Biggest Wastes of Time Learning or Doing AM (Mistakes, Biggest Misuses of Time etc.) (32)
Biggest Wastes of Time Learning or Doing AM (Mistakes, Biggest Misuses of Time etc.)
What is your experience with learning AM so far? What have been the biggest wastes of time looking back a long the way? Either for learning it, or for getting on with it?
It's often what we stop doing, rather than what we are doing, that makes the biggest difference.
I'm a newb to all this (only a few months in AM, few years in IM). But I'll throw out my two biggest mistakes so far.
1. Not running offers that are 'cashflow secure': By cashflow secure I mean you get paid *at all*, or you get paid in a timely fashion, and that your leads aren't getting shaved too hard. I've already been burnt by this a few times in all these ways which ultimately is 'demotivating and frustrating' as well as limiting your cashflow that can be invested.
I feel like smashing my head against the wall (literally) to drum this lesson in.
How I [try] to currently avoid it based on tips I gathered on STM and elsewhere:
1. Select offers and networks based on professionalism/ trust first (not highest payout). Better - get a trusted source to refer you the offer (e.g. your buddy who has been running it for a while without issues).
2. Split test several networks for the same offer from Day 1 of campaign - you will quickly see large variation.
3. Stop the traffic at first sign of problem: If a network is 2 days late paying, or making weird excuses or just not replying to emails. Stop the traffic immediately.
2. Wasting time with 'technical' frustrations: ALOT of time can be wasted messing around with code, installations, setups etc. etc. especially if you're not IT background. This is something I learned in IM also.. so I've had a while to learn my lessons.
Today I approach it by:
1. Before you get submerged in a technical task research it properly (e.g. in STM forums) and pull the information together into a clear process for you to follow OR a system you can buy to plug-in and go.
2. Check in your research for 'frustration / bugs/ issues' - are there a lot? Warning sign.
3. Check how easy the process is to execute given your tech background? Another warning sign if it looks a little beyond reach.
4. Decision Time:
A) Is it straightforward? bug free? --> go ahead and do it yourself.
B) Are there 'warning signs'? either:
- Buy or rent a complete functioning system or service... this is always my preferred option as long as the cost isn't prohibitive. I usually go for the best/ simplest.
- OR if that isn't possible: Hire an Eastern European expert in it from Odesk (always better than indians or elsewhere in my experience)
What have you guys regretted wasting time on most? 
An *avoid* list would be really helpful or at least a mitigating 'wasted time' list.
Sitting reading threads on the forums too much. I'm a part of a few private communities solely for the purpose of learning, and I used to find my golden nuggets, but then get distracted by the newest posts. Not any more though 
.
Discipline yourself to spend a limited amount time on the forums if reading for pleasure, or immediately log out after finding answers to your questions and enact on it!
@andy_a: Not only is your name good, so is your comment! It is so easy to get absorbed with the latest follow on and when you look up it is getting dark!
I think one of the biggest mistakes, although I suspect it is to be expected is spending weeks testing campaigns on a small daily budget and then scaling slowly! I suspect that the really successful affiliates know there stuff and are not scared to throw a serious budget behind a converting campaign!
The other thing I have realised is that you have to get clever on Angles. Let's face it there are 1000's of affiliates all trying to kill it on POF with photos of large breasted blondes promising amazing sex to 60 year old over weight men!
So just copying a Follow On is not a good thing!
I am on day 31 of my journey and luckily most of my technical issues are out of the way now! I have most of my systems in place for quickly gathering Keywords, designing LP's, Squeeze pages, Optin In's etc as well as my Geo Redirect scripts, my tracking and my ROI Projections!
So in month 2 it will all be about the numbers! Launching and scaling!
jumping from offer to offer/traffic sources and relying on affiliate manager
The Biggest Mistake I did was not expanding the business into different niches and just eating the profit merrily 
Also, when I get anywhere between $500-1k, i feel content and dont try to scale the offer( still struggling through it)
Being too comfortable and lazy to scale the campaign further. :X
1) Taking people's advice (especially in IM forums) too seriously - most of the people have no real, quantifiable idea why they make money online which makes their advice an opinion.
2) Slacking off when it comes to scaling campaigns - there's always another traffic source that can reach more people.
3) Not building enough relationships with network reps and traffic source reps.
@qhead: Amen!
That I didn't start with paid traffic when I did 12k/month with SEO. It would be easy to spend 5-7k/month on testing then...
My story completely. Instead just kinda sat back and watched the money roll in and got lazy. BUT hey its how we learn.
Originally Posted by patje72
Reason is affiliates starting out might have $500 budget and they keep offer hopping on different networks so soon they have $21 in A, $72 in B, $53 in C etc and they never get paid cos they didn't make threshold.
When starting out, PICK 1 TRAFFIC SOURCE, Pick 1 AFFILIATE NETWORK and make it work
Its easy to sit on facebook and forums all day refreshing and seeing the same shit all day long, break the habit and you'll get paid :P
@andyscraven : do you still want any plugins installed ? I hope you say NO....
-Treating profiting campaigns as "beer money" and being lazy while getting my main income from my full time job (outside AM).
-Being scared to lose money.
Fuck that noise.
Same boat here! But it's pretty good beer money... 
Originally Posted by doryphoros
This one is very simple.
The largest thing that held me back was poor planning. Not sitting down and saying where do I want to be in 5 years from now? What do I want my organization to look like from a structure, employee, revenue, etc .
Proper planning has made a huge difference in my life and it gives me a road map to make decisions off of.
In the affiliate business you can say things like "well I don't know how long this will last" or "it's so up and down". And yes these things are the case but if you build a plan you can take all that into consideration. More diversification of resources and time. In a high volatility business the best way to smooth out the bumps is be involved in multiple niches and traffic sources. Then having people to support those as well. Then creating systems that you can plug people into and easily train.
Life changing stuff if you really do it.
A lot of times in this business we just go with the flow and you can end up 5 years down the road in the same place you are this way. Always a bad idea.
Originally Posted by Smaxor
But I think what you've done is avoid the issue of "it's always changing" by planning on a higher level i.e. acquisitions and set up of systems and resources, and business structure (e.g. diversification etc.).
I'm summarizing what I understand are the common big ones being brought up in this thread so far:
1. FEAR: Scared of losing money, scared of innovating with new angles for bigger ROI
2. SELF DISCIPLINE: Wasting time on forums (procrastination), getting 'comfortable' too quickly, not committing/ sticking to a campaign until it works (1 traffic source + 1 offer)
3. INFORMATION QUALITY: Going in the wrong direction because of something you read or got told (e.g. aff manager, someone on the forums). This is a tough one to get round.
4. RELATIONSHIPS: Not building relationships with our business partners (aff managers, offer managers, traffic sources, other affs). All business is about relationships.
On this one "getting 'comfortable' too quickly" I have a suggestion. It's something I've never had and I believe I know why. Getting comfortable is about standards for yourself. In fact it's the opposite, I'm always looking up.
We each have an intrinsic 'standard for ourselves' - how much we should be earning, how much we are worth, how hot our GF is, how much we should enjoy work etc etc... It's a subconscious standard that feeds into every choice we make every day. Where we set the bar for our standards determines a lot of what we do on a subconscious level.
- If we feel we are below our bar/ standard - we fight to get up higher.
- If we feel we are above our bar/ standard or at it - we get lazy/ comfortable and stop working.
How can you inform/ control your standard rather than have them control you:
1. Create an environment that pressurizes your standards to be raised - we learn our standards from the people around us, the social circle we have put ourselves in. Who do you surround yourself with? How hard do they work? How much do they earn? Whether you know it or not that is influencing your standards every day.
2. Read/ study information and collect reference points that represent higher standards: Study the guys on STM that are making good money, make a chart of it, how much time it took them to get there. Stick it on your wall - now you have clarity about what is possible - and it's looking you in the face everyday.
I got this naturally because of the career and education I went into - a lot of the social circle that formed around me/ reference points are top Investment Banking, Management Consulting, VC etc. etc. Whenever I reconnect with these guys/ hang out... I'm automatically pressurized to raise my standards, because they are getting theirs raised and pressured constantly in their work settings and social circles too.
1. Trying PPV.
2. Falling behind on actual, lucrative programming work for my clients because I was trying PPV.
Originally Posted by d4rk
1. There are many examples of people making good money on PPV - so it's not a bad investment of time.
2. If you tried and stayed with it you'd make money once you've got up the learning curve - it only becomes a waste of time when you quit in the "DIP" - so you don't get the upside of learning at the other side in profitable campaigns.
3. Lucrative programming work is expensing your time to other people - you'll never make a lot of money at it - you only have 8 hours or so in the day to bill. There's Very Little to NO leverage. Thus no potential.
Originally Posted by weekendwarrior
An *avoid* list would be really helpful or at least a mitigating 'wasted time' list.127.0.0.1 reddit.com
in my windows' hosts file
Haha, that trick used to work for me. Nowadays it only takes me a few seconds to go in there and comment out the lines
Originally Posted by dario
My main problem is over-preparing.
Because of the small amount of time that I can give to my IM stuff, I always feel like I MUST prepare at least 4 angles: with 1 landing page for each angle, a rotation process for 5 headlines and 5 CTA, and 10 ads for each angle.
I prefer to prepare all this stuff BEFORE I launch the very first campaign, so I know I can switch easily during my IM time after my day job between each angle and creatives, instead of trying an angle first and see where it goes.
Most of the time, there are high chances for me to be disturbed for some reason during this *long* process (loss of motivation, loss of creativity etc.)
So, to me, one of my biggest waste of time in IM is definitely over-preparing.
One trick to limit social media...
100% disable Reddit, forums, etc. on your work computer.
Instead do all your social media on your iPad or tablet. What this does is kill the neural connections in your brain that link your computer with social media. Overtime you associate computer with work.
For the iPad I leave it in the further part of my house. So when I want to do a Reddit break, I don't really want to because I'm too lazy to get my iPad :-).
Originally Posted by dr_ngo
Originally Posted by weekendwarrior
Originally Posted by dr_ngo
could you reccommend me a good software to do this? I tried to find one a long time ago but had no luck.
Thanx
Finally I have a use for my iPad!
I'm going to CAPS this because i'm pretty much yelling these 2 things that instantly come to mind for me.
1. STICK TO 1 THING!
The more you jump around, the less money you'll make. Focus on 1 thing you feel has potential! So many people will tell you this for anything you do in life. Stick with something for a while before you call it quits.
2. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT
In fact its sometimes the opposite, the less perfect it is sometimes converts better. Don't waste time fixing small design flaws/tech issues, just put it up and test test test.
That's me!
Mr fing perfect.
But once I learn Ruby on Rails and C++ , I shall be good to go!
It's really just being afraid to fail at something new and maybe a subsequent loss of hope. It's safer on the shelf.
opendns.com
Originally Posted by stackman
Another waste of time (and this isn't always the nicest thing, but it's true) is trying to make connections with stupid people/people who don't know what they're doing. Make friends with people who are smarter than you.
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