Mid $x,xxx/day Profits - How My Life Turned Around in under 3 Months (31)

Affiliate marketing has completely turned my world inside out.
I'm here today to give back to a community that has helped me so much by telling my story.
(Play this song whilst reading this for full effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvQkl7qa6RQ)



Background
1 year ago I was walking the "slow lane".
It had been 1 year since i graduated from university. I was working as a full-time (overtime) pharmacist manager. And I had just put (trapped) myself in my first mortgage.
To most people around me, I was set - living the life.
Nah man, I was a slave to my boss, my debt, and not to mention the over-privileged drug addicts I served everyday.
Don't get me wrong, I felt "grateful" for what I had.
But I couldn't continue living this way.

First steps
So in November 2014, I started searching the world for ways to earn more money.
I explored offline businesses, e-commerce, and then startups.
There was a common theme all through out, I didn't have the funds or any useful skills required for startup.
Nobody was really interested in having me on board. I needed more money and I needed more skills.

April - Enter the AM
Sometime in April (I was still looking for ways to make money), I stumbled across a blog by Charles Ngo.
He talked about this thing called affiliate marketing. About profitable campaign blueprints. About "blowing shit up".
He said join STM. I joined STM.
DAAAAMMMNNN. So much information. So many successful guys. So many opportunities.
Immediately after reading the "Onboarding Guide" and absorbing as much as possible in the Adult section, I joined some networks, started up some Adult Web campaigns, and started a follow along.
I walked into it knowing that I was going to make a loss, which I did, but I eventually broke even.

May - Going Mobile
I was making progress in Adult, but mobile was the buzzword. Everybody was saying that opportunities were plenty and would continue to multiply.
Yeah I was starting to break even but the volume that I had to sacrifice to get there made it undesirable to chase.
I wasn't here to simply replace my current wage - I wanted big money.
Some might call this the shiny object syndrome. To me, this was a strategic pivot that I would commit to.
TL;DR - I stopped my adult campaigns and dove into pin submits.


June - Hitting the Same Pitfalls
I'm sure many of you out there have experienced this same problem.

1. Over-optimization (noun): Cut too much shit, make $2/day.

The many people that I masterminded with said that their friends were making it work by finding "good campaigns".
And so, I entered into a launching frenzy, launching at least 1-2 campaigns a day.
I wanted that magical campaign that nobody had discovered yet.
I lost $10,000 that month.

July - A Turning Point
Charles' name popped up again. This was the guy that got me into this game.
He was holding his Affcelerator workshop in Singapore.
At this stage, I had read many books on business and "hacking growth". They all mentioned that one of the key ingredients was having a "mentor".
I wanted this guy as my mentor!
And so, I put my campaigns on hold.
Saved up the money that i needed for not only the workshop but the campaigns that i would launch afterwards.
Then, started spending my time studying productivity, writing ads and began sleeping more in order to prepare myself for the battle ahead.

August - A Fresh Start
I came back from Singapore with a new mindset. A new approach. A new inner flame.
I was like Rocky after the training montage. Pumped and ready to win.
I worked day in and day out, spending every waking moment thinking and strategizing my campaigns.
In fact, I had to sleep at work during my lunch breaks to catch up on the sleep that I lost due to staying up late every single night.
But it didn't matter because I felt myself getting closer everyday.


This was my bed in the storeroom at work. Yes, I slept on continence pads and cardboard.

September - Breaking $1,000/day profit
Green - I never liked this color so much.
But this was just the beginning. I worked harder.
At this stage, I was occasionally pulling all nighters before a 10 hour shift the next morning.
I didn't care because this was it. This was my ticket to the next level.


October - Preparing my Boat For a New Adventure
Fast forward to today, I am building up my warchest, in preparation for the ocean ahead.
I have a number in mind for my bank account and I'm just about there.
Truth be told, my current campaigns are dying out now. But I'm not afraid because I know I can do it again and I'm going to do it bigger.
And I'm proud to say that I will be resigning at the end of this month and graduating to full-time affiliate marketing!

My Key Takeaway
If I had to put it down to something it would be this.
Professional level systems and operations.

Especially for you guys in the same shoes as me, still working a full time job.
Think about it. You are 1 person spending 3-5 tired, poor quality hours after work on this.

You are competing against super affiliates with teams who work around the clock.
You need to operate at a similar level to these guys if you want to stand a chance. And how do you do that?
Systems. Even though I'm still a 1 person show, I have Standard Operating Protocols that I follow every day.

Let me illustrate some benefits:
1. SOP for launching - I launch more strategically with a higher success rate.
2. SOP for optimization - gone are the days where I spend 2 hours staring at Voluum stats. This is now done more effectively and efficiently.
3. SOP for testing creatives - I stay on top of all my tests and assess them the same way.

I highly suggest that if you don't have these yet to at least spend your next weekend developing something similar.

I hope I have changed somebody's trajectory, or at least inspired somebody with this story.
Wishing you all the very best in your business, family, friends, and health.

Shoutouts: Charles, Benjamin Yong, my affiliate network managers, the guys I masterminded with, and of course STM for everything.

Congrats on your success. Hard work always pays off.

Great job on putting in the hours, hitting good numbers and staying professional. Too many people fall victim to "CEO" or "Boss" nomenclature and blow their money. It's refreshing to hear that there are still responsible adults in this industry.

Keep it up!

Outstanding achievement!

Hell yeah man congrats!!! That was extra awesome reading that with the music playing in the background

Nice, congrats. Want to change live too. Now I go, set up a $5k transfer to Charles Ngo so I can make a lot of money, too.
Thanks!

Great post!

Dude, much congrats to you on your hustle and I think the moral of the story here is that you just......kept........going....

darsdars, awesome post, man! very inspirational to read [as in, i'd have to make the call that this is one of the most inspirational i've read, taking into account everything - very similar situation, starting time etc].

cheers man, and thank you for the good words of wisdom!

Congrats Darwin! It means alot hearing your story!

Awesome man! congratulations on that success! Rock that boat of yours harder!

maybe I'm too cynical, but that whole post read like advertorial sales copy to me lol. But anyways, congrats if it's legit!

Originally Posted by darsdars

Affiliate marketing has completely turned my world inside out.
I'm here today to give back to a community that has helped me so much by telling my story.
(Play this song whilst reading this for full effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvQkl7qa6RQ)



Background
1 year ago I was walking the "slow lane".
It had been 1 year since i graduated from university. I was working as a full-time (overtime) pharmacist manager. And I had just put (trapped) myself in my first mortgage.
To most people around me, I was set - living the life.
Nah man, I was a slave to my boss, my debt, and not to mention the over-privileged drug addicts I served everyday.
Don't get me wrong, I felt "grateful" for what I had.
But I couldn't continue living this way.

First steps
So in November 2014, I started searching the world for ways to earn more money.
I explored offline businesses, e-commerce, and then startups.
There was a common theme all through out, I didn't have the funds or any useful skills required for startup.
Nobody was really interested in having me on board. I needed more money and I needed more skills.

April - Enter the AM
Sometime in April (I was still looking for ways to make money), I stumbled across a blog by Charles Ngo.
He talked about this thing called affiliate marketing. About profitable campaign blueprints. About "blowing shit up".
He said join STM. I joined STM.
DAAAAMMMNNN. So much information. So many successful guys. So many opportunities.
Immediately after reading the "Onboarding Guide" and absorbing as much as possible in the Adult section, I joined some networks, started up some Adult Web campaigns, and started a follow along.
I walked into it knowing that I was going to make a loss, which I did, but I eventually broke even.

May - Going Mobile
I was making progress in Adult, but mobile was the buzzword. Everybody was saying that opportunities were plenty and would continue to multiply.
Yeah I was starting to break even but the volume that I had to sacrifice to get there made it undesirable to chase.
I wasn't here to simply replace my current wage - I wanted big money.
Some might call this the shiny object syndrome. To me, this was a strategic pivot that I would commit to.
TL;DR - I stopped my adult campaigns and dove into pin submits.


June - Hitting the Same Pitfalls
I'm sure many of you out there have experienced this same problem.

1. Over-optimization (noun): Cut too much shit, make $2/day.

The many people that I masterminded with said that their friends were making it work by finding "good campaigns".
And so, I entered into a launching frenzy, launching at least 1-2 campaigns a day.
I wanted that magical campaign that nobody had discovered yet.
I lost $10,000 that month.

July - A Turning Point
Charles' name popped up again. This was the guy that got me into this game.
He was holding his Affcelerator workshop in Singapore.
At this stage, I had read many books on business and "hacking growth". They all mentioned that one of the key ingredients was having a "mentor".
I wanted this guy as my mentor!
And so, I put my campaigns on hold.
Saved up the money that i needed for not only the workshop but the campaigns that i would launch afterwards.
Then, started spending my time studying productivity, writing ads and began sleeping more in order to prepare myself for the battle ahead.

August - A Fresh Start
I came back from Singapore with a new mindset. A new approach. A new inner flame.
I was like Rocky after the training montage. Pumped and ready to win.
I worked day in and day out, spending every waking moment thinking and strategizing my campaigns.
In fact, I had to sleep at work during my lunch breaks to catch up on the sleep that I lost due to staying up late every single night.
But it didn't matter because I felt myself getting closer everyday.


This was my bed in the storeroom at work. Yes, I slept on continence pads and cardboard.

September - Breaking $1,000/day profit
Green - I never liked this color so much.
But this was just the beginning. I worked harder.
At this stage, I was occasionally pulling all nighters before a 10 hour shift the next morning.
I didn't care because this was it. This was my ticket to the next level.


October - Preparing my Boat For a New Adventure
Fast forward to today, I am building up my warchest, in preparation for the ocean ahead.
I have a number in mind for my bank account and I'm just about there.
Truth be told, my current campaigns are dying out now. But I'm not afraid because I know I can do it again and I'm going to do it bigger.
And I'm proud to say that I will be resigning at the end of this month and graduating to full-time affiliate marketing!

My Key Takeaway
If I had to put it down to something it would be this.
Professional level systems and operations.

Especially for you guys in the same shoes as me, still working a full time job.
Think about it. You are 1 person spending 3-5 tired, poor quality hours after work on this.

You are competing against super affiliates with teams who work around the clock.
You need to operate at a similar level to these guys if you want to stand a chance. And how do you do that?
Systems. Even though I'm still a 1 person show, I have Standard Operating Protocols that I follow every day.

Let me illustrate some benefits:
1. SOP for launching - I launch more strategically with a higher success rate.
2. SOP for optimization - gone are the days where I spend 2 hours staring at Voluum stats. This is now done more effectively and efficiently.
3. SOP for testing creatives - I stay on top of all my tests and assess them the same way.

I highly suggest that if you don't have these yet to at least spend your next weekend developing something similar.

I hope I have changed somebody's trajectory, or at least inspired somebody with this story.
Wishing you all the very best in your business, family, friends, and health.

Shoutouts: Charles, Benjamin Yong, my affiliate network managers, the guys I masterminded with, and of course STM for everything.

And you'll get lots of people that will say "Wow you're so lucky"

Nah just good ol' fashion hard work and continuing to push forward and grow.

Awesome stuff, definitely inspiring.

Super inspiring. Thanks for the write up dude.

Awesome stuff! Can you possibly layout one of your SOP's? Like a flowchart? Would be interesting to hear

The song was too short
Nice read though. Congratz!

Congrats Bro.

Congratulations man!

Congrats bro! You definitely deserve the success that you have! Although the campaigns are no longer there, guess what? You'll be able to find the new one and this time, you'll be able to take it to $xx,xxx/day!

Great job and keep it up!

Always good to hear of stories like this. Congrats and best of luck with the next campaign!

yo yo congrats bro, awesome story, love to hear such stories, gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. see you at AWA if you do come!

Congratz man, I know that feeling!

wait, so how did you solve that over optimization problem on mobile campaigns?

Congrats mate, i feel your hard work.. i had the same issues as you, working hard in construction over 12 hours a day.. then after work, searching for ways to earn money from internet with the hope that eventually someday i'm gonna quit my shitty job for a better one. Just have to believe into yourself, work hard and the day will come.

You go bro!!!

Great job man, congrats, and it was nice bumping into you while you were here!!

You got this, wish you the best!

Very inspiring. Would also love to see a sample SOP/Flowchart as I am doing some for my own setup as well. I think I'll go with either lucidchart.com or gliffy.com for creation a more flow chart like approach and for the other stuff I think GDrive is totally sufficient

Inspiring .. been trying mobile for way longer than you and still I am yet to see that xxx/day.. not sure where or what I am missing...

Awesome to read. Congrats and keep hustling, and don't blow your money on upgrading your lifestyle.

Good stuff! I'm curious how you spent $10k in june?