That's a big shift I've had from years ago... monthly recurring of $20 or more and one-time earnings of $100 per more.

Affiliate programs for existing products & services will be included but, at this point, I am mainly interested in creating my own.

My mindset has shifted a lot the past few months as I have been on a sort of journey of self-discovery and reflecting on past experiences.

I used to be a big fan of email marketing and the power of it to "convert" more people into making a purchase. And now I am only interested in working with certain type of people. Serious people who want to make real change in their lives.

I don't want to spend time trying to "convert" people who struggle with a decision of spending $20 or even $1,000 to gain access to something that can improve their life. I kind of see it now as almost unethical to do it.

Because... if a person cannot see the value in something and readily buy it... they aren't ready. Maybe they shouldn't even make the purchase many times because they are in a bad position. So, is it really right to try to convert them to spend money when they have very little to spend?

It's like me... where my mind is... I spent the money on the WA annual membership no big deal at all. I recognized that $360 was ridiculous low amount for anything legit. And I likely won't even be using this model at all. But I have no regrets making the purchase.

In the past several weeks, I spent over $100 on books on mindset. I see it as a very worthwhile investment. Studying those books again (I mean those kind of books again) is already making a huge positive difference for me.

On the 1st of the year I spent over $200 joining an online business program and soon will spend over $2,000.

Nobody twisted my arm to do any of those things. Nobody needed to convert me in anyway. Nobody really even tried. I mean perhaps they would have but I already made the decision myself before emails and such even had a chance to.

Because I was ready. I don't know... I just think it makes a lot more sense to find the tiny % who are truly able, ready & willing to take action... and focus on providing the value to BE the solution they are looking for... and if they are ready and can recognize the value they will take action.

If they aren't ready to seize it at the moment they find it... well then they aren't ready... yes, we can provide value and follow up follow up follow up and convert some people who are not ready... and I think there is a good chance those will be the people who be unhappy with their decision, regret doing it, find problems very often, talk bad about things, call them scams, and so forth.

Sorry for the long ramble man.

I think just identify the ideal person for WA... which person would find this credit card in hand and think "WOW! This is what I have been looking for! This is exactly what I want!"?

Those are the only people to focus on.

I want to see what answers you get, Brad--your post has piqued my interest!

It's good to know. Thanks for the post.

In regards to membership subscription models...

There are different approaches to locking in recurring commissions for tools, services, or products and here is the one that I am using...

It is not a one-step process, rather a connected series of trigger points and touches...

First of all, when it comes to deciding what to promote that has lasting and recurring commissions, you need to think it through carefully.

Do the products or services mesh with what your niche may be and do the products perform as expected, and is the commission enough to make the effort worth the effort?

I prefer to highlight and review tools that we actually use in our own business. Ones that are proven performers, such as:

(1) autoresponders,
(2) video editing tools,
(3) business platforms that provide a variety of tools,
(4) automation tools
(5) resource materials (i.e. video backgrounds, graphics, images, lead magnets, etc.)
(6) our own products that include a variety of services tools training etc. for online marketers, business owners, or entrepreneurs...

Not all, but many of these are either regularly recurring expenses for business owners (i.e. autoresponders, business platforms) or minimally regularly recurring (i.e. as credits or time is used, more credits or time is purchased)...

Wealthy Affiliate is one (a good one) that falls into the category of what we look for, but there are many others such as Builderall, QuickBooks, Deal Fuel and similarly Lifetime Deal sites like AppSumo, PitchGround, etc. that will work too...

How To Get "Tire Kickers" To Be "Action Takers"?

The key is not getting approved as an affiliate for these products, services, and tools, it is in how to get the word out to prospects enough times so they do take action without spending too much money.

It takes more than one touch generally to get someone to take action. Think about how much research you do when considering a purchase. Depending on what it is, you are likely going to check in a few places and look for the best price and deal.

So this is where you want to have your content be found, whether it is on your website, in an ad, on a social platform, or maybe even in a local yellow pages type of platform...

Once you have decided on the products to promote, the next step is to decide how to get the word out and get people to look at what you have...

That involves content. Video is the way to go these days. Written content can back up the video and that includes the blog posts that are pushed on Wealthy Affiliate.

I like using video as the centerpiece for content because it is so versatile and people like watching a video. That is a whole subject of its own...

In any case, you have the products and you have the content...

Next...

(1) Getting Traffic...

Organic traffic is good but takes time. Social traffic can help but is likely not going to provide a large chunk of referrals on its own. Calling people may work, but just as with unsolicited emails, not very effective...

Paid traffic can be a way that if you do it the right way can get you warm prospects at a reasonable cost. Using Google (to include YouTube), Bing and Facebook (where the main buyers of paid ads seem to go) work, but there are other means to get the word out using paid ads too...

Mobile ad networks can get you attention on the smartphones that people use to interact on the internet these days and costs may be lower...

They can place your ads on major websites like Huffington Post, CNN, on games that people play on their phones, and even on proprietary search engines like Samsung or other smartphones may have that people are using.

Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, and Twilio can be considered as well...

I would look at your budget, look at what the products are, develop a customer avatar so you know who you are after, and develop a set of marketing materials that all are congruent and compelling...

Then select one platform or max two to get started...Become an expert of ads for the selected platform(s)...Over time, you can add more as you build the business...

So you have products, you have content, and you have marketing materials and some sites to place ads with using the marketing materials...

Still, we are not done...

(2) Where You Send All The Prospects To Matters

Wherever you get the traffic from, where you are sending them to is crucial.

Landing pages are useful but they need to be congruent with your ads, content, or reviews or people will click away and never come back again.

To help stop losing these people, offering an unusual lead magnet that has real value can help get you someone that will provide their email address...

People are reluctant these days to provide that information, they already are inundated with emails every day in their inbox. A pdf or a white label report is likely NOT going to get you a name and email...

They may be part of a bigger "package" of freebies that they would be willing to pay for, but just an ebook may not work. Perhaps a training course or a WP plugin, a set of checklists, etc, will work better...

Tools like FB Messenger can help present your lead magnets and get you the names and addresses in a less pushy manner and open rates are much higher than emails...

Adding that option or other similar options on your landing page can help increase your action-takers...

In any case...

Get a good system in place, test it, improve on it, try new systems out and make this a regular part of your business.

Over time you will have a set of ads that work (and they do have to be changed so this is an ongoing process).

But...that is not enough...All the work you have done to get them to sign up to receive further comms with you is just one more hurdle that you have crossed...

(3) Developing A Relationship With Subscribers

Once you have a lead, you can then use a number of tools to get in front of these people and over time get them to take the desired actions to get your recurring income streams going...

I suggest doing regular live training events, providing valuable information in them, and offering real help for leads. They will develop trust in you and be open to buying what you are selling that they need...

Conclusion

As you can see, doing the affiliate marketing business takes some planning, research, creating all the elements once you have determined what they should be, and then testing and refining them.

Over time as you get more and more subscribers, you will get more and more sales. This is presuming that you are promoting good products that the leads actually need and will use...

This is all an oversimplification, but I think you have enough to drill down a bit for yourself and work this recurring affiliate income thing. It can and does work (over a period of time)...

One reason that I started with dropshipping was due to the time mentioned. I wanted to start earning immediately (and I did)...You can combine the two (and even more income streams as you may want/have the hours for)...

One Last Thing

Why not tap into others that are going through what I describe above and let them work for you?

Developing your own products or services and then offering an affiliate program means that you have others working for you at no cost!

This way you are hitting both sides of this affiliate business.

Cheers!
Dave : )

I am not up to that point yet, but I would like to know the answers.