Are you a driver or a passenger?

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Have you ever noticed how differently drivers and passengers behave in a car?

Yesterday I had to make a 400-mile round trip to help my wife move some things between university accommodations. During the journey back I found myself thinking about how passengers and drivers can be compared to affiliate marketers like us.

The driver


The driver is constantly watching the road ahead, watching for potential hazards and directing the vehicle to follow the road to its destination.

When a pot-hole in the road appears, they'll do their best to avoid it and when other cars pose a threat, the driver will take appropriate action to keep the car and everyone in it safe.

A good driver knows that distractions are dangerous and could result in an accident that endangers everyone.

The passenger

The passenger is often content to look out of the window, watching the world go by. They have no control over their destination or when they will reach it. They just trust that the driver will get them there.

The journey might be boring so the passenger will distract themselves with fun things like using their mobile phones or try to talk to distract the driver with conversation.

What about you?


I'm sure that most of you can see the analogy I'm trying to make straight away.

If you're going to be successful in pretty much anything, you need to act like the driver of a car. And by driver, I mean a good one, not those nutters that think that the rules of the road apply to someone else. They'll crash and burn sooner or later.

As a driver you'll be:

  • Driving towards a destination
    Do you remember those questions Kyle asked right at the start (how much would you be happy earning?) That's your destination. :)
    As you drive to your destination, you'll adjust the car's course to keep going in the right direction. For your websites, that means keeping an eye on trends - what are people talking about or searching for in your niche? Write posts to address those topics.

  • Watching your speed
    You don't want to drive so slowly that you'll never get there. Google will be slow to notice you if you only publish one post a month.
    You also don't want to drive too fast. By trying to write a post a day, you'll create lots of content but it might not be your best and you run the risk of burning out.

  • Watching out for hazards
    There's no point writing posts for keywords that are saturated with competition. Your competition is your biggest hazard. Help your visitors to find your content by avoiding hazards such as keyword saturation and making sure your keywords are prominently displayed in your first paragraph and throughout your headings.

    If you're using Jaaxy, that means average searches of over 50 and a QSR or under 100 but ideally, under 50.

  • Warn pedestrians that you're there
    So many people just step out in front of your car because they don't know you're there and they're too busy looking at something else. Give them a honk to get their attention! In this case, that might be posting to social media when you publish a new post or, if you're lucky enough to have a mailing list, sending out an email summarizing your new posts that week.

  • Avoiding distractions
    One of the worst things a driver can do is allow themselves to get distracted as they drive. It might be a lovely landscape out of their side window or using their mobile phone.
    When you're trying to write content for your website, don't let Facebook messages, your mobile phone or the TV distract you. Turn them off or work somewhere else. That way you can focus on writing your best content that's going to get you to your destination. Good content attracts true fans.

  • Remembering to watch the fuel gauge
    Just as a car can't run without gas in the tank, you can't operate very well on little sleep or by skipping meals. Your success depends upon your health being the best it can be so take care of yourself. Your website will still be there in the morning. :)

The last thing you want to be in affiliate marketing is a passenger.

As a passenger you have no control over whether you'll reach your destination. You might try to nag the driver to go where you want to go but they don't have to listen to you.

A passenger is easily distracted by every shiny thing they see through the window. They'd like to get to the destination but they're not aware if the driver is even going to get them there.

A passenger is totally dependent upon the actions of the driver. They just have to hope that the driver is going to the same place that they want to get to!

Be the driver!


Too many people online think that they can achieve an income by relying on other people to get them there. They're not willing to put in the effort to find success. Instead, they fall for one get-rich-scheme after another.

Here at WA, everyone is very open about the fact that you have to regularly post content, two or three times a week for a period of months before you'll start to get the traffic you need to make a reasonable income.

IT TAKES WORK BUT IT DOES WORK.

Drive safely, folks! :)


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Recent Comments

26

But now we have Garmins and mobile devices for passengers!

A SatNav is only as reliable as its last update. ;-)

I like the analogy.

Derek

Thanks Derek. :)

OutStanding!! thanks for the post

Thanks - I'm glad you liked it. :)

Love this post, such an enjoyable read and a great reminder at the same time. Thanks Phil

Thanks Heidi - I really enjoyed writing this one after thinking so much about it during the drive yesterday.

Great post and love the analogy mostly I am driving however I do have my passenger days, I am not as regular about posting as I should be, got plenty of stuff in the grey matter somehow I stumble about getting it out

Sometimes I have to wait for the right moment to be able to get my ideas out otherwise it just doesn't flow.

I've been surprised that on some days, I've actually written about something completely different than the intended subject because that's the way the inspiration took me. I just let it happen now and try to retrofit low-hanging keywords to the surprise post. :)

Sounds a bit like me lol think I have too much on my mind half of the time

Amazing again Kettei. You are one of many
that lays out great information for folks that are
trying to absorb more than they can handle. My
wife told me that her father worked for Missouri
Pacific until the diesel trains came along. My point is
every time they made a trip her Mom kept saying
to her Dad, Hanson this car is not on tracks. Keep
your eyes on the road. I am finally gaining enough
courage to bite into this huge steak that WA has
placed in front of us. Oh No, I am now craving
steak and eggs for breakfast. Oh well,
Thanks for helping us again.
James

Ha ha - you're welcome James.

I'm glad I've literally just eaten or you'd have made me hungry. :)

Great post you hit a lot of topics that don't even enter the minds of people trying to succeed in online busineddes. Great job. Hope to hear Moe from you.

Thanks Dorothy - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I'm afraid you probably will hear more from me.
Since I became active on WA, I've really developed a love of writing. :)

I love your analogy Kettei, its a great one.
You have the WA'ers that watch other's succeed and comment (passengers), and then the ambitious WA'er's that learn to apply the training, take action and succeed themselves (drivers).

Not a typical analogy, well-stated!

Thanks Kaju -
I'm one of those that failed to take action for a great deal of time so I know how easy it can be.
One of the things I'm grateful for is whatever caused the shift in my thinking to get me to take action. :)

Sometimes it takes that shift to happen for us longer than for others. What is most important is that at some point we realize we need to shift and start being "the Drivers"

Glad you are "The Driver" now.
I am too.

Yes agree, brilliant analogy, very good post Phil..
~MJ

Thanks Martin!

I like your profile pic (I'm a total coffee fan). :)

What a great analogy!
Thank you for the great advice.
Debs

Thanks Debbie!

It's weird what I end up thinking about on long journeys, when I'm the only person in the car. :)

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