Is It Already November?: Personal Update

Fellow affiliate ninjas! Thanks for dropping by my Affiliate Marketing Blog. Why not stay updated by subscribing to my RSS Feed or joining my Internet & Affiliate Marketing Newsletter? - Rian, Sept. 2007

Well, it’s November and about time I dust off this blog. I was a little torn to continue it or not simply because I’ve neglected it for so long, but have decided it is best to proceed simply because I want to help others succeed. A lot has happened in the past few months, so this will be my attempt to revive RianBrooklyn.com and start getting some quality content moving along.

Where to begin?

Well, for starters, I’ve finally fired my boss and become a full time Internet marketer. It certainly didn’t happen quickly, and it wasn’t easy. But my day of redemption finally came on October 19,2007. That was my last day as an “employed software engineer” and my first day to my new life as “self-employed affiliate marketer.”

Since then, I’ve packed up and sent the last of my belongings back home and was finally able to move back to the US. Honestly, I was “moving home” last summer, but a little procrastination on my part, plus not being able to sell my two cars in a timely manner were just a few of the hold ups. But it all worked out in the end. My average day back then consisted of staying up all night online trying to generate income streams, rather than packing boxes or attempting to sell unwanted crap on eBay.

So I’m back at home with my family until I really get the ball moving. It’s been almost 10 years since I lived in the US, so moving back in with “mom and dad” seemed like the obvious thing to do. And I’m a happy guy, that’s for sure. Instead of 8 hours at the office, and coming home for 4-5 more online, I now have my entire day free to pursue my new business. It’s a great feeling, and I love the commute (about 3 feet from my bed). In a few months time, I hope to have double or tripled what I’m doing now online, get back on my own with a small apartment or house, then maybe do some traveling.

Without getting into too many of the details just yet, success in online marketing came to me from Pay Per Click. I’ve tried and meddled with just about everything online. I did eBay, which was ok, but became a tremendous amount of work and headache. I tried online surveys which were too damn boring, and quite difficult to make money with. I tried MLM, which I didn’t make a dime with and ultimately gave up on. And I even tried online poker, which I honestly had a blast playing, but as expected, wasn’t able to make much with. I’ve tried it all and failed with just about everything.

And of course, I tried “Internet marketing”. What began as a hobby way back when Google Cash came out, ultimately became a passion, and now a business. I’d say I’ve been seriously at it with Internet marketing about a year now. I had started learning a few things back in 2004, but really wasn’t serious until the fall of 2006. After Google Cash, I was still too chicken sh** to really get my feet wet with Adwords, and instead studied everything Perry Marshall came out with. This is where my real PPC education started to come in and to this day hasn’t stopped. I’d test the waters back then with a few campaigns, but for some strange reason after losing a few bucks, they’d always get “paused” and I’d never touch em’ again.

I made the same mistakes alot of the newbies make. I’d read an ebook like Google Cash about Adwords and PPC, and of course try my luck at making money promoting the book I had just read. Does this sound familiar? If not, learn from me: Don’t Do It!

So yes, I’ve had my share of mistakes and had to pay my dues over the learning curve, but looking back, it has all been worth it. You can’t learn to ride a bike if you don’t fall down, and the same principles apply with online marketing. You can read every ebook under the sun, but until you try your hand at it and fail a few times, it probably won’t click. The “ah-ha” moments always seem to appear once you’ve scraped your knees a bit when you’re down on the ground in pain.

But I feel at home with PPC. Finally, I think I can shed my self of the “newbie” status, not because I was able to make enough income from it, but simply because it’s what I really “get” and am good at. I’ve tinkered with Adsense and SEO, and have a few courses collecting dust, but PPC is really what I enjoy and now know how to make work. In fact, I’ll be attending the PPC Classroom Live Event in Las Vegas next weekend. So if you’re also attending, be sure to drop me an email and we can be sure to meet up at the event.

So now that I have an open schedule, at least 8 hours a day to work online with, I have some great things planned for this blog. Instead of it just becoming another dry marketing blog with some dude pimpin’ junk affiliate promotions, I hope to deliver the goods. I want to help others succeed online. Trust me, I’ve struggled. But now that I’m through some of the tougher areas, I think I can really provide some good advice for others that are still struggling to make a dime online.

I can be your filter, so you don’t make the same mistakes I did. I’ve bought the junk. I can certainly tell you which ebooks you should read, and which to stay clear off. I can recommend what software to get, and what you really don’t need. Honestly, to really learn the fundamentals of online marketing, there are only a few “must haves”. Most of the material is honestly just rehashed sh**, and should be avoided like the plague. IM has been bombarded by product after product in recent days, and sadly most of us are still buying ebooks trying to understand why we can’t make money online. I’m guilty myself, so don’t feel bad.

As someone who is not a “guru” of sorts, at least not in the negative sense, I am here to teach others without all the hype and BS that you normally see. Once in a while I might SPAM my own blog with a keyword I’m trying to rank for just to get some free traffic, but I’ll never push something I really don’t believe in. I probably have a few “hypey” posts hidden here somewhere that could use me hitting the delete key simply because they’re just rehashed promos. (Remind me to do that if you find one)

In fact, I’m lagging a bit with my newsletter so I apologize to those who’ve been waiting for some cool content. But I just didn’t want to mail out on every new IM product, simply because I don’t want to become one of those noisy marketers pushing anything and everything just to grab a commission.  I know you get enough of that.

Honestly blogging for me was never meant to be a major source of income and it isn’t. I’ve made maybe $30 in Adsense clicks since I started this thing last January. And unless I mail out weekly, clutter my posts with affiliate promotions and start ranking for major keywords, the income from blogging will be minimal. But that’s perfectly ok for me since become a major name in blogging really isn’t my goal.

I’m not trying to get published. I’m not trying to become the next ProBlogger or ShoeMoney. I blog because I enjoy it, and I enjoy getting feedback from others in the community. Seriously, knowing people in the offline world that know anything about online marketing is rare. Unless I’ve meant someone offline who I originally met online, the majority of people I know in the marketing world are relationships I’ve made through email, other blogs, or forums. So if anything, I hope my blog will just become a good source to meet people with similar interests.

While I’m not bragging, I do know alot now about PPC and am very comfortable with it. So if you’ve got questions, feel free to email me. And of course I’m always looking to learn new things, so if you want to trade marketing strategies  or can recommend some cool new software, I’m all ears. Really, just post comments, or email me. I will get back to you.

So what cool tidbit of advice can I end this post with? Hmm….I don’t know. It’s late, and I’ve played too much PS3 tonight to think clearly.

Just stay with it is all I can suggest. Become a student of Internet marketing and marketing in general. Look around you and be observant of how things are marketed. When you pickup a big name magazine and see the cover, just know there’s a marketing lesson there. With millions of dollars and teams of smart marketers, that headline made the front cover for one reason: It’ sells magazines.

Don’t be afraid to fail, because you’ll always learn something from it and certainly don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you’re an affiliate just scraping by, learn to ask for higher payouts. I did, and almost tripled my ROI because of it. It certainly never hurts to ask when all they can say is “no”.  If you are having trouble reaching your affiliate manager, let me know. I have a very stealth way of contacting almost anyone online and can probably help get you a phone number or email address.

Well, that’s my big update after months of stagnation. So enough about me and what I’ve done, coming soon will be some good stuff for you. I promise.