There's a Cat or Dog for Every Person (And How This Relates to Affiliate Marketing)
The SPCA
My daughter and I volunteer at our local SPCA. We take the dogs out for walks, visit the cats and play with kittens. It's a pretty fun thing, especially for my daughter who LOVES all the animals.
It's interesting when I walk through there. There are so many different kinds of cats and dogs. There are big bruiser type dogs. There are little tiny dogs. (We kind of fell in love with one of those today!) There are big cats and baby cats, shy cats and playful cats.
Sometimes I walk around the cages and I think "Aw, that one's so cute!" And "Eeek! That one's kind of weird looking." The thing is, they all get adopted. Almost all of the animals are in and out of the shelter pretty quickly. (A GREAT thing because no one wants to be stuck in there for long.)
It Made Me Think
No matter what my opinion is of a particular cat or dog, there is a perfect person for them. Then that made me think about affiliate marketing.
There is a perfect person (or a perfect group of people) for whatever your topic is about! There are people with so many interests, ideas, thoughts and preferences out there in the world.
Do you ever get down that maybe your topic isn't quite right?
For me, I love my topic. (make money from home / Wealthy Affiliate - woo hoo!) But it's competive. And sometimes I see other websites and I think "UGH, their website is so good. How can I compete?"
And then there are times when I start feeling bad stepping in there with other Wealthy Affiliate promoters. We're trying to grab the same people, technically. But I realize it's OK.
It's just like those animals. Not everyone will want the one-eyed dog, but someone will. Not everyone will like MY site, but some will. Others will be attracted to another site that they resonate with.
There's a perfect group of people for my website. There's a group out there that will like the way that I write, or the way that I explain things.
And there's a perfect group of people for your website, too! There's enough room out there for everyone to be successful!
Don't Worry. Just Keep Going.
My Mom said she would never be able to volunteer in the shelter because she would be too sad. I used to feel a little sad too, but now that I know there is a perfect person for every animal, I feel good because I know each of them will find the right home.
My daughter and I don't worry about it anymore. We just keep going and do what we need to do. We know those animals will get adopted.
It's the same with your site. Don't worry about what's happening around you. Don't worry about the competition. (At least not too much. Of course, it's good to keep an eye out on things and to choose keywords you think you can rank for.)
Don't worry about stats and rankings and sales when you first get started. Keep your head down and keep working. Keep writing until you have a good base. Your voice is important. Your perfect people will find you!
It's a Big World Out There
Do you have a tendency to think small and say to yourself "How can I attract enough people to my site to make enough money?" I used to think that way.
I also used to think "How can all these animals get adopted? Some of them are missing a leg!"
Well, it's a big, big world out there.
In fact, it's a huge world full of people with all different kinds of likes. Just write the way that you enjoy about the topic you enjoy and let your people come to you.
- Christina
Recent Comments
30
Loved your post, Christina. Over the years I have adopted 5 cats and 6 dogs. One of my 2 most recent adoptees, Bigfoot George, a gorgeous orange Hemmingway cat, recently had to be re-homed when I moved into this apartment.
He currently lives on top of a mountain and is in his glory catching vermin at his new furever home. Broke my heart to have to part with him, but FUR, Feline Urgent Rescue, a no kill cat rescue here in Haywood County, found me the perfect home for him. I now volunteer at their gift shop that supports their no-kill shelter.
My other most recent family member, Leia, was a rescue from SC. She is a beautiful black lab/pointer mix. I believe she has been abused, and had not been socialized before she came to live with me. She is very shy, and initially was terrified of men, especially if they were wearing hats.
Living here has been very good for Leia. She is still initially shy, but now will go up to men and sniff their hands and allow them to pet her, if it is someone she has become acquainted with. Learning to trust has been difficult for her, but she had come a long, long way.
I do pet therapy and had hoped to train her for certification so we can go to the library for kids with difficulty reading to read to her. At this point, I still don't think she could pass the certification test due to her shyness, but her instructor has said that she has come so far, she thinks that eventually she will qualify. Time will tell, I guess. In the meantime, she is wonderful company for me.
Thanks for sharing about your pets! I know it's sad to re-home pets, but sometimes it's the best thing for all. And it sounds like your cat is probably living the life now!
Did Leia come from SC due to the hurricane?
I think it's awesome that you want to try to get her trusting enough to have kids read to her. That's really a win-win for all!
- Christina
No, I've had Leia for about 2 years now. Her former doggie mama had a huge promotion at work that required her to travel one week out of each month. She had 2 dogs and had to rehome both of them. Poor Leia suffered the loss of her doggie sister first, then the loss of her familiar home and mother. She wouldn't even let me touch her when I first got her, but she is doing much better now. She's a great watchdog, and also a wonderful companion.
Christina, you just point out the way people have a tendency to think in a certain way, let yourself to show your strength, and don't worry too much about the competition, competition will here all the time, by the way, I love animals, I did rescue some of them, I wish I could have more space to be able to have more.
I loved reading your post.
Jacqueline
Thanks, Jacqueline. I wish I had more space for more pets too. We already have 3 cats, 1 hamster and some fish. We're technically only supposed to have 2 cats, I think. But we have plenty of room for the third, so why not?
I want to take them all home with me! But then I would be up to my eyeballs in taking care of animals and I'd be left with no time to work on my website. :)
- Christina
You are right Christina!
That's the very essence of (affiliate) marketing.
To find the perfect "species" for your stuff ...
What a great way fur you and your daughter to contribute to your community. You are so right! I totally appreciate your analogy here :) I have a family of 7 with 24 legs :) 5 rescues. And 2 adults who pay the bills! Thanks for the reminder here! The world and offerings can seem small sometimes but yet opportunities do still exist everyday.
It is great that you volunteer at the SPCA. That is as worthy work as anything else. If everyone adopted a cat or dog and complied with a spay or neuter program the shelters would be empty. This should be our goal as we become successful with our businesses. It is important to help those that can't help themselves. There are eight billion people on the planet. We can all do something to ease some ones pain.
Trevor
Thanks, Trevor! My daughter truly loves spending time with the animals at the shelter. We had so much fun with a chihuahua today! He kept jumping up on his hind legs like a jumping bean.
I love when people adopt because so many animals need homes! But, as I mentioned in my post, so many people DO adopt. It's awesome!
The downside is that there's always another truckload of animals to fill the shelter up again. :(
- Christina
See more comments
nice analogy, very thoughtful -- thank you
Thanks for reading!
- Christina