last night discussing the conversations we got to have with so many of you. If you want to know the truth, C2M went to Vegas to really look for more deals and increase our business on the advertiser end. That was until Sunday when we started bumping into each of you. You guys and ladies gave us such outstanding feedback. I was truly looking for complaints as those really allow us to focus on them more and improve our network but we didnt get any negative feedback. It’s you that make us passionate about what we do and if it wasnt for you, we wouldnt be in this business. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We look forward to seeing you at Affiliate Summit East in New York City this coming August. If you have no plans on attending this show, get with us personally, allow us some time to convince you. We will break our backs to get you to attend. Also, you will see an incredibly strong branding presence from us there. Oh, I promise you.
Smaxor from Ads4Dough – You probably dont see many networks recommending other networks in this business and I say that is bullshit. I’ve seen and talked to Jason at the last 3 shows I attend and he works his ass off. C2M would like to thank you for the Wickedfire meetup and the opportunity to attend as well as having an easy place to hand out the Wickedfire t-shirts during your meetup and your booth exhibit. Thank You Jason and thank you Ads4dough.
Krongel from Copeac – We really dont know what else to say other than you just absolutely rock Mike. Allowing us to go up to your suite and get advice from one of the largest and best networks in the business man was truly inspiring. Thanks to you and your network’s support and advice I know we are going to grow so much faster after having that discussion.
Everyone else – Thank you. Sounds so cliche I know but we met so many C2M publishers and enthusiasts it really was overwhelming. I personally had a really hard time getting thru the crowd and interviews which btw would like to thank Wes from Prosper202. Man, I cant wait to see that interview. Hope I didnt screw it up ha.
To all the other networks, advertisers, publishers and enthusiasts – You made Affiliate Summit West an outstanding show. I know I will never miss another one. We look forward to Affiliate Summit East in New York City this August. With only 7 months ago, it may seem like a long time but when your in this business, it’s here before you know it. Make plans to attend the event, you wont regret it. Many thanks to all.
Now, let’s quick f’in around and get back to work.
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Convert2Media will be attending Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas. We will be heading to the airport tomorrow morning and wont be returning until Wednesday January 14th. We have sent out quite a few email updates but not a trip goes by that someone asks “WTF are you” so I just wanted to put up a blog reminder.
Thanks to all the publishers, advertisers, networks and agencies who have already scheduled meetings with us. Usually we just wing it on these sorts of trips and go head hunting to look for more deals but it seems like that it’s all coming to us this round. We couldnt be happier! We look forward to seeing everyone at the show. Michael, Ryan, Steve and I will all be staying at the RIO with laptops, blackberries and iphones should you need anything.
We will all be wearing labeled shirts so it will be easy to spot us at the Meet Market, Exhibit Floor and around the RIO. Plus, I am ugly as f#ck so if you’ve seen me, I’m not easily forgotten. Be sure to hit us up for some Convert2Media T-shirts and if you are a member of the WickedFire Affiliate Marketing Forum then dont forget that we have sponsored 200 t-shirts for members who are in attendance at ASW.
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I decided to contact a couple of C2M Publishers and gather their thoughts on whether or not we have done anything to help their business. In knowing these two publishers, I have two say that both of them are awesome. As a matter of fact, in knowing that they deal with other businesses I respect them that much more to do what they do with us. I would like to take the time right now to thank Bryn and Jesse for taking the time and giving us the feedback. I look forward to meeting you both in Las Vegas for ASW.
These are two guys that dont screw around. They dont piss and moan when things dont go there way. Whether it be a tracking issue, a traffic source, etc…it dont matter. If we screw up, and advertiser screws up or stuff just isnt going their way that day you will never find these guys out there bitching or practicing How To Not Make It. They take everything in, whether it be good or bad and they learn from it. They take everything they hear, see or pickup and they apply it. These are two guys going to build huge business online. These are also two guys you can meet face to face at Affiliate Summit Las Vegas starting Sunday.
Affiliate Managers from other networks, you can gladly piss off. 
Bryn from Bryn.me says:
Most of you reading this blog already know how great Convert2Media is, but Ruck asked me if I would like to share some reasons on why I like Convert2Media so much. I obviously took the opportunity since I really do love this network. I’ve only been with Convert2Media for literally a month and I can honestly say they are the best network I have had the privilege to work with.
What sets Convert2Media apart from the rest?
Well first off, and I think this is one of the most important things is that they have Affiliate Managers that actually know what they are talking about and can give you help/advice on offers. As most of you know Ruck has been an affiliate for years and really knows his stuff in multiple channels of marketing. Go try and get a hold of the owner of a network and see how much advice or tips they will give you (let alone their time).
I received my first wire payment after only being with them for 11 days. How many people can say that about a NEW network they just signed up with? Not many I bet. Actually I read yesterday in the C2M IRC channel about someone getting a wire after only being with them for 5 days, incredible.
There really is no bullshit with Ruck. He will tell you everything straight up and honest. Sometimes people may feel offended by some things he says but you can’t take that stuff too seriously, it’s for your own good. I would rather a network be completely honest with me and straight forward then to beat around the bush with some corporate bullshit.
From what I have seen their starting payouts on ALL offers are very competitive if not higher than every other network, you don’t need to haggle with your AM for a pay bump just to start an offer, nor do you need to send a ton of traffic first before they will give you a good payout.
They don’t bring in offers that suck. Obviously nobody can weed out bad offers ALL the time but for the most part they know what offers work and do well. They strive to get quality over quantity when it comes to getting offers. Just because some network has 5000 offers, 95% of them could be crap and that’s no good for a new affiliate trying to find something that works.
They treat you like people and not numbers. I don’t really know how to explain this thought but I think it’s just more of a personal feel with C2M, you can really get that feeling that they’re not trying to feed you any crap. Sure all my other Affiliate Managers at other networks like to chat it up all day but when it comes to business they turn can into a different person, especially with the excuses.
I really don’t know how else to explain it but I think Convert2Media will set a new precedent when it comes to Affiliate Networks. If you’re a network owner and reading this I strongly suggest you think about some of the points I talked about (mostly the first one).
I think most of you reading this would agree with me on most things or you probably wouldn’t be subscribed to their blog, which says something already.
And…
Jesse Breslin from Wazzinc Media says:
C2M is different then any other network that is available. They are different because the people that work inside C2M are actually marketers themselves. They know what we look for when we join a network. They really know what works. The two people I contact most is Steve and Ruck. When I first joined C2M I was surprised to see my AM working at 2am in the morning. I am sure there are many publishers like myself that tend to work late throughout the night, but having an AM that is also up and responds to your questions at this time of day is truly valuable. Most of them can probably do well working on their own but choose to stay at C2M because they believe in the companies goals.
I asked Ruck a couple of times, “Where do you see your company in the future?. His first response “I’ don’t look to far into the future, I just work day by day.” I thought this was pretty funny, but what I soon found out had a deeper meaning. Ruck on a daily basis finds and receives many different opportunities that can lead C2M in a entirely different field, a lot of these opportunities can also be very profitable for C2M but Ruck chooses to remain as a network for us publishers. The opportunities that he will put into place will mostly benefit us first. These guys search for campaigns that will work for us, they know the industry and know what to look for. They have training that teaches new and old affiliates different techniques to get more out of your traffic.
One particular strategy that stuck on me was to always qualify your leads. I use this all the time now and it works. I was able to generate over $40,000.00 in revenue over the last week with these guys just by learning their techniques and applying them. No other network teaches you these skills. C2M is one of the best Networks I’ve been with and I believe they will be a leader of networks in no time.
We certainly hope so. Thanks Bryn and Jesse for the outstanding write ups.
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This post contains no money making information. Instead I’m going to tell you how to NOT make money.
Here’s a few reasons why you probably aren’t where you want to be:
- You spend ALL your time trying to listen and find out what other people are doing
- You spend time on forums, social networks with no real intention of learning. Sure you opened the site in your browser but you are more interested in Dick Rolling someone actually wanting to learn (could that be a hint of jealousy?). No, you would rather make poop pies with others and join in on the next bashing.
- You actually make an effort to associate yourself in places filled with people that arent going to help increase your business.
- You get useful advice and screw it up by not thinking on your own.
- You try every offer and make zilch and blame the offer, the advertiser, the tracking, the network or your girlfriend for being in the room and screwing up your concentration.
We’ll stop for a second and go over a few of these. First off we have the listener (or as I call the leecher). This person hangs on every word that is said, reads every dumbass blog online (including this one), reads EVERY thread in their favorite forums and at the end of the day is probably so unmotivated they finish it all off with a “I’ll try that tomorrow” before they sleep or has so many ideas that they have so much information it’s going to take even more reading just to understand what the hell it is they learned today.
Second – This person is even worse off. They would rather crack jokes and support their e-buddies in making jokes and not even try to learn something in the first place. Hell, maybe they are making their living online and just choose to refresh stats all day and have a good time. Good for you on making it, you dont owe anyone anything right? Nope, I would rather spend my time surfing for hotties on my favorite social network or chatting it up in a room or AIM. These people are incredibly fun to laugh at about the time a major Google slap comes or Facebook changes their advertising TOS.
Third – Associating yourself with places, maybe businesses but definitely by people who really dont have a clue what your doing let alone be able to offer any real help. You want an honest reason why the 300+ Direct Track Network Convert2Media is able to double its revenues and growth each month? It’s because most companies employee people who have never marketed online a day in their life. How is this person going to “manage” affiliates and help increase their business when they themselves have never done it? That’s not even the worst part. The worst part is the amount of publishers who put themselves in that position.
Fourth – Useful advice. Nobody is EVER going to flat out give you the platinum platter. I’ll admit, I’ve given out a lot of silver ones but ultimately there are two types of publishers in this world. Those who take the information seriously and apply it along with adding and testing their own ideas and of course the ones who come back a week later and bitch that it didnt work. It didnt work because you didnt make it work.
Fifth – This is my favorite. Everyday I’m asked what are the hot offers and everyday I tell publishers. Out of all of them I can usually garner a few of them that will come up with every excuse to NOT even try it such as “oh that offer shaves”, “oh that advertiser is dirty” or “I heard the conversion rates fluctuate”.
Right off the bat, I will tell you exactly what it is I am doing. I’m doing my best to ignore you. As a matter of fact, I’m going to do my best to NOT get you to run that offer. Want to know why? It’s because I’ve seen this person before. I’ve seen them everyday since I been online. Next week, you are going to be back and you are going to ask the same thing but guess what? ………..
What’s the point of helping someone who really does not want it? I’m counting on you to make up excuses to not get going. I’m hoping to god that you take the offer and go run it on myspace or facebook or some other lame ass traffic source and tell me the offer sucks. Want to know why?
It’s because in the time it takes you to give up, more are going to succeed and you just make it easier on them. They dont give up because something doesnt work the first, second, third, 10th time.
In this business, NOT giving up is THE only option you have.
