The Silent Avatar Speaks

One of the ways to make money online is to become an affiliate and sell products for others and get a commission.

Commissions range in percentage, but you can expect somewhere in the region of fifty to seventy five percent of the cost of the product (less fees), so it can be a lucrative way to make additional income.

If you have a list to sell to then simply sending out a broadcast email to your list advising them of the affiliate product along with a personal testimonial can be all that is required to sell an affiliate product.

The amount of email which comes into my inbox each day is testimony to the number of product launches which continue to bombard the Internet marketing circles on a daily basis.

Along with product launches, it is not uncommon to see “contests” to reward affiliates to actively promote products.

Russell Brunson’s Dot Com Secrets affiliate contest came to my attention this week offering to win a lease of a Corvette for two years.

What jolted me upright was the inclusion of a photo of Mike Filsaime standing in front of an enormous Hummer, with the caption underneath reading:
“Mike Filsaime showing off his brand new Hummer H2 he won thanks to winning one of Russell Brunsons’ affiliate contests!!!”

If you have been in Internet marketing circles, then you would know Mike Filsaime. Mike shot to fame with his Butterfly Marketing Manuscript, and software. He has become a multi-millionaire, launching numerous products including Viral Friend Generator (which I spoke about in my post about viral marketing). He has built a list of over 300,000 subscribers (OMG), so does it surprise you to see that Mike took out line honours in an affiliate contest? Nope.

And what does this mean for people like you and me starting out?

It means this…I’ve got a better chance of winning the Lottery than winning an affiliate contest with Mike Filsaime promoting to his list.

And if you go up against someone with a list of thousands, then what’s your chance of winning such a contest? Not likely.

My question is this… does Mike really need a Hummer? My guess is “nope”.

And what’s this doing to those who are hell bent on making a career of Internet marketing, or those in the loop who keep Internet Marketing alive?

It kills any enthusiasm, stifles the very essence of “fair play”.

A contest open to to the big marketing gurus is like playing with a full hand of aces. How can someone with a list this big not win? (and let’s face it… Mike Filsaime has all the knowledge and resources he needs to make sales happen)

Forget the contests. It’s not even a level playing field.

You’ve got a better chance of winning the lottery, so save your time and effort and go buy a ticket and focus on building the list.

The money is in the list!

Tags: Affiliate Marketing by the silent avatar
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The more I talk to people in business the more I have come to understand that the majority of business owners have no idea what they are missing out on when it comes to utilizing the internet as a medium for addding additional money to their business.

I guess it’s very easy for business owners to get caught up in the day to day running of a business, so after you put in a long day you really just want to put your feet up , and switch off in front of your favourite TV program(after you have done the obligatory paperwork to appease the government of course!)

The problem I see with doing this is they are allowing themelves (and their business) to fall behind the competition who is keeping abreast of what’s happening with on the World Wide Web!, and as a resulkt are forging further away from their counterparts.

Having said that, when I do start to share some of the benefits of taking their business online, they invariably get excited about the potential of their current business.

It’s hard not to get caught up in internet marketing once youu have had a taste. It’s easy to create and dream a lot bigger when you start to see the potential of reaching beyond your local market.

The aim of this blog is to present to you ideas, concepts and happenings within the scope of online business.

Whether you are a hobbyist who wants to share their wares to the world, a sole trader doing it all for yourself, a small family run business, a medium sized organization, or a an establised company with a lots of employees, each and every one of these various levels of business can reap untold rewards from commiting to take their business to the next level (and beyond).

I hope that you enjoy the content which I present to you, remembering that I too have been a business operator, and an upper management person in a extremely large corporation, and now a “work from home” business person. This scope of my past enables me to empathise with your situations, and the ability to offer you tantalizing ways of increasing your income, with the sole purpose of (if you choose), doing away with the “brick and mortar” business and all of the associated costs (which just aren’t there in the majority of online busines), and allow yourself more freedom to work to your rules, not someone else’s.

It’s a fascinating journey, with its own language, all (for the most part), done without ever meeting your customers.

Is it the start of something big?

No. It’s already big.

Enjoy.

Tags: General by the silent avatar
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