I was pretty busy sorting stuff out at home before travelling down to Spain for 3 weeks Maria!

So far so good!

I may not be chiming in as often as usual though... let's see how things go!

Always appreciate hearing from you as well my friend!

Cheers!

👍🥂

End of May and the first couple of weeks of June is always our first poolside barbie trip of the summer Maria!!

Spain as usual but I would love to get back to Greece though!!

I'm the jealous one here!!

I await further info my friend and very much appreciated!

Cheers!!

👍🥂🍻

He does have a Greek wife after all Mariaster!!

I'm still jealous though!!

👍🥂

That is a great plan my friend!

See you there!!

👍🥂

It's going to have to wait until I get back from Spain at least Mariaster!!!

👍🥂

Not a bit of it my friend....

When I get back the seriously HOT days will just about begin unfortunately.....

Worst time of the year for me....

👍🥂🥵🥵

Good morning Maria,

It's always a pleasure to read your blog posts, Maria!

Everything is okay this end, thank you. We are looking forward to going to Greece very soon.

I'm sorry that your husband has been under the weather, maybe you should have spent more time on the beach! It sounds like you had a really busy holiday! I hope you both get back to normality quickly.

It's amazing that when we read the Bible, we can often see things that we didn't see before.

A very happy Sunday to you.

Roy

Good morning Maria,

It's good to hear from you, as always! We are very fortunate, I have to say that we don't get to Greece as much as I would like, despite it not being far away. We are relatively close to the airports at both ends, which is ideal. And it's only normally 2.5 to 3 hours in the air, I know there are the other bits to deal with, but it's not bad!

I can't remember how long your flight was and if you flew directly. I know that New York to London is around 6 1/2 to 8 hours. So I am guessing your flight is probably 10 hours plus.

I hope you both make a quick recovery and get your strength back.

Have a great day.

Roy

Hello again Maria,

My guess wasn't too far out! You're a little bit further away than we are from Greece!

As we get older, it appears that age makes a big difference! I'm glad your daughter has bounced back quickly!

I really like it when I'm sitting at the airport waiting for a flight and it's pouring down with rain in the UK. I know normal terms that I will be in much better weather in a very short time! However, this year is the most unsettled weather I have ever seen in Greece, hopefully, that will change soon!

I think it will be around two weeks in July. However, I would like to try and get to Greece for a few days in June. When the lockdowns were on, not many people were flying, I managed to get a flight for £9.99 and that covered me for everything! I only had a small bag for luggage as I already have things over in Greece! I went the following month and the price had gone up to £13.99, how shocking!! I never thought that I would be able to get a flight so cheap!

We came back from Greece a couple of years ago with Jet2. My wife received a phone call to ask if we were coming to the airport as we were the only two people on the plane! I thought my wife had made a mistake! I don't suppose that will ever happen again! We had four air hostesses looking after us and the captain came out to speak to us! Apparently, the captain said on one occasion, he had flown with one person on the plane! I guess the plane has to get back to the airport for the next flight; however, many people are on the flight!

Enjoy your Sunday.

Roy

PS: I hope I have rambled too much!

I don't know if you have a few budget airlines in the States, we have a few here in the UK. From time to time, I see very special offers, although they are not flying somewhere where I want to go. I think the flight was so cheap as not many people were flying, but the company still had to the flight.

Prices vary for return flights, normally anything between £60 and £200 depending on the time of year, so not too bad.

Last year I went for four months running, as my wife was already over there. Even for a long weekend, it's very doable! Of course, in the States, you have so many places with different climates, you almost don't need to fly to Europe or elsewhere. On the other end of the scale, I guess it's good to see something different.

It's good to chat.

Roy

That's interesting, Maria! This is the problem; often, budget flights don't fall at the right time, maybe that's something you can do later on!

I think it's time to make a video!

All the best,

Roy

Really! I'm surprised, but it is not a bad idea! Yes, you can take advantage of those budget airlines and enjoy yourselves.

This is a video for my newest channel, in general they have a newsworthy item, which is normally gloomy, unfortunately. However, I offer hope in the Christian faith offers a solution to the problem!

Roy

I keep trying, Maria! Sometimes I wonder, however, my faith is strong and that helps a lot.

On another channel that I have about Internet marketing, I enjoy creating videos, is something that I have a passion for and it's good to be able to help others. It is just getting time to do everything!

Roy

It certainly does, Maria!

How is your website going? I hope things are moving forward!

Enjoy your Sunday.

Roy

Good morning Maria,

I'm really sorry to hear about your website, as I know you were putting so much effort into it. I have never liked Amazon's affiliate program; can you not find a better affiliate program?

I don't know about your niche, but I do know that here in the UK that we almost have an affiliate program for every single niche. I would take a look at other affiliate programs and see what they offer. For your interest, I have made minimal commissions from Amazon! Just carry out a Google search for affiliate programs in your niche!

I must admit I didn't like the way Amazon lowered their commissions when we had Covid! That was a period when many website owners could earn more money from their websites. To me, that was a very devious plan on Amazon's part! So I do understand where you're coming from, and I would definitely look for an alternative affiliate program! Especially as you have been working so hard.

I think a lot of people are following Kyle's PPC training. PPC is quite complex, but we are learning from the right man. My Webmaster has carried out the majority of my PPC campaigns; he knows the platform well, as in Google pay-per-click.

I want to encourage you, Maria! Every successful business owner runs into problems all the time; we have to overcome them, find alternatives and keep moving forward! Sometimes that's not easy, but I know you can do it!

I would also like to be moving forward faster; however, I have an offline business that keeps me quite busy. It's good that it pays the bills; however, it does limit the amount of time that I can spend working online. We just have to do what we have to do!

Wishing you a very happy Monday.

Roy

Good morning Maria,

One of the many good things about the Wealthy Affiliate platform is that we can encourage and help each other. I really want to see you succeed, as I see you putting in so much effort!

Out of interest, did the people who shopped from your website use their own device as in computer or phone etc.? If they did, I can't see why Amazon would question the sales, unless they all happened at once. Which may have sent alarm bells to them.

I'm almost 100% sure you'll be able to find alternative affiliate programs.

Oh, I didn't know it was Memorial Day today in the US, that's good to celebrate.

All the best.

Roy

I don't know much about Amazon's terms and conditions, but from what I understand, they are not very clever. When Amazon first started and they wanted to gain traction, I believe that their affiliate program was brilliant. However, now they have their foot under the table, it does not appear that they care. As you rightly mention, this is not right!

Over the last couple of years, I try and not to use Amazon, I try and find someone who sells the same products but not Amazon, as I feel they have become too large. I would also prefer to help someone smaller. Of course, the Amazon website is brilliant because it has so many products on there and they do next-day delivery. But I still think is good to look for alternatives, I'm not talking about affiliate marketing I'm talking about people who are purchasing from Amazon.

You are doing the right thing, Maria, moving on, but I would move on by changing the affiliate program and keep writing on your website. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised by what the alternative affiliate programs are!

All the best.

Roy

It's a pleasure to help, Maria, and it is also a pleasure to see people succeed.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how your website builds momentum when you keep adding content! Don't keep checking stats, just keep writing!

Roy

That's good, Maria!

That's what we are here for!

Keep moving forward and have a great day.

Roy

Good morning Maria,

It's always a pleasure, Maria and it's good to encourage others.

I hope you have a great day and keep moving forwards.

I'm off to a country show today, I go there every year, it's called the Suffolk show, for your info! I always enjoy this show, it's a great day out and I could happily spend two days there, but time doesn't permit it!

All the best.

Roy

Good morning Maria,

I hear you, I always enjoy a country show; it kind of shows off our heritage and makes us grateful for farmers and people who helped to move things forward over the years. I don't actually take anything to sell there, it's actually quite expensive to have a stand at the Suffolk show.

That's interesting that you made scented candles, it's amazing what people do, I do find it very interesting! Does your husband still make them?

We should be going to Greece in July, however, we are hoping to go for a few days in June.

Wishing you a great day.

Roy

Good morning Maria,

I hope you are all doing well and have fully recovered from your holiday!

We don't actually get to Greece quite as much as we would like, I haven't been since early March! However, I am very grateful indeed that we have the option to be able to go there!

We are both looking forward to going very soon!

I have always found it fascinating what people do for a living and for hobbies! I think it's very important that we have absorbing hobbies and something that we can enjoy. Gardening can be very therapeutic and very rewarding. Having the right tools can make the job so much more enjoyable!

Yes, keep following the training, keep blogging and I'm sure you will see some results.

Did you find another affiliate program?

Have a great day.

Roy

Hello Maria,

How are you doing?

I must admit I'm still shocked at how cheap those two flights were, I don't know if it will ever happen again!

I can definitely recommend a visit to Thessaloniki, Maria. You can also go to Halkidiki, which is not that far from Thessaloniki. If you google it or look on the map, you will see that there are what's known as the three fingers. The first and second fingers are for anyone to visit, but the third finger is for men only as it is covered in monasteries! It's a fantastic coastline!

That's great that Tom enjoys his garden, and its also fantastic to have fresh vegetables. Good for him!

I'm glad that you are getting back into YouTube, Maria. You could always do what I do with YouTube videos and not edit them! I do occasionally edit, but in general, I just make them raw! That's good that AI can give you ideas.

I thought you were going to look for a new affiliate program for your website rather than using the Amazon affiliate program. I think that would be a good option.

We will be going to Greece in July, but we are hoping that we may get there for a few days this month.

Have a great day.

Roy

Hello Maria,

I hope you're doing well, everything is well this end, thank you.

That plane fare was unbelievably cheap, I don't know if it'll ever happen again. They are a budget airline that flies within Europe, they like to have their planes full!

I must admit that your Amazon experience is very disappointing, however, I have never been a lover of their affiliate program.

I wish you every success with your YouTube videos. Don't forget that Roope and a few others have classes about YouTube.

It's good for all of us to have absorbing hobbies.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Roy

Good morning Maria,

I hope that you had a great Sunday.

Of course, those plane fares are from the UK to Europe, I'm guessing it may be different when you have to fly across the pond! Although when you both eventually retire, you may be able to go at short notice and reap some benefits! Just avoid school holidays, as the prices always go up.

I understand your situation regarding Amazon, the great thing is there are plenty of other affiliate programs available!

It's good that you want to do YouTube, it's a good platform providing you go with their narrative. If you're doing news-type items or using Christian principles, like I am doing, YouTube may not necessarily like it.

It certainly worked for Roope, however, he has been extremely consistent and persevered. Just remember that it is still good to have a website, other platforms can take you down without any notice at all! At least with your website, you own it!

Have a great day.

Roy

Good morning Maria,

My apologies for the late reply, it's been a really busy week!

That sounds like a useful contact to have someone in London!

That's good, it's always good to have our own platform. However, we can help our websites by using platforms like YouTube.

Have a great weekend.

Roy

Good morning Maria,

That's very true; summer does seem to be very busy.

We are not yet, my wife will be going to Greece in a couple of weeks.

That's good that you are studying editing, Maria, that's a good thing to learn. Everything takes time to learn, but the more we do it, the easier it becomes. Out of interest, what software are you using to edit your videos?

Have a great day.

Roy

Hello Maria,

I was hoping to go in June, but unfortunately, I don't think time is going to permit, which is a shame! However, I will be going in July.

That's good, I don't know about capcut, but I'm sure Canva is very good. I use Canva for YouTube thumbnails, but I know it's capable of much more! I also use Camtasia and Snagit for screen recording and editing. It's always interesting to know what other people use for video editing.

Have a great day.

Roy

I can imagine that, Maria! Definitely!

Myra 💜