Don't Quit! Be Patient.
This is a little reminder to myself and those of us who are tired ot writing and seeing no results yet...even after a year or 2.
I had a deep think over January, about what I could do better with this affiliate business. I thought of my strengths and weaknesses.
I noticed a trend that had grown from a habit I had when younger...
It went something like this....When a book came out from the same author, I bought and read it very fast. I amassed a library of books. Then one day my Dad asked "Can you remember what you read?" The answer was "No".
Then I started collecting Fitness magazines, then when they piled up high over the years, I disposed of them.
Lesson 1: I like new opportunities and rarely look back on what I have learnt from old ones. However, I now read books over and over again to pick up new points within the book
Lesson 2: If I was excelling in a subject at school, I focused on that and left other subjects til 2 months from exam time to revise. This put me under a lot of pressure. As I grrew older, I continued this and realised I had carried the same attitude into affiliate marketing. I know how to create a winning ad, but have weak Call to Actions and marketing skills. So I leave them alone until a "later date"....
I do know how to tell a good story though (bonus!)
Lesson 3: I throw money at courses thinking they will teach me more about affiliate marketing strategy. But now take a reality check as to the style of delivery. Are they talking too fast in their videos, so I can't pick up the training easily? A magnetic, slower-speaking teacher is easier to listen to and take notes from.
A hyper-over-excited person is not. In fact, their fast speech and exaggerative hand movements can be very off-putting. I may be so mesmerised by what they are saying, I DO NOT take notes. Or more importantly, only pick up on a few points to take note of.
Lesson 4: I realised my site was more of a library where people could browse on useful and interesting information, but did not linger on to buy. Questions were asked and I replied.
So what went wrong? I could not deliver the products I wrote about, because half my affiliate links were either not working, or the product I reviewed was no longer on sale...(more excuses).
So by December, I was burnt out, frustrated and wondered what to do next. I discovered Clickfunnels and realised that funnels, aka Clckbank style, are very attractive and make sense.
They are more focused on customers buying intentionally on a recurring basis. Wealthy Affiliate have the same idea, but I found that writing 30 pages on each site and no sales during 2 years was rather disheartening for me.
I listened to Jim Edwards who said he had spent 4 years building a website, got some results, but when he changed his 20 page site to a mini-site (of just 1 long sales page), his income went up 200%. Before then, it had been enough to cover the monthly house payments, the bills and the car payments.
Lesson 5: These days, people have an attention span of a gnat. If it doesn't flash, they pass. Videos "seem" to be the way forward. However, I love Wealthy Affiliate and will re-design my site for better marketing purposes. I will now learn the art of turning my website into a funnel. Because it simply works! I've seen and bought too many Clickbank products over the last 14 years to know that it really does.
The essence of what I am saying will still be there, but it will not be so wordy. It will be more focused on product sales, so I will have stronger Calls To Action and people will not get lost on my site.
Email sequencing is something I learned from Magistudios (Live Events) and I will be forever grateful to him for teaching me that. It is because of that training that I understand what a funnel is.
Lesson 6: Even if I do not know the answer to a problem in my business, I will quickly find someone who understands the problem and can advise or help me.
So, if you are thinking of quitting and find you have a reason to because it "feels like nothing is working right". Remember this:
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
Recent Comments
11
Stella,
Thank you for sharing your story. You have put a lot of thought and analysis into this post.
Like you, I had a deep think over January/February. I think that the effectiveness of funnels probably depends on the website and niche.
I tend to prefer websites that allow me to explore "the library." I dislike getting caught up in sales funnels. So, in the big picture - I have maybe purchased one clickbank product ever.
It sounds like you have a great plan of action.
Thank you for the reminder of the importance of patience.
Hi Sondra,
I think both websites and funnels are useful, but we have to think of the impact and intent of each one.
At least you know which method of communication channel you prefer (websites).
It just never occurred to me why Clickbank products marketed so easily compared to other digital products on on other affiliate networks. It is solely because they use sales funnels.
I need to make a steady, growing income - so have had to change my tactics. I have also been following Dylan Rieger (fellow WA member). He realised that he had to change his tactics as well if success was going to happen.
We live to learn!
Much love,
Stella
See more comments
Great information.Thank you for shaaring.
Thank you for appreciating it!