Follow Along Fashion Blog Affiliate Journey 2023 (stopped)

[azgold]

thats got me back in hustle mode

Honeybadger for the win!

This is an exciting challenge to watch and learn, kids.

 

[Honeybadger]

Started really going for it
using the old box of tricks
it took a couple of weeks
now commission started a rollin in
$8 yesterday
$17 so far today
hey its a start
its really not complicated what am doin
just needs total focus

• topic
• 10 target products or product categories
• 10 target keywords
• google calendar
• blog

and tons of study
study competitors
study social media comments
study amazon top sellers
study google search console
study affiliate merchant offers
I like to do study 1:2 publish ratio
30 min study then 60 min publish
think of it like
STUDY --> TEST --> REPEAT
you learn from every test

 

[Honeybadger]

I welcome the storm

as an affiliate of nearly 4 years
i have mastered 2 things
1st i have learnt how to create an affiliate website from scratch
& earn enough commission to pay all my bills
2nd i have learnt how to lose all motivation
& go back to zero commission
the question is why?
have spent a lot of time thinkin about this
& heres where it comes out
there are are few things
beyond the basics of warmth, food and shelter
that motivate me less than 'good' weather
its a character trait I can't escape
call it dna, a past life, circumstances
cos when the storm clouds open
and the rain crashes all around
the wind whips side to side
and i must focus on survival
thats when im at my peak
as a human animal
like at the peak of covid restrictions
at the start of this decade
thats when i was earning $3000 per month
when i had nothing
somehow i need to get back there
so my plan is this
i will secure those 3 basics
--> warmth, food & shelter
but no more than that
then recreate those harsh conditions
that led me to my peak affiliate successs

 

[Graybeard]

Well, maybe Cyber Monday will be better to you ...
This is the way when you "rely" on Google for SEO traffic.
Rather than living in a cave you need to try other options.
Finding those other options that will work for your situation will not be easy either.

 

[Honeybadger]

Well, maybe Cyber Monday will be better to you ...
This is the way when you "rely" on Google for SEO traffic.
Rather than living in a cave you need to try other options.
Finding those other options that will work for your situation will not be easy either.

I only need $100 affiliate commission per day
its a motivation issue
theres no lack of

• products --> amazon, easy
• traffic --> google seo, easy
• customers --> google trends or twitter, easy
• software --> free or v cheap, easy
• merchants --> apply & get accepted, easy

its just a question of doing
atm im wastin time like 8 hours
when i need 1 hour straight focus
even 30 minutes direct premeditated action
maybe its just down to planning?
guess its back to calendar

 

[azgold]

its a motivation issue

I may be mistaken (just started my first morning coffee) but I think that Graybeard was referring to that, as well as finding a level playing field for yourself and your income via trying other motivators or tools.

Then again, I may be putting words in his mouth.

I understand the weather thing, if the sun isn't out or it's winter, I just want to hibernate.

i have learnt how to lose all motivation

the question is why?

Self sabotage? Or because you've accomplished your goal, the challenge is gone or not as interesting?

I don't know, just spit-balling there. I hate to see you feeling like you have to punish yourself to succeed.

 

[Honeybadger]

Can lead a horse to water
but you cant make it drink

 

[T J Tutor]

its just a question of doing

 

[Honeybadger]

Focusing on focus

What can $10000 buy you?
one of my goals this year was save $10000
the deadline was 12-31-2023 @ 23:59:59
all it needed was $27.40 deposited each day
27.40 x 365 equals $10001
and i was more than capable of doin it
even more than that
could have done it with affiliate commission alone
but I didn't so why?
--> lack of focus
thats what needs to change
& i have one month to get it right
bruce lee said
"the successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus"

 

[Honeybadger]

Why do i love SEO?

1. its based in a logical algorithm
2. it can be learnt anywhere
3. aside basic hardware & software its free to learn
4. its a highly creative art
5. strategic thinking is at the core
6. its a dark art, a cold war, you seldom meet your enemies
7. you have respect for your enemies successes
8. there are infinite opportunities
9. you are constantly learning
10. you are helping people solve problems

 

[Honeybadger]

Bruce lee gets my vote
maybe a martial art is what i need
to help with the focus

 

[Graybeard]

Be careful what you do in life ...

 

[Honeybadger]

$70 this month
just getting warmed up
more to come
"It always seems impossible until it's done." - Nelson Mandela
~~> FOCUS <~~

 

[Honeybadger]

Here is my major 10 problems
that i need to fix as affiliate publisher

1. boredom
2. distraction
3. timewasting
4. disorganized
5. unprepared
6. over ambitious
7. overworking
8. broken tools
9. missed payments
10. wasteful

Problem	Why i do it	How i will solve it	Next steps
bored very easily	boring affiliate tasks like repeating the same thing for a long time kill my motivation to work	break repetitive affiliate tasks into smaller tasks which take less time	use monday.com to break my affiliate workload into short time bound tasks
distracted from my work	when i get bored of updating my affiliate web site i find more entertaining things to do	turn off my phone and tell everybody im busy between x time and y time	plan entertainment in my calendar to alert me for when ive completed my affiliate work
waste a lot of time	dont follow a clear affiliate publishing plan then spend time doing unhelpful things	clearly plan my affiliate work ahead of time and make sure I get the really important things done	create a daily list of most important affiliate tasks and the time i will get them done
messy work space	dont have a fixed place of work or a fixed affiliate work setup that is mobile	list the items i require for affiliate work and store them in one individual space	clear out a cupboard and store my affiliate work items there when im not working
unprepared for problems	get many problems and challenges but i didnt take any action beforehand because im plain lazy	think about the things most likely to go wrong with my affiliate business and take preventive actions	need help!
making unrealistic goals	getting super confident by thinking can outrank any competitor on google and earn $100s every day in affiliate commission	1st i will use my affiliate commission formula again to set data based goals & 2nd make a spreadsheet to track it	find my affiliate commission formula and tracking spreadsheets
working too many hours	work in my affiliate web site until im exhausted	have a cut off time when i stop working on affiliate website	put alarm on my phone when to stop doing affiliate work and go out
hardware and software broken	get so many time when affiliate web site coding errors or some battery runs out or a screen or charger cracks but i never fix it just a temporary fix	list out all my fixes and in 2nd column what actions i must taje	schedule all my fixes
missing important payments	spent my money on cool things but default on important things & get penalty charge or cant access affiliate software	pay for things in advance whenever i can & also list out my bills	top up my accounts with enough credit for the next affiliate software payments
waste opportunities	find opportunities like free affiliate software training, connect with smart affiliate people or ignore affiliate trending products to promote	whenever i find opportunities make a calendar action date	use my scheduler to plan opportunity actions

Also i need to use like a mantra
im doing x
because it will achieve x
which will help me earn enough affiliate commission
to pay all my bills

 

[T J Tutor]

WOW! That was a lot of work.

 

[Graybeard]

unprepared for problems

get many problems and challenges but i didnt take any action beforehand because im plain lazy

think about the things most likely to go wrong with my affiliate business and take preventive actions

need help!

They say shit happens and it does every day.
The better control you have over the actions will lessen your risk
You cannot anticipate every problem especially as a middleman. Yeah you put yourself in the middle between the buyer and the product ...

[if] <problem>
{deal with it} or (pivot} often you have some possibility of mitigation and at times you pivot to your plan B or just walk away and take a new approach. That is not quitting, that is finding a new way that will resolve the failed tactics of your overall strategy.

You need to develop your own checklist and see if you can catch some of the problems better before you start some action in general.

There is no crystal ball tool for $69.99 mo that will do this. If someone tells you that they have *it* --run like hell ...

 

[azgold]

I think a lot of people go through what you are, in part or in whole, at times. You just can't stay there too long.

Problem	Why i do it	How i will solve it	Next steps
bored very easily	boring affiliate tasks like repeating the same thing for a long time kill my motivation to work	break repetitive affiliate tasks into smaller tasks which take less time	use monday.com to break my affiliate workload into short time bound tasks

Any way to automate some of those? I seem to remember at one time that you were doing some automation. No?

messy work space

dont have a fixed place of work or a fixed affiliate work setup that is mobile

list the items i require for affiliate work and store them in one individual space

clear out a cupboard and store my affiliate work items there when im not working

You might be surprised how much this improves your motivation if you're able to give your work a home. You won't be staring at all your work stuff all the time, plus a change of set up/setting can help. Your business will have a business spot, which will be separate from the rest of your life.

And you won't get weighed down with feelings of guilt from staring at it and not working. That could either get you going to make you feel even more like you don't want to.

Even honeybadgers need work/life balance.

 

[Honeybadger]

Update
its been a tough week
very bad planning on my part
many bad last minute decisions
another year of failed goals
made a lot of costly mistakes
tryin to remain positive
not easy
affiliate fashion site getting lots more traffic now
gettin 1 or 2 daily conversions
earning $10 daily commission
its a side hustle atm
need more of a professional attitude
2024 is my 5th year as affiliate
need to get serious about this

 

[azgold]

its been a tough week
very bad planning on my part
many bad last minute decisions
another year of failed goals
made a lot of costly mistakes
tryin to remain positive
not easy

Please read my signature.

Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? I only ask because you didn't give yourself a lot of time to accomplish your new goal.

affiliate fashion site getting lots more traffic now
gettin 1 or 2 daily conversions
earning $10 daily commission
its a side hustle atm

You're progressing again from the 'starting over' position. Once you get some momentum going, your mojo will probably kick back in.

I have every faith in your ability to succeed but is there something you'd rather be doing?

That's a serious question, one I asked my dad and kids at various times of their lives. My dad actually gave me an answer. I offered to help him but he was too old and tired by then.

If there's something you'd rather be doing, something that would make you happy and motivate you then do it while you can. Or do both if one recharges your batteries for the other.

need more of a professional attitude
2024 is my 5th year as affiliate
need to get serious about this

Please take a breath and relax a little. You are perfectly capable, you've proven that.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound scolding, I'm just worried about your self-esteem and the amount of stress you seem to be feeling.

You're making approximately $300/month and you're just getting re-started. Considering you're using only organic traffic, I think you're doing well.

 

[Honeybadger]

Clearing out the dead wood

2024 is my self imposed crossroads
ive made a plan for the whole year
goals are difficult but achievable
i just need to be consistent
if it doesnt work this year im out
gonna choose offline profession
if it works then woopyfuckingdoo

ive worked hard physically this year
but made too many bad decisions
@azgold is true they arent the end
but i need to not keep repeating them
2000 hours cutting my hands to shreds
hauling heavy shit around in the rain & mud
but ive only saved $500 for christmas
which is ridiculous
cos only $10 saved per day
id have $3500 now
well that ship has sailed

So where does it come out?
the main lesson ive learnt in 2023
consistent actions win the game
& make things simple as they can be
complex doesnt equal complicated
so thats my focus next year

SIMPLE & CONSISTENT