No man’s land
So, after being scammed and nothing working for me, I decided that it was very unlikely that I’ll be able to make any money online, because I needed money to do it. I didn’t know what to do or how to do it and the risk of failing or losing a lot of money was very very high so I just ended it there. I decided to just carry on as we are, try and cut back and do without things and somehow we will get through. It’s not as though we didn’t have good jobs, we had everything we needed. It was the extras and the future I wanted for my family that I couldn’t quite grasp at this point. So I just carried on in no man’s land.
Affiliate ads seen on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok
It was some eight months later I started to get curious again and looking through YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. I started seeing many many people doing side hustles and making a pretty decent amount of money. I saw really young kids who were claiming to be making $1,000s dollars, stay at home mum‘s running businesses from their phones, people starting their own brands and having a production line in their garages selling really really well.
The issue was a lot of these required a product or stocking items in your house or physically having to produce something like a T-shirt a candle or something. This would require managing the inventory, postage and production at home, so these weren’t really suitable for me.
Something that really did appeal to me, was being an online coach or a teacher of what I know/do, i.e. teaching people my professional trade. This sounded really good because it’s something I do every day and I have 26+ years experience. I could help others, individuals, small businesses to improve their processes and remove waste and be more efficient. I bought a course for this which I paid in instalments monthly and even though it was very good at the end of it to actually make it happen to actually make it real you needed a coach and the coach would cost about $10,000. They would guarantee monthly earnings of up to $30,000. And you’ve got it I didn’t have $10,000 spare at this moment to do that so it’s something I will come back to it the future but now isn’t the right time.
So, now I had to think about how do I make that $10,000 and thinking I can’t do it, it’s not gonna happen I thought or (mindset change) how CAN I make it happen? I turned again to these little side hustles online and came across what people were calling Affiliate Marketing. I thought what on earth is that? having researched a lot on the Internet, watched lots of videos this Affiliate marketing business model sounded really good.
What did I learn?
I wouldn’t need any product as I would be selling other people products. I wouldn’t need to store anything, I didn’t need to own anything, I just had to sell other peoples products and if I did I would get a percentage commission for each sale. So this sounded good and easy.
What I did learn and what is very important that you learn, is that the Affiliate Marketing model is very good and is the way to go BUT it is not easy. It is not something that happens overnight. It is not just a link you send out into space and all the money starts pouring in. This is how a lot of the people doing side hustles made it appear. They made it sound like all you have to do is send a link out and money will come in. In theory, yes in reality it’s much more complicated than that and there is a way of doing it but I didn’t know what that way was (I am still learning everyday). It must work because it’s working for others so I need to find out how?
Close Encounters of the Affiliate Marketing Kind
So, my plan was to use Affiliate marketing to make enough money to get the mentoring I needed to do my online coaching. So my target and mindset was to make $10,000. I thought once I’ve done that I can get a coach to help with the online coaching course, and they will help me get up to $30,000 per month.
Affiliate marketing – my first steps in the right direction. I kept seeing videos on YouTube and Instagram about using something called Click Bank. Apparently, you just go to Click Bank, open a free account, choose a niche and then choose a product based on a gravity number. The higher the number, the more chance of sales or being more profitable. You are then given an affiliate link to that particular product and you can use that link which is specific to you to put on social media and when people click it they’re taken to an offer and if they buy the offer you then make a commission on that sale. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!
I thought I would try and sell something from Click Bank, but I didn’t know how to do it so I went on YouTube and searched ‘how to sell on Click Bank’. I watched a few videos and they basically said logon, pick a product, request an affiliate link and then put that affiliate link in Pinterest. Put the right tags on and then when people search for that particular product they will see your advert. They’ll have a look at it, and they may click your link, and then they may buy. So I did all of that, the first thing that happened was that my affiliate links weren’t accepted or they were rejected. And after doing some more research, I found that if you use your direct link sometimes called a hoplink, it can be seen as spam and so people don’t trust it and a lot of the social media platforms don’t allow you to do a direct link. So then I thought what do I do now? you can use something like tinyURL to change your link into a small manageable link that will be accepted, which I did.
The two niches that seem to be very popular were health and fitness and parenting. I specifically looked at weight loss. I found these organic natural supplements that suppress your hunger. I wasn’t sure if this was a legitimate product so I did a lot of research on it, and I found that it was, and it’s recommended by doctors in America and the UK so I was happy that I wasn’t doing anything immoral. On Click Bank, I was also able to get ad photos and little sidebar adverts that I could use in my Pinterest. So I put an ad together. I put in the link, I put in the descriptions, how it will help them and all that kind of stuff and after a few weeks I had quite a lot of visits but zero sales, no profit, nothing. I had made a new gmail account ‘TeamBABA Marketing’ and used that for email and company name.
The other products I tried was a book written by a mother who told the story of how she gets her child to sleep. It was tools and techniques for parents to help their babies and toddlers go to sleep. I got my link, created my adverts and thought I’d get a little bit smarter. Instead of using Pinterest I went onto Facebook and I searched for groups that were for parents. I also selected groups that were private because open groups often have anybody and everybody joining and they’re more likely to have scammers and stuff in it. So I applied to join these groups after answering some questions and as I am a parent and I have been through this I thought I was qualified to sell such a product because I have three kids and kind of been through this myself with my wife. I did a search for ‘baby sleeping issues’ or ‘my baby won’t sleep’ and I found lots and lots of posts where parents were specifically saying that they’re having trouble getting their kids to sleep. So, what I rather naïvely did was post in the group directly. “If you have any issues getting your kids to sleep, try this book it helps lots of people” etc etc and I posted the smaller link. This was of course rejected and I was kicked out of the group because I directly posted an affiliate link into the group and tried to make a sale. So, that was another lesson learned. You can’t blatantly directly shove links in peoples faces and you can’t put it on a group because it breaks the rules for selling.
I went onto the internet and YouTube and I searched for affiliate marketers to try and get tips and tricks from them. One that came across, said you can use Facebook messenger to work and specifically contact individuals. So I went back on the Facebook group where I hadn’t been kicked off and I searched for ‘trouble putting children to sleep’ and once I got the names of the parents, I sent them a friend request and then I sent them a chat saying “I saw your post in the group about you not being able to get your child to sleep. I am also a parent and I’ve had similar issues. Tell me more”. Most people never got back to me, the ones who did we had a good discussion and I offered them the link but nobody bought anything. Then I’ve got a couple of messages from angry husbands saying why are you pestering my wife about buying a book and basically told me to get lost.
So what I learnt was there are products out there that people need, but they don’t know they need them. You can become an affiliate and sell them and make money, but I didn’t know how to without either breaking rules being too direct or face getting kicked off all these platforms.
I needed guidance and help from somebody that’s actually done it. I carried on trying adding my links to Pinterest adverts, trying to contact people on Facebook messenger, but nothing really worked.
Two blokes and an affiliate program
One thing I did do was research, I kept looking for other ways of doing affiliate marketing. How can I use my links? and I carried on looking at all the adverts that came onto social media. One caught my eye which was a guy from Australia. He came across as a family man very genuine and he was genuine, he said he’s found a method. He designed a method that works and he’s able to earn money, whenever he wants it. I watched his video and at the end there was the obligatory link and an offer and I think it was $97 for the course. It gave you all the lessons, it gave you ads and funnels, email samples and templates. Basically what you need to get started.
What I did learn here, which was really fundamental was:
- How to find affiliate links
- How to do solo ads
- How to create/edit a lead ad/opt in page
- How to use/edit a funnel?
- How to use a ROTATOR
- How to capture email addresses
- What an autoresponder is
- What an email list is and MOST IMPORTANTLY…………
I still needed a coach to make it all real for me, so that I could learn do it properly on my own.
They used Warrior plus to find programs and products to promote. I learnt how to use a rotator which basically presents for example 5 different links on a cycle. So when people click your affiliate link, they could be shown one of five or six different different offers. This way, they don’t keep seeing the same offer and they might see something that they actually like. I was shown how to use solo ads, which basically meant you bought a number of clicks from individuals that have huge email lists. They would send traffic to your link and then you will capture the email when they open the offer. They will then go into the funnel which would upsell further products or a course. I was then shown how to use email via an autoresponder to send offers to the people on my email list. Over the next couple of months I spent quite a bit on solo ads and also a few more upsells for the course that would allow me to have some ‘done for you’ things. Despite having spent all this money and time I didn’t get any sales at all. Each time I got somewhere a piece of the puzzle was missing. So, I would have to buy something or get the full coaching. Vicious cycle!
They demoed how they do it, getting a link and then sending it to the entire email list which was more than 10,000 people and they would get instant sales (shown on a world map as they opened links live) and they could just generate money overnight whenever they needed some. The problem with this was to get a 10,000 email list you would have to spend an incredible amount of money, you wouldn’t have any loyal customers, they don’t know who you are. You have no relationship with them and you’re just going with the notion that if I throw this link out to enough people a few of them will buy, I will make some money which felt a bit immoral to me. Also, with solo ads you don’t know if they are real people or BOTS! Some of the upsells that promised automatic traffic generation didn’t work and after a while I said to them that “I’ve done everything you’ve said and it’s not working” and they were gracious enough to refund not only all the upsell money, but also the course as well, so other than the solo ads I got all my money back. What this did teach me was that the the methodology does work and in principle it will work but what I didn’t like was the way it was like spam and you had to have tens of thousands of people on your email list. In fact the guys running the course, had an aim of getting 1 million people on their email list which will generate them hundreds of thousands of pounds, so they said.
Shiny product syndrome
This is where I fell for the shiny product syndrome. I was a bit more focused on what I was looking for, and then I bought another course which was only about $7 and it pretty much taught me the same things but it ended with, you need to pay $5000 for the help that you will need but you can go and do it on your own if you like. Another one I’ll tried was free and I managed to get three people to sign up via my link, but because it was free, I would only get commission if they went for the upsell and they never did so that didn’t make any money.
What I had found was something that would bring real value to me as I harness affiliate marketing and therefore would bring value to others who wanted to become affiliate marketers.
So even though things weren’t working that well I had the inspiration of continuing with this, I knew this is the right thing for me because I didn’t have to have a product I didn’t have to store anything. I understood the principle of how it worked and I knew it was working for many people. I needed to work closely with somebody that had actually done it. Someone who was genuine, trustworthy and kind, someone who could be my mentor and really guide where I needed to go. I also realised whether I’d like it or not, I will have to pay for coaching, because that was the only bit missing, actually somebody who has done it ALL and knows how to guide me.
I also tried to carry on with Click Bank stuff and with warrior plus and with the solo ads I did actually make a couple of sales. I think my total for click bank was $77 and my total for Warrior plus was $108 so you could say I achieved what I set out to do which was to earn $1 online. What this showed me was it does work and it is possible. However, I was unable to actually transfer the money into my account because both Click Bank and Warrior plus have rules and policies. With Click Bank you have to reach a minimum of $100 before they will allow you to take it and with warrior plus you have to have at least five different buyers buy something from you before they will release that money. Both of these things haven’t happened and still haven’t happened so even though I made $185 I’ve not been able to withdraw that money.
Planting my flag
So my flag was planted (or my seedling was planted) my decision was made. My course was set that I’m going to become a super affiliate marketer and I’m gonna keep going until it works because it’s not a new thing. Affiliate marketing has been around since the 80s from what I understand and people are doing it. I just needed the help and the guidance to make it happen.
And then I saw something that would change the course of my life, and that is the journey I am on now and that is I met (online) a certain someone called Dean Holland.
Thank you for reading, I hope it helped you in some way. Is this what you are thinking of doing? Let me know your thoughts. You are only a few steps behind me!
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Until next time, take care.
Atif
#Atif’s Academy
This is a very honest blog which is appreciated. I enjoyed reading your story from the beginning and it was a comfort that we all don’t get it right first. The Facebook group was interesting, the closed groups a really protected which is a good thing but also frustrating when you have a collected group of people that would be key customers! I will follow your progress on social media and look out for your next blog! Thank you
Sarah, thanks. Without honesty I will feel like no one will learn anything. Yes, Facebook was frustrating but like the rest of the internet, no one teaches you, you have to try and then adjust. It’s great to hear you are following my journey. How is yours? Atif
Atif, what an amazing journey you’ve been on and so awesome you haven’t given up and choose to continue it I told you are successful. I often wonder if I’m one of a few who have had a hard time with online businesses, then I find more people who have a similar experience. I appreciate your continued efforts and look forward to following your success as you continue. All the best!
Denny, it’s sad that so many have had a hard time BUT it’s good that we share and talk and learn from each other. Thanks for your support, talk soon, Atif
You’ve had quite a journey I’d say. your obviously not a quitter and have a never give up attitude which I love. look forward to checking in on your progress
Best wishes
Steve
Steve, yes quite a journey. I didn’t think I was ‘not a quitter’, it doesn’t feel like it. However, if you keep going then others see it like that I suppose. How are you getting on? Atif
“Atif, so first question, is it a flag or is it a seedling ;0)
But seriously, this is a powerful testimony to resilience and determination, and I appreciate the way you call out the lessons you learned along the way,
It may say something about me, but I find it reassuring when I read that others get it wrong or struggle from time to time, and generally, I benefit from the invaluable insights those accounts bring.
I think your dedication to finding ethical and effective ways to make money online will be what eventually brings you the success you seek.
Tony, I would say a seedling. A flag is planting something that exists, the seedling is something I planted, watered, and looked after. I had to get the weed killer out a few times too! I hope the lessons I call out resonate with others or it allows people not to make the same mistakes I have. I agree, it is reassuring to see that others are struggling too. As my aim is to make a better life for my family I have to do it in a ethical and permissible way, what would I be teaching my children if I didn’t? How are you getting on? Atif
Wow, Atif! You certainly don’t give up! I’m glad you’ve found a mentor you like. As determined as you are, I foresee you exceeding your online goals with a good coach’s help. I really enjoy reading about your honest experiences. It’s nice to hear from people determined to do affiliate marketing and make it work without the hype that it can be done so easily. We can do this and do it honestly!
Nakina, many thanks for your kind words and encouragement. It means a lot. Thanks. Atif
Like you say, affiliate marketing has worked for many, many years, and it still does. The trick is to never give up!
Thanks Atif, and I’m convinced you’ll become a superaffiliate 🙂
Katrin, exactly, affiliate marketing is not new but it’s new to me. I just need to learn it from the people who know how to do it. That’s the plan anyway! Thanks for the encouragement. How are you? what challenges are you facing? Atif
Hi Atif,
I must say that I would not have read such a long blog post. But now I know why they say blog posts are about 1500 words or so because if done well, you can write a lot, and it will captivate your audience enough to listen. I read your entire post, and I must say, reading about your determination, struggle to find the writing system, your journey that led you to find Dean Holland, and all that you went through inspired me. It taught me that no matter what, don’t give up because eventually, things will right themselves. I learned a lot from your blog about the dos and don’ts, and I appreciate your honesty. Your gut-wrenching journey showed me the whatnots and what to do, and I appreciate your willingness to take the time to write this post. Thank you, Stephanie
Stephanie, sorry if you found the post long. The problem is if I make is short and summarise I can’t get my points and lessons across. Also, I need people to FEEL it rather than just read it. Does that make sense? I am happy if you are inspired. Thanks for your kind words. Wishing your the best. Atif
Hi Atif, impressive pathway with elements where many can relate. Regarding your experience with promoting an affiliate link: everything looks so easy on a training video, but when it’s your turn, to try and do the same thing, instead of winning an income like in the video, you are kicked out for spamming or immediately banned from the platform. No second chance there. So clearly I understand and know your frustrations. This is why training with good coaching is a must when you start in this industry. Finding the right mentor for you necessitates that you do your research first, like you did, and stick to a proven plan . This is where you are now and success will cross your pathway no doubt. Nice post!
Best regards,
Martin
Martin, thanks for your kind words and encouragement. Yes, all are important lessons to learn. Not knowing all the rules and being naive at the beginning makes it harder. Hence the need for a great mentor!! all the best. Thanks, Atif
Wow, what a journey. I can relate to you regarding solo ads. I have signed up to similar program before. Spamming thousands of people just to get some sales just don’t feel right.
Alan, yes Solo ads are something that left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. I think there is a place for them once you are established and need a push of traffic in your focused area. Also, building a relationship with the Solo ad person helps. Get to know them and build a working relationship. Thanks for your kind words. Atif
Atif,
Thanks for having the courage to lay it all out there for the world to see, Your post is very transparent with a lot of good content.
I am proud of you for continuously getting back up an trying again each time you’ve been knocked down. It takes courage that you have demonstrated.
One thing is we must trust the process. I know we are anxious to go faster but that only gets us in trouble, at least it does me.
I know beyond a shadow of doubt that you have what it takes to succeed.
You Got This My Friend.
CJ
CJ, I have to be transparent otherwise I feel like I am not adding any value to people. Thanks so much for your encouragement, support and advice. I have learnt a lot from you and I appreciate it. talk soon my brother, Atif
Hi Atif,
Appreciate your openness and courage to relate the good, the bad and the ugly.
As you mentioned, the best way to make sure you create something that will be durable in the Affiliate Marketing world, is to make sure you have a great mentor, and I’m sure you’ve found that in Dean!
Marc, yes that’s the most important thing I learnt, you need a mentor. You have one at school, when you learn to drive or when you learn a sport so why wouldn’t we need one for this? I suppose its the cost and finding the RIGHT one. I think I have! Take care. Atif.
Atif, your writing has a captivating quality that immediately drew me in.
I especially resonated with the part about ClickBank and Warior Plus. Many people try to sell products for a couple of bucks, but in reality, they will pay more for leads, so the equation is simple- loss. Plus many companies do not pay commissions from another upsell level, so they make money, not you.
Never tried solo ads. My thought is if many people approach the same vendor for the same leads, there will not be any quality of leads. In fact, people from that list could be fed up with constant offers received from strangers and mark them as spam. I would.
Promoting direct links anywhere is a No-No. There are many rules to follow to avoid being banned from sites. Hence I always build a simple landing page without any weird claims as Google does not like this.
Feeling thankful for your positive blog vibe. Ready for more
Tom
Tom how are you? Thanks for your great comments, it means a lot. I just try to tell my story in a way that people will understand. The whole point is to help them and make their journey better I suppose. Yes warrior and clickbank were difficult BUT I think I will be able to revisit thence I have the experience at some point this year I hope. Solo ads are something that left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. I think there is a place for them once you are established and need a push of traffic in your focused area. Also, building a relationship with the Solo ad person helps. Get to know them and build a working relationship. Take care my friend. Atif
Hey Atif!
You have a real talent for writing, amazing!
There’s so much value in this post… I have to say you truly are a shining example of resilience and that is why you will succeed!
I for one cannot wait to watch it unfold so stick at it and let’s make sure you make a LOT more than that $10,000 😉
Dean, it’s an honour to receive a comment from my mentor and coach and such a nice comment too. I really am committed and have high expectations for this. I am putting in the effort and the time and working on my mindset too. Your guidance and help has been amazing and I can’t thank you enough. I can’t wait to see where this all goes. Thank you soo much for everything. Love and best wishes to your Grandpa. Thanks, Atif
Atif,
What a journey you have been on. I know you will be successful because of your determination. You have tried many things and learned a lot. Some of the things I had never heard of. I guess it is true that there are a lot of ways to make money online. You just have to find the one that works for you. Sounds like you have done that.
Sherri
Sherri, thanks for leaving a comment. A lot of people said to me I’ve got determination, to be honest I don’t really feel that it’s like that I’m just trying hard and I suppose that will appear as determination to others. Yes, you’re right there are lots of ways to make money online and things we haven’t heard of, but the good thing is now that we don’t have to look for them because we found our mentor Dean. How are you getting on? I look forward to hearing from you again. Thanks, Atif
You’ve been through the ringer, WOW. I admire your don’t quit attitude when it comes together you will definitely go far. Best of luck though I don’t think you need it when you have that kind of perseverance.
Jon, thanks yes it’s been quite a journey so far but I’m not gonna stop until it happens. I appreciate the comment and the support and look forward to hearing from you soon.. thanks, Atif
Atif,
Hello! I really enjoyed reading your blog. You have included so much valuable information for anyone looking to make money online. You show them some of the pitfalls to avoid, and the right things to look at. Very thorough! I look forward to reading more in the future!
Kelli, I’m glad you enjoyed reading the blog, I think the whole point of this blog is not only documenting my story, but add value to others and for them to avoid the mistakes I made so should be a win-win situation. Thanks for checking in and leaving a comment. Thanks, Atif
You have been on quite a journey Atif! Thank you for your honesty and sharing with us all the roads and detours you have taken. There are certainly a lot of shiny objects out there and sometimes it is difficult to know what is true from what is a hoax. I too made some of the same mistakes you have made!
Your determination will bring in results! I can’t wait for you to share further about your learnings with your new mentor.
Brigitte, suppose everyone’s made mistakes along the way. As long as we see them as opportunities to adjust and carry on in the long-term everything should be fine. If we see them as a mistake and get into the self criticism and negativity, then we are most likely to stop which is not good. So let’s keep going and let’s keep supporting each other. Thanks for commenting. Atif
I enjoyed reading your journey. I’ve done a few of those, myself, even putting my own product , a book I wrote, up on ClickBank. That wasn’t too much of a disaster, as I eventually put the book on Amazon. It went #1 for a few weeks in its category . I’ve also done the Warrier Forum.
All in all, I believe we are in the right place with Dean Holland!!
Kate, i’m glad you enjoyed reading. It’s great to hear you had your own product. What was the book about? It’s a great achievement. Well done and thanks for the comment. Atif
Atif,
I really resonated with your story, thanks for sharing! One thing you said that stuck with me was when you said you shifted your mindset from “I cannot” to “how can I?” I can see where this shift allowed you to persevere thru everything you have done in the affiliate marketing space so far. I had to go thru a similar mindset realignment which finally gave me the courage to invest in myself and plow ahead with starting my own online business journey. I will be following you story for sure, and am rooting for you!
Acasha, that was the key to be honest which is mindset. We are brought up at school, we are criticised for making a mistake or thinking differently from others. It’s these things that make us and develop us into being great. Most people around me would say” I can’t do this, or I can’t afford this”. And I must admit I used to be like that however, now I try to think different,” how can I afford this or how can this happen” and think about what do I need to change or stop or start to allow this to happen, it’s about being in control rather than being controlled. It’s great that you’ve started this journey and we can help each other through it. I wish you all the success and look forward to see what you do next. Thanks for the comment, Atif
Hello – Great post and I am glad you shared your story. I, too, have been tempted by the “make money fast with little effort” line. I am glad to see and learn from you so not to follow a path that will lead to frustration. Best wishes on your journey!
Ernie, thanks so much for the comment. That’s what we are all here for and that is to help each other. Realistically I’m only a few steps ahead of others so happy to help and guide as I learn and move through this. I look forward to you growing on your journey, give me a shout if you need any . Thanks, Atif
Hello Atif.
You’ve successfully grabbed my attention right from the start, and I was genuinely intrigued to discover the outcome of your story. Your unwavering determination to become an affiliate marketer shines through clearly, and I applaud your expressive skills. I’m confident that your readers, just like myself, will thoroughly enjoy your blog. Wishing you tremendous success ahead.
Ezequiel, thank you so much. It’s been a long journey and I had to wade through lots of rubbish and difficult things before I made the decision to go for affiliate marketing. There is still a long way to go as I’m learning but I can see light at the end of the tunnel as I progress. That’s why I’m documenting all of this so that,I’ve got it all written down, it’s something for others to read and learn from and also something for my children to see in the future as what Dad did to help the family. Thanks again wishing you all the best. Thanks, Atif