Struggling with Analysis Paralysis? Here are some tips... (22)
Struggling with Analysis Paralysis? Here are some tips...
Analysis Paralysis has got to be one of the biggest problems faced by affiliates.
Over the years I've seen a ton of smart people and perfectionists give up on internet/affiliate marketing because of that exact problem. And for many years I was plagued with the same problem myself.
However, I've gotten a LOT better over time.
So I thought I'd start a thread to share some of the stuff I've learned along the way. Below, I've organized my tips into a process you can use to get past Analysis Paralysis.
And hopefully, the rest of you will add your personal tips in the posts below!
But first, here's the TL;DR version:
Analysis Paralysis stems from PRESSURE (to succeed under budget and/or time constraints) and DOUBT (including doubting one's own abilities, and/or profits potential of this business). Figure out how to alleviate the pressure and minimize the doubts by instilling positive expectations, and you'll stop over-analysing and start taking action - because action is so much more fun and rewarding!
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1)Calm Your Fear of Losing Money
The fear of losing money has got to be one of the biggest deterrents of success for any entrepreneur. Spending money on launching campaign after campaign, with no promise of profits in sight, can be daunting.
I've seen too many new members start their first post with a plea that looks like this:
Keep Your Expectations Real
Many new affiliates come into this industry with hopes of spending a few hundred to make millions. This is the wrong mindset that will doom them from the very start.
If that describes you, then I would suggest to adjust your expectations.
Accept the fact that you will likely spend 4-figures (or more) before you can HOPE to start making profits consistently - and even that won't be a sure thing.
Coming to terms with the fact that you WILL lose money at first, will curb your fear.
Instead of running from the fear, face it head-on. Instead of clenching to your seed money, write it off as a loss from the start.
Keep Money Rolling In
I know first-hand what it feels like to see a finite amount of savings dwindle, while none of the campaigns are showing promise.
I'm not saying you can't succeed by putting your last few hundreds/thousands towards AM. But it would be SO much harder.
For one, the pressure will drive you insane. It's hard not to hold your breath for your next campaign to be profitable, when you just HAVE to "make things work" before money runs out.
Secondly, that emotional strain will prompt you to make rash decisions, such as dumping money into making a hopeless campaign green, or ditching a promising campaign too early.
The best way to lift that pressure, is to keep money rolling in.
Whether it be by keeping your day job and learning affiliate marketing on the side, or by doing freelance work.
Preferably, you'll have more money coming in than what you'll be spending on campaigns. This way, you won't have to "make AM work" by a certain deadline.
But even if your campaign spend is eating into your savings, having some amount of money coming in each month will help you feel better.
So, if you don't currently have ANY money coming in, remedy that right now (unless you have a big chunk of money sitting in your bank account).
Keep Revenue/Profits Out of Your Goals
This piece of advice may seem counter-intuitive. After all, isn't the main goal of business to make money?
In the beginning though, when you're still learning the trade, holding yourself to achieving profits will likely lead to pressure than motivation.
You'll never know whether the next campaign you launch will be profitable.
Not even top affiliates, who are better at making campaign decisions, can know with 100% certainty that the next campaign they launch will lead to profits.
And when you're a newbie, defining goals in terms of revenue or profits - such as 2-figures/day in a month, 3-figures/day in 2 months etc. - will only serve to demotivate when you see red campaign after red campaign.
Which unfortunately is far too common for newbie affiliates.
Instead, I would suggest for aspiring affiliates to define goals in terms of SPEND, e.g. "Spend $xxx/week".
If this seems like a stupid idea at first, I would urge you to just try it. Once you do, you'll see its power.
All of a sudden, you'll stop praying for every campaign to be profitable.
You'll start focusing on looking for OPPORTUNITIES, on what to test, and how.
You'll be able to test systematically (x landers, x offers, x geos, x verticals) because the next campaign does not absolutely need to be a winner.
Plus, reaching a weekly spend amount is a goal you'll be motivated to reach, because it's something you have 100% control over.
2)Align Your Energy
Now that we've gotten rid of negative emotions - mainly fear and pressure - next let's focus on creating positive emotions.
If you believe in the fact that energy and expectations precede reality, then what I'm about to say will really resonate with you.
But even if you don't, I would urge you to just try out my suggestions anyway. Unless you're a 100%-adamant realist, my tips may just do you some good (the worst that could happen is you waste a bit of time - big deal).
Don't under-estimate the power of faith. Faith can bring inspiration.
When you take action because you're inspired to - i.e. an exciting idea "occurs" to you and makes you want to act on it - the results can be millions of times more powerful than when you take forced action, i.e. the type of action you take when you're not "feeling" it, but are only doing it for the sake of making progress.
If you take the time to align your energy first, inspiration will come. Act on them, and you'll be the powerful creator of your future reality.
Here's how you can align your energy by having more faith in yourself and the affiliate marketing industry...
Make a List of Positive Statements
On a piece of paper, write a list of statements that make you feel confident that you will succeed, including personal qualities and achievements.
(You can do this using a phone app or other electronic means, but I would suggest to use a pen and paper - many have found manual writing to be more effective than typing.)
Read this list as often as it makes you feel good to do so, and add to it as new ideas occur to you. This will do wonders to how you view yourself.
See yourself as a successful individual, and reality will have no choice but shape itself around that expectation. It can't not.
I've put together some statements to get you started:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q7uh98u38v...ments.txt?dl=0
Assemble a Vision Board
Being able to see what your future life will be like, will help you to receive inspirations that will guide you to it. Here are some suggestions on how to make a vision board:
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...a-Vision-Board
And if you feel up to sharing your vision board with other members to motivate others to do the same, here would be the section to post it in:
https://stmforum.com/forum/forumdisp...-Vision-Boards
Flaunt Your Knowledge
I would highly encourage you to start sharing what you know with other new affiliates, starting with replying to questions you know the answers of, right here on STM.
Doing so will serve 3 purposes:
Explaining things to someone else will help you to understand it better yourself.
Helping out other people will boost your own confidence.
You will start making friends - I probably don't need to tell you how powerful networking is in this industry. By helping out others consistently, you'll be respected by both newbies and veterans.
Be Your Own Mentor
We all have good advice to give. It's a shame that most of us would rather just give it to other people.
I've had excellent results from asking for and following advice I've gotten from myself.
Learn to trust your instincts, and over time you'll have more faith in your own judgement, and spend less time being undecided.
So, next time, when you're stuck not knowing how to decide on something, just ask yourself! Here's the method in greater detail:
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...l=1#post323443
Get Motivation From Others' Success
Seeing how other people have succeeded will motivate you to succeed also.
Successful marketers are proof that affiliate marketing works. And know that they were once newbies just like yourself.
Below are some of the best places you can go to get motivation.
-Blogs by some of the most successful affiliate marketers. For example:
https://charlesngo.com/
https://jasonakatiff.com/
https://www.lukepeerfly.com/
http://zacjohnson.com/
https://finchsells.com/
http://iamattila.com/
-The "Success Stories" section of this forum:
https://stmforum.com/forum/forumdisp...uccess-Stories
(Exceeded character limit again - to be continued in post below...)
3)Make a List of Promising Areas and Start Testing!
At any point in time, there are affiliates that are KILLING IT on any given traffic platform (at least the major, legit ones), in any given offer vertical, operating in any given country.
However, having said that....
Some traffic types will be easier to make green than others.
Some offer types will be easier to make green than others.
Some geos (and/or other targeting) will be easier to make green than others.
In general: Some COMBINATIONS of traffic+verticals+targeting will be easier to make green than others.
And you already know this, which is exactly the problem.
Not knowing which traffic type + offer vertical + targeting to choose, is another major cause of inaction.
You hear some people say Facebook is the future, but at the same time, you hear about account bans and other difficulties.
You hear other people say Pop is easy to learn, but at the same time, other people pointing out that competition is getting fierce.
Many people will get stuck in a perpetual loop of dabbling a bit here and there - jumping from one vertical to the next, or one traffic type to the next - without investing enough time or money on mastering any one thing to the point of consistent profits.
Whatever you end up choosing - whether it be Pop or Native or Facebook - will present you with its own set of problems to figure out and difficulties to conquer.
And when you're faced with these issues, it's easy to shy away and look towards something else - because the grass always looks greener from the other side.
Your other enemy is FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). You see potential in lots of things and don't want to leave money on the table. But you only have a finite amount of resources so can't possibly take advantage of it all.
Here's my best advice on how to avoid jumping around:
-Do research to identify promising areas, and develop a Project Plan for each. A project can consist of a traffic type plus an offer vertical or even a specific offer, and can also include targeting options such as geo(s).
In each Project Plan, list reasons why the project will be lucrative, and also address potential issues and how to overcome them.
-Choose 3 that you feel have the highest chances of success.
-Assign a reasonable budget to each, and commit to spending that budget before moving onto the next project.
This method is deceptively simple, but will have the following effects:
-By listing reasons why the project will be lucrative, you strengthen your faith with positive expectations. This will help you to stay motivated when the going gets tough.
-By addressing potential issues ahead of time and formulating potential solutions, you will be less likely to avoid problems, and instead focus on seeking solutions.
-By choosing several plans from the start, you're not holding your breath on any ONE plan to end up being successful. This will take away the indecisiveness caused by your fear of failure.
-Also, by including several plans, you'd be affected less by FOMO - because in your mind, you've already included the most-promising areas of affiliate marketing in your consideration.
-Yet another benefit of including several plans from the start, is that it will keep you from exhausting your resources on a project that may be difficult to make profits from.
-By committing to spending a budget on each project before moving onto the next, you'd be less likely to jump around.
Below, I'll go into more detail on each step of the method outlined above.
Research to Identify Promising Areas
Entire books can be written on how to choose promising traffic types + offer verticals + geos + angles.
I can't go into any level of detail in this post. What I WILL do is list some places where you can get intel on what traffic types and verticals etc. are working well at the moment.
Go through some/all of the following, and make a list of promising areas. Don't be too broad - such as a traffic type (e.g. Native traffic) or an offer vertical (e.g. Ecom). At least specify a traffic type + vertical that seems to be working well on that traffic (e.g. Nutra on Native). Can get more specific (e.g. Nutra on Native in APAC and LATAM geos).
And when making this list, remember to make a note of the various sources you got each piece of intel from, for future reference. (e.g A website? A skype convo? A contact you met at a meetup?)
-Browse forum posts here to see what members are reporting success with. Recent follow-alongs and success stories are must-reads.
-Download the "What's Working in [current year]" report. The one for this year (2018) can be found here:
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...orking-In-2018
-Browse our Masterminds forum:
https://stmforum.com/forum/forumdisp...15-Masterminds
Join some skype/slack groups where affiliates hang out, or even a mastermind or 2, and start exchanging ideas and intel.
-Join some affiliate marketing groups on Facebook and start scrolling through posts.
-Join some affiliate networks, and hit up affiliate managers to see what kinds of offers are hot, and for which geos. Some of them can also tell you where to run campaigns, and even show you banners and/or landers that are performing well. It never hurts to ask!
-If you have the fortune of being assigned a rep on a traffic source, also ask them what kinds of offers and banners/landers are working well there. They may also be able to recommend the best placements for specific types of offers.
-Compile a list of affiliate marketing blogs and browse recent entries.
-Meet with other affiliates face to face over a beer to chat! Attend local affiliate meetups and conferences in the affiliate marketing space.
-If you've been in AM for a while: Look through your contact lists on all messaging services and platforms - skype, facebook, wechat, whatsapp, telegram, slack, whatever else - and start hitting up your affiliate marketing contacts to say "hey how's it going? I've been doing [whatever] but not having much luck so am looking to try something else. Do you have any suggestions as to what's hot right now?"
-If you've been in AM for a while: Go through your emails received in the recent weeks, to see if anything catches your eye. Top offers lists from various affiliate networks and advertisers, blog update notifications from your favorite affiliate marketing blogs, notification of top traffic segments or even new ad formats from traffic networks - can all provide a glimpse into what's working well at the moment.
Build a Project Plan for Each Area
After so much reading and chatting with so many people, you should have a good idea on which traffic types and verticals are hot.
Next, you'll need to build a Project Plan for each of these, where you'll need to do further research to put together.
For each Project Plan, add the following 2 sections:
1)A list of indicators that suggest the area can be lucrative and doable. This can be "so-and-so told me he had success doing this" or "this blog says it's hot" or "this article says that this product is hot this year".
Or it could be "I came across this lander while doing manual spying and I feel that this angle may work for this type of offer". Or it could be "stats from this spy tool indicates that this particular offer is doing a ton of volume and it seems to be increasing".
Or it could even be something like "I know weight-loss products will always be in demand because such a large percentage of this country is obese [can google for stats to support this], especially considering the fact that summer will be here in x weeks!"
A list like this can do wonders to creating positive expectations. To compile this list, do your research - search for related threads here on STM, use google, do spying in the wild, use spy tools, draw from your personal experience, ask people you know are experts in the corresponding area, grill the person that originally suggested the idea - etc.
2)Any concerns you may have as to the difficulties you may encounter, and potential solutions. For example, for running antivirus on pop, your concern could be "most of the landers I see in use are misleading/aggressive - what if I get banned by traffic sources or affiliate networks?" and potential solutions could be "I could just run on traffic sources that are more tolerant of aggressive angles"; "I could ask my AM for offers that allow aggressive promotion"; "I could test less-aggressive landers to see how they do."
Making a list of concerns will direct you away from worrying and shift your focus towards problem-solution. Again, in order to figure out how to solve these, you'll need to do further research - on this forum, ask google, browse spy tools, etc.
Don't shy from problems - you'll encounter problems and questions no matter what you choose to do. Step up to the plate and figure out ways around them instead of standing around whining like a biatch.
And remember: Each problem you encounter and solve, will put you ahead of a bunch more of your competition.
Regarding spying, I would suggest to subscribe to a spy tool (or 2, or 3...).
You don't have to keep subscribing month after month, but having access to at least one spy tool for the next month can help you to decide what to run, where to run, and how to run - and can provide you with some proven creatives with which to run!
As for which spy tools to use - Adplexity has become an industry standard:
Adplexity Native
Adplexity Mobile (Mobile Banner and Mobile Pop)
Adplexity Adult
Adplexity Desktop
For Facebook I can only suggest two spy tools, and neither is cheap - expect to be paying $700-$1k+/month:
OnlineAdSpy (I haven't used this but have heard great things about it)
Analyzed.ai (PM member desteny to inquire; I was a beta-tester and it looked promising)
Choose 3 Project Plans to Execute
Keep doing research to bulk-up your Project Plans until you have at least 3 that you feel quite confident will help you make profits.
If you have more than 3, pick 3 that you feel have the best chances of success.
Rank these 3 from most-promising to least-promising.
Assign a realistic budget to each, that you will be committing to spending before moving onto something else. This one will be tricky - again, will involve some research on your part.
If you don't have enough budget to test all 3 projects you've chosen, try to replace one or more with projects that will require lower budgets. Try not to throw your entire budget into testing a single thing, or the pressure to succeed may prevent you from taking action.
For these 3 projects, add another section to the Project Plans: An initial test plan. For example, which aff networks to get offers from, which traffic source to use for initial testing, how many test campaigns to launch, which geos to test first, how many landing pages to test, etc.
Then, just start working through the top project, and DO NOT move onto the second or third until you've spent the allocated budget AND without seeing much success!
Give every single project your best shot, but don't despair if you don't hit the bull's eye (i.e. find success) right away. Using ripped stuff will likely get you somewhere on the target. Start with proven stuff and improve from there. (AM-recommended offers and/or offers doing volume in spy tools; ripped creatives.)
From there, readjust your aim and fire again. Repeat to improve gradually until you start making profits.
You may ask: Why do all this work to put together so many Project Plans when the first project can very well turn out to be a winner already?
The answer is that the more Project Plans you have that seem feasible and promising, the more faith you'll have that you'll succeed in at least one of the projects.
You'll learn to look for profit OPPORTUNITIES, and look for SOLUTIONS to PROBLEMS.
Expectations and focus are EVERYTHING. Expect to see profits everywhere and you will find profits. Focus on finding solutions and you will find ways around problems, which you'll no doubt encounter.
When in doubt, ask questions here in the forum, or even start a follow-along to get feedback. And remember to use the "Be Your Own Mentor" technique described above.
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The execution part of your plans is where you'll be most-prone to getting stuck, but if you've followed all the advice in this post, you've probably built up enough momentum to continue taking action.
Still - getting lots of emotional support will help tremendously. Getting into a mastermind group and/or starting a follow-along are some of the best ways to get it.
Lastly - have FUN with all of this! Life is supposed to be fun! Being too uptight will only affect your judgement. Relax, trust your gut feelings, listen to your intuition, combine with a dose of common sense, good judgement, and research, then do massive testing and learning - you can't go far wrong.
Amy
Agree with all of that, but it's important to avoid the idea that Action = Good and Analysis = Bad.
You need to think through & analyse what's working & what isn't, based on actions that you have taken.
We're really talking about getting the balance right between analysis & action.
Originally Posted by pavel_apostolov87
The biggest trap for most people is they would take a lot of action to "prepare" to launch campaigns - read thread after thread on this forum (or other forums, or blogs etc.), do a ton of research to find that perfect niche or offer, tweak landing pages to perfection etc. - WAY past the point of necessity/efficiency - when all the while it's their fear of failure that is preventing them from actually launching SOMETHING.
And some people, even after they start launching campaigns, they're constantly holding their breath for the next one to succeed. Many are perpetually stuck in the "analysis" stage that you mentioned, before they even have enough stats to analyze - because they're so afraid of losing money.
My process can help to minimize that fear, plus build up massive momentum towards BELIEF - so that by the time people actually start taking action, that momentum will keep them going for long enough to actually see positive results.
After that, it would be much easier to keep going, because positive results will spawn more positive expectations which will bring more success etc., resulting in a virtuous cycle or upwards spiral.
Analysis is important, but testing massively is also important. Like you said, there needs to be a balance. I think many people DO have the common sense to find that balance - problem is their judgment is clouded by that same fear - which needs to be removed.
Thanks for sharing your opinions!
Amy
HOLY SHIT AMY!!!! we need a emoji where its a huge jaw drop.
I don't really know what else to say but bless you vortex. Bless you.
From now one whenever i'm in a rut either where my head is just not in the game or I just lose drive for abit. I will bring up this thread.
- Jeremiah
I am suffering (from what I think) is a bad case of Analysis Paralysis or something similar to it.. Still haven´t figured out what it is.
My media buying journey started May 2017 and I lost a LOT of money, then went through the 6wamc and still lost a lot of money.
Luckily a couple of months ago I finally managed to become profitable (average ROI of 170% on campaigns) and I want to scale things to the moon as I think I know how to do it.
But... Recently I have had to pay a few a few hefty tax bills, my partner wants a new car and were getting married next year so a lot of expenses coming up.
All of this has made me sort of afraid to deposit money into my accounts even though I am nearly tripling my money if I would.
I also run websites and the money I have made from them has helped me ticking over while I was loosing money trying to buy ads.
Not sure if I explained it properly but I feel stuck, depositing money into my ad account feels like a waste even though I know I will make money from it( I know, it sounds stupid).
That doesn't sound stupid at all.
I think most of us can relate.
And it sounds like you're past the period of spending major money to learn the ropes! So the worst is over.
You're actually already in a pretty good position, where the worst case scenario won't be unthinkable.
So let's approach your situation from that stand point:
What would be the worst case scenario for you?
Having to postpone getting that new car? (Maybe chatting with your partner will help.)
Having to live frugally for the next while?
You'll still have money coming from your websites, right? Does your partner work and/or has savings? Do you have other assets that you can count on if things don't work out?
I'm not suggesting for you to put everything on the line here, but it should really help if you could 1)define the worst case scenario and come to terms with them, and then 2)allocate a definite sum of money that you know you can safely spend without having to worry about losing the roof over your heads and not being able to put food on the table.
After that: Do everything you can to feel confident in the campaigns you'll be launching, in order to dispel that fear.
You can do that by doing more research. Examples: Checking spy tools for evidence that a certain niche/offer/angle is working well; chatting with AMs and fellow affiliates to find out what's working; browsing stm threads to see what people are having success with; etc.
In the end, based on all your research, narrow down to a few things to test. Chances are one or more will get you results - assuming your research was done correctly and was extensive enough.
And you sound like you already know what's working in native - in that case try to browse spy tools and talk to people to gather more angles and offers to test.
Having confidence in yourself and your abilities and judgment is also important. Remind yourself that you have the knowlege and experience required to be widely successful!
You've been on STM for quite a while now, and have gone through the 6WAMC. You've launched successful native campaigns with very good ROI. You've probably already blacklisted enough widgets in at least one geo on at least one native network. This is a VERY good position to be in.
You can add to this list of reasons for boosting your confidence, and read it from time to time - it's not a matter of psyching yourself up. The statements are all true. But you can probably use the reminder! 
Lastly: In the beginning you may want to play safe to generate more cashflow to play with, by sticking to the same geo(s) you've already invested into cutting widgets for, and the same vertical(s) you have experience in. That way you don't spend as much money, and can focus on testing offers and angles.
If you really need to build capital, you can just keep running in the same geo(s) until you feel you have enough to scale. Yes you'd be leaving money on the table by not scaling, but you'd also be under less pressure and worry. There needs to be a balance between risk and profits - just feel your way into it and you'll know what to do.
All the best! Looking forward to seeing you reach greater heights real soon!
Amy
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using STM Forums mobile app
This is great stuff Amy I really appreciate it 
I think you nailed it on the mindset stuff.
The most helpful advice I ever got re: entrepreneurship and business was to frame it as a responsibility instead of a goal.
If you think of it as something you are supposed to do no matter whether you succeed or fail, it helps shut down your anxious monkey brain and allow your 'soul' to take charge instead
If you think of it as something you are supposed to do no matter whether you succeed or fail, it helps shut down your anxious monkey brain and allow your 'soul' to take charge instead
It almost doesn't make sense - but when I read those statements and "feel" them, they put me in a good "feeling place".
And that's all that matters, really.
Thanks so much for sharing Jack!
Amy
GREAT post, Amy! You totally nailed it!
LeadCloak
I am suffering from same problem 
Eventually man you must take the leap in any direction, with no action there is never any result. Fear of outcome, we can't entirely control any outcomes but we do our best to limit the risk by reading guides here to cut out all the nooby mistakes you can make along the way, but in the end you WILL FAIL many times in AM (fail being unsuccessful camapaigns) but you get used to it, the more you launch - the more you learn. The more you learn, the easier you can see if a campaign looks like its falling into place. Maybe you will hit green on your first go - who knows? But one thing we do know - you must take some form of action in launching a campaign to get anywhere
But I understand the many other factors swirling around our minds as we're all on individual paths - so what gets you stuck the most right now brother?
Originally Posted by rajivwalia
Doing so will allow you to focus more on possibilities and make you look for reasons on how things CAN work out.
Thoughts consist of energy - and when you get that momentum going, you'll start getting more and more inspiration, which will allow you to focus more specifically to build even more momentum.
Eventually that momentum will reach a point where your fear is subdued enough by the excitement that you'll be driven to take some sort of action.
And like Maynzie's saying, if you'll EXPECT that some things won't work out, then you won't be holding your breath on every single thing you do.
For example, if I tell you that on average only 1 campaign out of every 10 you launch will make you money (this is just an example for illustration), then you won't be too concerned when the first 5 you launch don't result in profits.
So if you'd just tell yourself, "Here are several projects I feel are promising, and I'll stick with each one for a while without expecting to succeed right away before moving onto the next one", THAT would be a good mindset to be in.
Thoughts are not nothing - they're EVERYTHING. They will DIRECTLY impact on what will manifest in your future reality. Try it and hopefully you'll see what I mean. It's one of those things that you have to try based on blind faith at first in order to experience the results - enough so that you'll become a true believer in the end.
Amy
Thank you so much Amy and Maynzie for your kind words and motivations
Actually kind of deadlock is created around me. I am not able to make decisions.
Last one year summary:
1. Worked on Advidi/Clickdealer/United Gap/Broker Babe networks
2. Traffic Factory, TJ, Exoclick, Traffic force as traffic sources
3. Started with DE, CH, AT geos and I was happy by getting good results. For few days got more than 250 USD per day.
4. Used to spend 9-10 hours a day.
5. On the other hand for DE my offers continuously pausing out due to bad traffic quality. Then I used to switch to new offers.
6. Then I moved to UK geo. In the starting it was good but slowly due to fraud issues (don't know why) I didn't get paid by Traffic networks for many of the leads. Even Brokerbabe blocked my account due to same issue.
7. Due to these issues, I have lost lot of money.
8. Then I tried different things like
a. Subscribed to new traffic network (members area) and got failed.
b. Tried new geos NO NL, AU again got failed. Unable to make any campaign green.
c. Tried new approaches and got failed
d. Subscribed to new networks but could not start campaigns may be due to some fear.
9. Now everything is messed up for me.
10. People used to write their success stories and I am writing here my failure story
Moral of the story:
Huge fear of failure with no enthusiasm. Now do not spend much time on my laptop because of fear of failure. Getting confused and unable to take decisions.
Sometime I feel like I will never ever get success in this field. But still somewhere in my mind and heart there is little fire. And because of that hope I always keep pushing my self by saying these magical words "I will get success one day"
Huge fear of failure with no enthusiasm. Now do not spend much time on my laptop because of fear of failure. Getting confused and unable to take decisions.
Sometime I feel like I will never ever get success in this field. But still somewhere in my mind and heart there is little fire. And because of that hope I always keep pushing my self by saying these magical words "I will get success one day"
You have to accept that in order to get success in affiliate marketing, you're going to have to take action in some form of launching campaigns or your answer is zero, as cliche as it is "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take" - Mr. Gretzky once said haha. Maybe the adult game is tainted by your bad experiences and you're emotionally attached to money now, yet you still know how to run campaigns which is clear, the foundation of tracking/optimising/understanding the lingo is already there for you, so why not begin a new traffic source like propeller/zeropark/richpush/revcontent push (imo have been a breeze to get profitable recently) and focus on some quality offers (CC sweeps, dating, crypto, nutra) - change it up break the old mindset!
It actually happens to a vast majority of people, you have wins early in the game you get attached to those campaigns, when they die you have some losses, and suddenly you think everything is over. That cycle is bloody so common its not funny how many times I've heard it now. You've done it before, you can do it again. Build some belief and start celebrating the little wins in the beginning again, you'll feel good if you launch a campaign - stagnancy breeds those feelings of paralysing doom and gloom.
If your issue is bound by lack of funds now, maybe taking some part time work to stem the bleeding and ease the pressure stress of money may make it easier for you to launch something new. I would take a couple days off, do some stuff you love take a total break away from the computer get into nature (no really, we forget how much it recharges us) then come back and take a new route, maybe just as I suggested above.
Originally Posted by maynzie
I will work on your suggestions
Originally Posted by rajivwalia
Actually kind of deadlock is created around me. I am not able to make decisions.
Last one year summary:
1. Worked on Advidi/Clickdealer/United Gap/Broker Babe networks
2. Traffic Factory, TJ, Exoclick, Traffic force as traffic sources
3. Started with DE, CH, AT geos and I was happy by getting good results. For few days got more than 250 USD per day.
4. Used to spend 9-10 hours a day.
5. On the other hand for DE my offers continuously pausing out due to bad traffic quality. Then I used to switch to new offers.
6. Then I moved to UK geo. In the starting it was good but slowly due to fraud issues (don't know why) I didn't get paid by Traffic networks for many of the leads. Even Brokerbabe blocked my account due to same issue.
7. Due to these issues, I have lost lot of money.
8. Then I tried different things like
a. Subscribed to new traffic network (members area) and got failed.
b. Tried new geos NO NL, AU again got failed. Unable to make any campaign green.
c. Tried new approaches and got failed
d. Subscribed to new networks but could not start campaigns may be due to some fear.
9. Now everything is messed up for me.
10. People used to write their success stories and I am writing here my failure story
Moral of the story:
Huge fear of failure with no enthusiasm. Now do not spend much time on my laptop because of fear of failure. Getting confused and unable to take decisions.
Sometime I feel like I will never ever get success in this field. But still somewhere in my mind and heart there is little fire. And because of that hope I always keep pushing my self by saying these magical words "I will get success one day"
Yours is NOT a failure story - it's a success story with an ending that's yet-to-be-written.
Everything starts and ends with the mind. Thoughts -> Expectations -> Reality. It's OK to vent - I really appreciate your sharing your experiences, otherwise maynzie and I wouldn't get the opportunity to reply - and to hopefully shift your thinking a little bit.
But in the end, you NEED to change the way you feel in order to effect improvement.
I don't know how much money you've "lost" in the past year, but I doubt it would be more than what the usual college grad needs to pay in tuition fees to get their degree.
And in return, you've gained extremely valuable experience, and a glimpse into what's possible. That was a wise investment IMO.
So that would be my first suggestion: Change how you feel about the previous year. Doing so will remove a huge block that's stuck in your energy right now, that's not letting you move forward.
Secondly: Try not to take this stuff TOO seriously - especially not at this point - because you're now so afraid of "failing" you're like a deer in the headlights, afraid to move.
Set aside DISPOSABLE income every month, and write off that money as a loss even before you spend it.
Use that money to experiment, and approach it with an inquisitive and playful mind.
If you try enough things, SOMETHING will give! It must - whether you believe in energy or just statistics.
The trick is to not worry about "losing" the money you spend, or whether you'll make it back. It's counter-intuitive, because everyone believes the ultimate goal is to make money. It isn't. Everyone's ultimate goal is to FEEL GOOD, and they think money will bring that happiness and that's why everyone's chasing it.
If you'd just take money out of that equation and skip directly to the feeling good part - by staying playful when testing various things - you'll change your point of attraction. You'll be happy, which will then attract all the things that align with happiness: Money, health, love.
But beware of one trap: Being happy unconditionally is the ultimate goal - so don't try to be happy just to get the money, because that would be backwards. Happiness is not just a means to an end, it is THE end everyone's wanting to achieve.
It took me several years of going back and forth on this concept before I truly GOT it. I've shared it with you to plant a seed - whether it will grow would be up to you.
Lastly: Are you sure you're doing what's truly calling you?
Within affiliate marketing, there are many different types of traffic, many different types of offers, and many different business models. Try to find something your heart resonates with, instead of JUST going with what your left brain is telling you.
Many people let FOMO drive their actions, which isn't necessarily the best way. I'm not saying it's wrong to chase trends - it isn't. But make sure your heart is in it before you do it. Otherwise it would be hard to have fun, and without fun, it would be hard to focus your energy there, plus the fear of failure can easily take over.
Also: Affiliate marketing isn't the only way to make money online. Have you explored other business models?
Moreover: There's a ton of money to be made offline as well.
Finally: Going into business for yourself may not be what you're truly wanting to do. Were you just not happy in your last job? Maybe getting another degree or certificate in a field you like/love would be an option.
Avoid tunnel vision in the beginning. Find out what it is that you truly enjoy doing. Do some soul-searching. Have conversations with yourself. Think back over your entire life up to this point - when were you the MOST FOCUSED? What are your affinities?
If you're not sure, browse around to see what other people are doing.
Affiliate Marketing: Read the "What's Working in Affiliate Marketing in 2019" that's coming out in around 24 hours.
Other online careers: e.g. Read various blogs, internet marketing forums, "make money online" forums in general.
Offline careers: e.g University/college courses, job sites.
Offline businesses: e.g. Google maps (to see what different types of businesses are around you), yellow pages.
Find out what it is that you can see yourself doing happily, and align your focus accordingly. Drill down from there, and not before.
I understand 100% where you're at right now. Every word I wrote above is from the depths of my heart and based on personal experience.
I hope that at least a little bit of it has resonated with you!
Last thing: Try to enjoy life more, and take things less seriously. Be kinder to yourself. We're all going through life and learning lessons. No need to be harsh with yourself just because of temporary setbacks. We're all doing our reasonable best under whatever current circumstances.
All will be well.
Amy
You are right, we always think that only money makes us happy. Every word came out from your heart has really motivated me. I promise you one day I will write my success story on STM.
Thanks again!
hello everyone.
I am new to this forum, just signed up today. And reading all these posts by vortex has really made me realize how I need to be more grateful for what I have, rather than just hope for what I don't have.
I have been an online marketer for over 8 years, but just so burned out on product creation and JV recruiting, that I want to do Affiliate Marketing more than ever.
Going to let my mind consume as much as it can, but not stress so much. I haven't seen results as of yet, but will very soon, I am confident.
Thanks for all these golden posts I am finding Vortex, I am off to read more.
uscdave
Originally Posted by uscdave
You've hit the nail on the head there - gratitude and appreciation creates positive energy that can really turn things around.
I'm going to ask a very obvious question: Why not just do the marketing for your products yourself? That way you'd have completely control over your sales funnel.
Would love to discuss this more - if you're up for a detailed discussion and getting feedback from the community, on your product and promotion methods, please start a separate post. We have a lot of product owners here that may be able to give you some inspiration, and of course I'll do my best to tell you what I know as well.
Amy
hey Amy,
Well, to be honest, I have been creating products for local consultants to land new clients. The niche is small,
there are only so many ways to teach local consultants how to land new clients. I wanted to really prove to
myself that I could take cold traffic and turn it into profit using Facebook Ads. Just really struggling to do it.
Facebook ads seem very expensive compared to a product on Clickbank. I see those selling courses about how
to do it, but just don't see how to get the ad cost down low enough.
I also want to create a residual with Clickfunnels, so going to do that with local marketing. I just wanted to
create another stream of income with affiliate marketing also.
Thanks for the post.
uscdave
For a beginner, how would you recommend going into paid traffic affiliate marketing with FB being stricter with BH? With WH offers it seems like you really have to know someone with exclusive offers to make some money but being new and without a track record of creating profitable ads you are unable to access these offers. Just wondering the following:
1) Do the newbie programs that every one has access to provide offers that can make the affiliate any money or do you have to rely on being extremely lucky. (in which case would it be better to just invest my money in crypto or gamble it)
2) Should i just go into these beginner offers expecting to lose money, but leverage the converting (but not profitable) offers into getting better offers?
3) whats the most efficient way to know if an offer is good or not? after running enough tests do you get a better sense based on patterns or is it a lot more random (involves luck) than we think?
4) How do you get access to these more profitable offers? just through networking online and in person?
Sorry dont mean to seem so cynical before i even begin. I know how important the right mindset is and am willing to put in all of my free time. Just want to be reasonable since i have a kid and FT job (50 hour/week). I know nothing is guaranteed but with my situation (complete newbie, limited hours to dedicate per week, but willing to work smart and hard) I want to get your thoughts on if getting into paid traffic in 2019 offers a decent shot at still making money, versus I should just focus on my career path (six figure job with good career growth). Just want to see theres a reasonable chance(not through a lucky break) the time and money invested won't be in vain as paid traffic gets more competitive and dominated by the superaffiliates, and traffic sources get more strict.
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