Super Affiliates - The #1 Skill For $$$$ (22)
I am curious in this one...
For you guys that consistently are generating revenue through marketing - what is the #1 skill you’ve learned during the years that without it you would have a hard time making money?
Media buying?
Competitive intelligence
Being techy
Copywriting
Or anything else?
Interesting to see if there is a common skillset for all top guys.
(I know that you need to know all of these together but ONE is always the most important, so which one is it for you?)
Simple answer: Mindset
I wouldn't call me an extremely good marketer, I also don't like working too much, I am not creative at all but I have a mindset that makes and keeps me confident to succeed.
On the other hand I also wouldn't call me a super affiliate but rather a guy who just runs that stuff successful for pretty long time.
Also from the work with beginners in my coaching I can see different people with different mindests.
And when you question your work, have too many concerns or start something with thoughts like "it probably will fail anyway" then you mostly won't succeed.
With everything I do I am 100% it will work, otherwise I wouldn't do it.
When it fails it's ok, it's part of the game.
But it wouldn't keep me away from starting the next thing with the same confidence.
Media Buying, copywriting, tech stuff...
These are all things you can outsource and get other people to do it for you but your mentality is something you just have to have yourself.
Learned: test test test (persistance and patience?), never asume
Strenght: marketing/creative, consumer behaviour/psychology
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For me #1 is not to be afraid to spend money for tests. You can spend $3000 for tests and get -80%, but then optimize and have +$30000. I know many guys who spend $30 for traffic and write everywhere: "Ah, it doesn't work, AM is dead, Pop, Push are dead'. So if you're afraid to spend, you won't get big profits. Where are big money - there are big costs.
"If you dont know, you dont know" - netgalaxy.
It is all about competitive intelligence.
Agreed with @mrbraun, most affiliates i've seen fail are the ones who were too afraid of losing money instead of being afraid of missing out on the opportunity to make money.
I'm by no means a "super affiliate", but I was able to turn this into a full time business for myself and my take would be having deeper understanding of a traffic source and/or vertical.
I see affiliates jump from one traffic source to another every week, never really giving much time to fully understand how to work with either of them.
Having a deep understanding of a traffic source / vertical will increase one's campaign success rate significantly IMO. I know it worked for me
Originally Posted by daanja
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Another vote for mindset.
The ability to set goals, commit to them, and continue to persevere though the ups and downs is something that's easier said than done.
Lot of great answers on here.
I'm still mastering IM so definitely not an expert on this subject, but for both IM and business in general I'd throw out "writing skills".
Whether it's copywriting or whether it's communicating via email or Skype with business associates, just being able to craft words effectively is a hugely important skillset that I think we take for granted.
Makes me unbelievably grateful to my parents for instilling a love of reading and writing in me, and makes me respect you non-native English speakers who navigate this world in a language that isn't your first. I've been creating some lp's in languages I don't speak the last few days, and man it's just a different world- very intimidating not knowing what anything says and constantly have to double-check things in google translate, etc.
Big up for @mrbrauns too, can't expect to make any money if you're vice gripping every dollar flowing out your bank account and it directly effects your mood for the worst. You have to let it flow, if you don't you're extremely limiting your experience and the rewards of success you hear on this forum and online will never manifest for you because its fundamentally broken, there is no reward here without initial risk.
And its not a $100 here, $50 here, $80 here sort of risk - most people in the world can do that, but I completely agree with you mate, you gotta be prepared to put a few thousand on the line when getting into a traffic source and simply trust the process that through optimisation, dedication and learning from errors you can turn around and utilise the hyooooge volume of the internet to turn the investment around fast.
Most forget how ruthless standard business models can be and the money you need to dish up in the beginning, it can take a long time to get positive returns on your money, let alone if you do at all lol. College is another example, the majority of the world is willing to spend 3-4 years of educating themselves and paying tuitions of $20-40k a year, to hopefully land a job one day and earn $50-100k. Please don't come into this industry expecting to make millions or dare say it even 50k from a $500-1k investment fast.
Mindset and competitive analysis are other pillars, understanding why the stuff you see on spy-tools is working, enables you to even better your approach and mindset to continue going even when you have back to back to back fails and beyond. I truly don't feel like I have any major stand out skillset, apart from showing up every day, even when it has at times stacked up completely against you - The information and practice of the information is out there for everyone to see, but inner confidence and belief you've gotta bring to the table
+1 mindset.
IMO its by far the most important thing. If I was in heavy debt, without electricity, without a computer, and without a phone and I could have only one thing it'd choose mindset.
It's a combination off all you mentioned + sometimes there is also element of luck involved.
However, the more you try, the more lucky you will get.
ie. the more campaigns you launch, offers and angles you test, the higher is the chance that you will find succes.
I also agree with having the right mindset and not being afraid of spending enough money.
I see it all the time around me: people try this and that, spend just couple of $ and call it a day.
While I'm persistent and I'm focusing on the same thing, they move to another traffic source or vertical ... then after 2-3 months come back to the first source they started with and so on until they are out of cash.
In no way this game is easy, but if you persist and focus, you will be rewarded.
Another one for mindset.
IMO the hardest part about affiliate marketing is dealing with "failure" it can be really crippling.
It doesn't matter how good of a copywriter, coder or media buyer you are, you're still going to fail at times.
If you have a "growth mindset" you'll be able to deal with challenges and "failure" like a champ.
It's a motivation killer. But just know that EVERY successful affiliate has had to deal with it.
Most people who "fail" at AM, fail because their focus is to make money quickly or not to lose money.
If they shifted their focus over to learning instead, then it would take a lot of the emotion out of it, therefore better decision making, therefore a higher likelihood to make money.
Originally Posted by kinged
always have something extra the insures the user makes as much actions as possible
#1 - Mindset
As others have mentioned already, mindset is the single most important key. If you don't believe your self that you can achieve 5 figure profit days, then you never will.
#2 - Obsession and dedication
A pattern I often see with successful people from any kind of industry (gaming, online business or even offline), people who are obsessed with something tend to be most likely very successful at something. I would say its a mix of spending easily 60-100 hour weeks of doing something, without even realising it and enjoying every minute of it. I am sure many affiliates here can relate to all the hours they grind away reading follow alongs, tutorials and trying new stuff when getting started. If this feeling lasts for a few years, it is inevitable that you don't see any major success.
#3 - Being humble and don't be afraid to share
I don't know how many people I have seen coming and going asking for advice, but not willing to even share losing creatives. Majority of my affiliate career and pretty sure of many others were based on info and knowledge exchanged with other fellow people here. Give without ever expecting anything in return and you will receive back at some point later in life. It might be just a tip of a new hot traffic source, a new vertical or some help with angles/creatives that could potentially make you six figures. All just because you helped this other person at some point in their life when they needed it.
+1 for Mindset - As bad as this sounds this is the key you need you need in order to unlock your potential.
+1 for Obsession - IMO this is the core driver and the right word to use - obsession. Or at least it always has been for me, just hits home. I'd go completely batshit crazy if I can't manage to learn how, why and what makes something work and especially if I can't get it to work after I understand it - it just drives me nuts and eats me from the inside 24/7 and I cannot stop thinking about it.
I will not eat, sleep or rest until I have it figured out (figuratively speaking, although in some cases I have done these things, not recommended, your health should always come first). I don't have the rights words to describe obsession but this sort of drive is, I guess, partially being stubborn as a donkey, extremely persistent, determined/dedicated and self-competitive(??) as a person. Can confirm this from my gaming teenage years too - fiercely competitive to the point where I'd lose on purpose just so I could see my opponent's weaknesses and patterns and then literally play for months non-stop perfecting my skills until I defeat them - lose a few battles but always win the war type of approach.
Same thing with AM - dealing with the fear of losses in the beginning was hard but now there's no emotion involved. Eyes always target-locked on the goal and mistakes and failures are just a way for you to learn.
Originally Posted by mrbraun
Hope this will get some more replies, great thread! 
+1 for obsession
I definitely still very new in affiliate marketing but able to generate some income online for years using my own ecom stores via SEO.
100% agree that you need to do something that u really love and passionate with, this way u wont feels like tired, want to give up.
its the unlimited amount of energy that ur inner self can bring to push you to read tutorials, videos, try the methods u learnt online.
honestly all the method and tools are already out there, many are free. its all about us.
recently the book slight edge by jeff olson helped me so much and strongly recommends to friends out there to have a look
one key message in that book is, do the one thing that will compound and in return, you will have massive result. not just about affiliate marketing or money, its everything in life --- relationship, friendship, health and etc.
just my 0.2 and i learned a lot from this post too
Determination, persistence and passion are key. I never succeeded when I was half-assing it, when I always had in the back of my mind that it was destined to fail. I took a break and then came back mid last year with the mindset that I was going to succeed no matter what. I devoured all the information I could, launched campaigns every waking moment and tried, tried, tried until it paid off and I started seeing $xxx then $xxxx days. Of course skills like ad-optimization, copywriting and programming comes into the equation but the number one key is to be determined and give it your all. You'll never succeed if you don't take it seriously.
My number one skill: #1 Network/Connections
Long time ago when my accounts died, an affiliate friend told me about a very good proxy service.
This little piece of info helped me keep going strong for 2 more years.
The #1 Skill: Time Management.
If you're working for yourself, there are a lot of things that are easy to do... and not to do. You have ultimate freedom. You can wake up when you want, go to bed when you want, and have no boss breathing down your neck.
This is what many call "the paradox of freedom," where the freedom can make your life GREAT and can also make you MISERABLE.
If you choose to waste your time playing video games and sleeping, you're going to become miserable when you see how bad your productivity has been. If you choose to use your time wisely, you may found yourself on the flip side.
The top affiliates I work with are smart with their time. Some choose to work 60+ hours a week. Many choose to work a couple of hours a day by working their asses off for those couple of hours, then go enjoy their lives.
Regardless of the amount of time you choose to work, be sure to WORK during that time.
What's "work?" It's not answering email. Not chatting with friends on social media. It's doing things that will put money into your bank account:
- Creating new campaigns.
- Optimizing existing campaigns.
- Testing traffic sources.
Don't waste activity for productivity. I have to remind myself of this on a daily basis. Make a list, get that done, and avoid time-killing distractions!
It's hard to do... but it's possible.
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