We'd like to both thank and congratulate Joshua G for his outstanding performance and achievement since joining our community. This is going to be our first of many interviews and documented success stories in the making, so without further adue, here is the shpeal.
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*Josh, when did you join CB and how did it happen?
My first account was created on May 17th, 2008; I was looking through a forum based on making money online and there was this massive list of affiliate networks. At the time I had no idea what an affiliate was but if they were making money I wanted to be as well. I signed up for at least ¾ of the ones listed and after readin' up on some of the people using ClickBank I realized they had higher commissions than sites like CJ so I stuck with it.
*How long did it take you to convert once you started promoting the NicheChoppers products?
Something like 2 days if I remember right. I launched my website on the 5th of June and that's when she all began; I even circled that date on my little calendar.
*Without spilling the beans too much, can you share what you did and what you avoided in order to achieve your constant conversions?
Promotional-wise I've pretty much just written articles but the articles aren't what converts them to buyers, my goal with the mighty article is to get them click on the URL in my resource box, nothing more. In the articles I think it's important to have one of those personality things you always hear about; no one wants to read a boring article. Be yourself!
But once they click that URL it's all about the landing page baby and that's where the magic happens. I think the key is to make sure you're not overselling the product. Generally people are smart and if you're overselling they may think "wow why does he keep trying to push x product on me?" and leave your page.
Another thing is make the page looks clean, organized and relatively professional at the very least; my logic while making it was "would I trust this site if I went on it?" - I think I had 3 or 4 different designs of my website before settling on that one. Make sure you're brutally honest with yourself. I even tried a sexier graphically enhanced version with identical content and it performed worse; go figure.
*What do you think is the most important element in affiliate marketing and why?
Knowing your audience! Okay so I stole that from Trump 101 but it works; do a little research on x niche, learn the lingo and basic information - this way you sound like you actually know what you're talking about.
*How important do you think product and niche selection is? Is there any you would totally stay away from and why?
I think product selection is probably the most important thing, even more so than the niche you choose. I usually select just by the sales page, sometimes I'll ask for a review copy of said product.
Like say product A's sales page has no graphics and it's all text (which I'm assuming was all the rage in like 1996?) but product B has fancy graphics and text; I'd be more inclined to promote product B because it looks more professional. Professional look = gaining credibility = gaining trust = making money; yeah, I think that makes sense.
For niche selection, there's nothing I'll stay away from; no market is too saturated. I'm going to rip off Alex Goad a little bit here but what you could do is micro-niche, which essentially means target a smaller audience within a large niche. Like, if I remember right, instead of going straight for the big picture of weight loss, Alex mentioned natural diet pills for post-menopausal women. If you Google "Alex Goad interview" you'll get the full interview he did with Jonny Andrews - like an hour long but its quality stuff.
*What is your short term goal and long term goal with these marketing ventures? How do you see yourself growing in the next year?
Short term goal is to make consistent sales with little ad spend in multiple niches while I learn more tactics and rock out with the list building - working so far!
My long term goal is to make $300, consistently every day - I'm almost there already so I guess it's a not-so-long term goal. Within this year I'm going to branch out from ClickBank and hopefully create other automated sources of income; oh I've got some ideas.
I'll also be releasing a product in the very near future and I'm working on/writing a quick affiliate marketing course that'll include a little SEO tactic to get the first result on Google (wish I knew this with Forex Tracer!) with no money spent, the small trick I use to try and convince the buyer a product, throw in some free website templates, etc.
*What was your biggest mistake so far when promoting the offer you chose?
Exposing my campaign - easily the biggest mistake I've made. For starters I should have created a pen name on Ezine Articles/other article directories or maybe I don't know… not use the same name on marketing forums? Hah, wise move Josh! As we've seen, more than a few people are too lazy to create their own content so they just take what's already there but hey, lesson learned right?
*What do you like most about affiliate marketing with NicheChoppers?
I can't just narrow it down to one thing so I'll give you three.
Number one is the sales pages. The graphics are top quality, sales letters are great, etc… it just looks professional. 90% of the products on ClickBank look like ass; I think that’s the worst part of ClickBank - its hard get behind a product when they can't shell out a little cash for a decent website. All my opinion of course.
Number two is the support for the affiliates; you're always open and willing to help your affiliates convert and make sales if they're struggling. Plus we now have this tight little community which is bad ass.
The big number three is the commissions. Oh come on, like you didn't see that coming; you're always generous with the amount you give affiliates and on behalf of all of us, we appreciate it! LOL!
*If you could give noobs 5 of your top tips - what would they be?
1 - Research; make sure you're getting into a low competition area or micro-niching a high competition area. You're new; you don't want to bang with the big boys yet… come to think of it neither do I because that sounds dirty.
2 - Lay out a plan; figure out what you're going to do before doing it. Think about it logically and if it works in your head try it out. Trial and error is what it's all about baby!
3 - Keep the costs as low as possible; some people have had luck with PPC but that's a deadly world now man. I hear it was easy as pie in like 2004? I'm just starting it and I can already see how people could loose their money pretty quickly. Start with a low-cost method and once you get some money rollin' in maybe venture into PPC. I started with $60 a year for hosting - you can too.
4 - Ask for help! Don't be afraid of asking questions you think others may think are stupid; I've asked more than a few but if it's going to help me make money who cares? Everyone has been in your situation, everyone had to start somewhere - no one will think you're a tool so don't worry about it. If you're not comfortable openly posting it because it may expose your niche or whatever, use that handy personal message function and ask someone you think can help you.
5 - Keep it sexy; the landing page that is. Well… I mean I guess you could wear lingerie while creating it but I'm not going to hold a gun to your head (unless you refuse to send pictures). Make it clean, organized, professional and make sure you're not overselling x product. If you know nothing about graphic design/web development and don't want to spend money, learn how to do it yourself! It's really not that hard once things start clicking, trust me.
*Anything else you want to ramble or rant about?
Sure, a little message to everyone; have fun with it! I'm sure you can tell I've had fun with this interview; well I do the same with marketing. There's no rule that says working has to suck and I refuse to be that guy that hates his job!
That's about it, I can't think of anything else to say besides thanks for selecting me, thanks for the products and thanks for the interview! Lookin' forward to sellin' more of your products!
**Thanks again from the NicheChoppers team, and we look forward to seeing you reach your goals and documenting your progress.
Watch for our next affiliate of the moment coming soon. Josh has now become a superaffiliate by virtue of his own desires and passion to achieve them. again congrats and may the force be with you jedijosh.
Interview With Joshua G << Mr. Epic
Thanks for advice and good luck achieving your goals.
