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This file was generated by Descript 

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Matt: Hey, everybody.

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Welcome to money lab.

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My name is Matt Non
Splunk, Skanska, Jimminy.

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See, that's it.

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Hey, everybody.

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Welcome to money lab.

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My name is Matt Jimminy.

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See.

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In today's episode.

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This is a, this is an episode that
I'm a little nervous to talk about,

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but so far I've published an article.

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Things seem to be going okay,
we're going to get into it.

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But this one's titled death
to affiliate marketing.

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So let's get into it.

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I might be sorry that that
intro came in a little hot, but.

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I think, I think we're okay.

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Well, if it, if it did, I'm sorry.

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If I blew out your speakers.

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I didn't mean to do that.

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Welcome to money lab.

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Again, my name is Matt and today
we're going to talk about something

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I think is very cool and very.

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Uh, in, you know, things have happened.

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In the last month and I want
it, or last two months for me.

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When it comes to affiliate marketing,
and I want to tell you about it.

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Uh, so I wrote an article.

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I published it today.

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As I'm recording this, this, this
podcast will go out the same day.

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I'm recording it.

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Uh, shortly after I'm done recording it.

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And it's called death to
affiliate marketing, and you

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can find it over at money.

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lab.co/affiliate-marketing-death.

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And why is it called this?

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Well, this was an idea that was brought
to me by Steph who is my partner in life.

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My girlfriend.

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Who is like, I think you
should do an article about how

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affiliate marketing is dead.

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And I'm like, well, I don't like that
idea because it's technically not dead.

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I mean, I still make money
with affiliate marketing.

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And then she's like, well, what if
it's like death to affiliate marketing

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as if you're cause here's the thing.

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She knows as well as I, that we
are de prioritizing affiliate

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marketing in our business.

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We just have been for the last year.

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Um, ever actually.

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Probably ever since 2020.

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April, 2020, which is when I'm,
well, I'll talk about that a second.

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Uh, but the reason I was like hesitant
to write the article was I'm like,

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well, I mean, I'm kind of a hypocrite
because I'm saying that I'm, you.

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I'm saying death to affiliate marketing.

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Is it.

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In a very click baity way.

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Um, obviously I want you to read it.

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But is it really dying?

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Is it really a dead, you
know, revenue stream?

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For everybody.

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And the answer is no.

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But for us, and the way that we do
affiliate marketing, which is mainly

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through e-commerce stores like Amazon.

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Yes.

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We've seen it get harder and harder.

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Now.

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It's not to say that affiliate
marketing wasn't always hard.

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It, it, it was because I call it
a game of whack-a-mole because

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you're constantly dealing with.

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People shutting down their
affiliate programs or changing

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their, their payouts, or, you know,
maybe not paying you out in time.

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There's like, there's
all of these factors.

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And then when you start to have.

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Multiple affiliate programs
that you're trying to manage.

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Uh, come tax season, that's
going to be a fucking nightmare.

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Because, you know how many W2's
are going to get in the email?

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It's, it's kind of rough.

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Uh, and so it just kind of sucks.

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It just flat out sucks.

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Now I'm saying this as
somebody who at one point.

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Has made a hundred percent of his
income through affiliate marketing.

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So I know what I'm saying.

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Is.

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Contradictory to how
I started my business.

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And I want to go over that.

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Okay.

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So.

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This is something that is new.

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I, I am saying that affiliate
marketing is dying for me.

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Okay.

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It's dead to me personally.

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I'm just, I'm kind of fucking over it.

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And I'm no longer making it
a priority in my business.

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And I want to tell you why, and
obviously I'm going to tell you why you

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don't have to read the article, but I
encourage you to read the article because

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it's got a little bit more nuance.

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I guess maybe this might have more nuance
since I'm talking about it out loud.

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Uh, so first I want to talk
about where I'm coming from.

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Because I'm very much an
affiliate marketing boy.

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I I've I've.

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I've been doing it for as
long as I can remember.

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As long as I've been on the
internet, I've been doing it.

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Now my method of doing it was I
have a site called swim university.

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I've had this site since technically 2004.

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Realistically 2006 and I've been slowly.

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You know, adding articles, creating
videos over time to get traffic to it.

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And in the beginning I was making my money
with, uh, AdSense and affiliate marketing.

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I think back then it was DoubleClick by
Google or something like that, where.

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You know, similar to what link share
used to be or, or, or ClickBank

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or, or commission junction.

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They're all sort of the same, that
LinkShare became that Japanese company

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that I can never say the name correctly.

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Like.

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Rack.

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Racking.

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I don't know.

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I can't even visualize it.

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The hard brand name is say.

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Um,

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And they don't even feel like an
affiliate marketing company anymore.

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They feel more like a, just
a general marketplace now.

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So.

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It doesn't matter.

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I used to basically make all my
money with affiliate marketing and

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it wasn't until I moved on to Amazon.

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Because I didn't, I wasn't using
Amazon in the very beginning.

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I's I eventually switched
to Amazon and I create it.

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A.

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I would, I'm going to call it a WordPress
plugin, even though it technically

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wasn't a plugin, it was just custom code.

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But Andrew.

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Uh, w R through listen, money matters.

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When we were doing that podcast
together, back in 20 14, 20

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13, late 2013, early 2014.

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He convinced me to design and
code my own affiliate marketing

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plugin using the Amazon API.

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And I wasn't even on Amazon associates
affiliate program at the time.

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And I hesitated, but I did it.

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And it worked.

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I created this like kind of
pseudo plugin for myself.

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To create these little boxes on my
site to display affiliate links.

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That eventually became a product I called
earnest earn IST, which then got stolen.

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Or, or wrapped up by lasso.

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Right.

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And then I started working with lasso
for about, I think a year and a half.

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You know, taking that plugin, mixing
it with Andrew's plugin and kind

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of creating what lasts is today.

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And then I eventually
left that company because.

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I mean, I, you know, there's,
there's truths to that.

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You know, one, I, I.

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Was moving houses.

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I was literally moving into
my new house and I wasn't, you

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know, on the internet a lot.

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And obviously if you read some
other posts of mine, you know what,

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I had some personal shit going on.

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And.

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Uh, it looked like I had lost
interest in on Andrew's side.

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So he, he, he asked to buy me
out and I took the offer because.

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In my head.

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I'm like, you know what?

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Yeah, truthfully, I'm
not really into this.

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Second of all.

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Like, I kind of just feel this, like,
This affiliate marketing thing, dying.

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And I think I left the
company in late 2020.

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I think it was October 20, 20.

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If I could be wrong about that.

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But it was after.

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The first sign of death for me, which
was, uh, when Amazon really cut their

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affiliate marketing commissions.

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Down to the bone.

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I mean, I'm making.

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At, at one point in my career, I
was making about 8% commission,

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which is not terrible for affiliate
marketing, especially in the

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e-commerce side of the business.

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That's not bad.

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It's not good.

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Good, but it's not bad.

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Okay.

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I'll take 8%.

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Now I'm making 2.7%.

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Which is bad.

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If you're selling books, you know,
if you're recommending books, you're

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recommending smaller products,
you're making fractions of a penny.

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But if you're selling a big $500 products,
then you're making decent money, but

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you're still not making a lot of money.

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You're just making decent money.

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You know enough to survive on.

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Enough to have enough
to be a solo preneur.

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If we want to call it that.

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But not enough to run a real business.

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If I'm being honest right now.

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Again, I want to give some
context of where I was.

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Okay.

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In 2014.

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Right.

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As I started that little plugin and
got on the Amazon affiliate program.

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I made $25,000 in affiliate
income, right through Amazon.

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That's pretty damn good for the year.

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That is.

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Here's the kicker 2015 full time.

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$80,000.

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In affiliate marketing.

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Okay.

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Traffic's growing affiliates are growing.

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This is a hundred percent
Amazon, by the way.

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And I'm not sitting here.

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Telling you that Amazon is the only
affiliate marketing game in town.

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They are absolutely not.

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They are the biggest, but
they are not the only one.

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Okay.

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But I do have a point about that.

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So you fast forward all the
way up to 2019 at its peak.

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I made in one fucking year,
sorry for the cursing.

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But one year I made $284,000 on
Amazon associates, which if I, when

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I say that number to some people.

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It's kind of like it's mind blowing.

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I'm not, you know, Wirecutter
and bigger, bigger companies like

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that, that deal in e-commerce.

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Affiliates are making millions, you know,
so this is nothing compared to them.

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But for just one person
practically, just me.

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That's a lot of, that's a lot of
coin and that's just affiliate

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marketing and that's just Amazon.

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Okay.

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So I'm.

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2019.

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I'm like it ain't dead.

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Um, I went, I it's growing for me.

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Okay.

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Now.

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Truthfully in 2018.

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Right.

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There was this little hiccup.

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I'll call it.

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But for me, panic attack
on an airplane to Austin.

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I thought my business was completely dead.

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Because I got an email from Amazon.

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It's like, Hey, we're changing
our commission structure.

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Guess what?

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It's no longer a variable meaning.

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However much you bring
in, you get a higher rate.

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So I used to be getting 8%.

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I was like top tier.

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Well, now that they did a fixed
commission based on the industry, right.

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Based on the product category.

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They were, they were going as
low as 4%, three, three to 4%.

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So I'm like, oh shit.

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There goes half my income now.

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Uh, It happened at, I had two websites at
the time I had roasty coffee and I assume

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university and I had money lab, but.

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The two ones that were making
all the money with affiliates.

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Roasty coffee.

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Yes.

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Like the food and kitchen category is
one of the ones that got cut in 2018.

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So that site.

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Revenue got affiliate
revenue got cut in half.

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Just like that.

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Boom one month gone,
half the revenue done.

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I ended up selling that site because
that was part of the catalyst.

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Also, I had gone in debt because I
was spending so much money and getting

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content written for some university that
it just because it's seasonal, I just.

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I didn't play my cards.

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Right.

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And I had to make up for it.

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So I was like, eh, this site
isn't really working anymore.

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And it's like, I did all this
work for two years to build it up.

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It was making decent money.

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Like in December a good month, I
was making seven grand that month.

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And I'm like, that's awesome.

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You know, it's not.

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You know, it's not the whole year, but
it's one month and I know it's Christmas.

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That's still pretty good for
a, for a two year old website.

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Right.

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So I'm like, okay.

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I'll take it.

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And then they're like, nah, half that.

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I'm like, oh, well, what the fuck, man?

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I just spent two years.

00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:22.800
Spending all this money, trying to build
this up banking on your affiliate program.

00:12:23.310 --> 00:12:25.860
And then you just cut it,
like who gives a shit?

00:12:25.980 --> 00:12:26.400
Right.

00:12:27.750 --> 00:12:32.130
So it didn't happen at swim
university, the pool and spa or

00:12:32.130 --> 00:12:33.990
outdoor industry stayed high.

00:12:34.590 --> 00:12:36.420
So I was, I was still growing.

00:12:36.900 --> 00:12:40.980
And then in 2020 is when
they cut it across the board.

00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:42.300
Big time.

00:12:42.870 --> 00:12:45.510
I went from 8% down to 2.7.

00:12:45.900 --> 00:12:47.010
Big fucking time.

00:12:47.550 --> 00:12:48.060
Okay.

00:12:48.660 --> 00:12:49.320
Now.

00:12:51.030 --> 00:12:56.520
I don't blame them because they're
Amazon, like over 50% of people who shop

00:12:56.520 --> 00:12:58.290
online are buying shit through Amazon.

00:12:58.290 --> 00:13:01.260
They don't need people like me
sending them traffic anymore.

00:13:02.160 --> 00:13:04.020
So they don't need to be paying me 8%.

00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:07.530
They can just pay me 2.7
and because it's e-commerce,

00:13:07.530 --> 00:13:09.090
there's no recurring, whatever.

00:13:09.990 --> 00:13:14.370
That was the first time to death for me
of like, shit, where am I going to go?

00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:17.970
Well, so this happens in 2020, right?

00:13:18.690 --> 00:13:19.410
And.

00:13:20.220 --> 00:13:21.780
I didn't, I wasn't mad.

00:13:21.930 --> 00:13:24.210
Oh, I was mad at you because there's
a whole post called operation.

00:13:24.210 --> 00:13:24.840
Fuck Amazon.

00:13:25.110 --> 00:13:25.890
And you can read about that.

00:13:25.890 --> 00:13:27.570
If you just type in money, lab.co/fuck.

00:13:27.750 --> 00:13:32.250
Amazon there it is, but I'm like,
I, I'm not scared because for the

00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:36.480
last, since 2018, when that shit
went, the first time it went down

00:13:36.750 --> 00:13:38.220
to me, that was like, oh shit.

00:13:38.220 --> 00:13:38.670
Okay.

00:13:39.030 --> 00:13:40.800
We're on thin ice here with Amazon.

00:13:40.890 --> 00:13:42.210
Of course, they're going to shut down.

00:13:42.630 --> 00:13:46.440
The affiliate program at some point,
because if you look at, if you read.

00:13:46.830 --> 00:13:50.700
I've read, you know, the Amazon
bio or whatever from Jeff Bezos.

00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:53.880
He's a fucking ruthless businessman.

00:13:53.910 --> 00:13:56.280
He doesn't give a flying
fuck about anybody.

00:13:56.790 --> 00:13:59.550
But split himself in his company,
actually, not even about his

00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:01.080
company, really just about himself.

00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:02.100
Um,

00:14:03.810 --> 00:14:06.660
You know, when you look at their
business practices and what

00:14:06.660 --> 00:14:08.430
they've done to like diapers.com.

00:14:09.090 --> 00:14:11.220
Even some other people I know personally.

00:14:12.030 --> 00:14:14.340
It's like, dude, they're fucking ruthless.

00:14:15.210 --> 00:14:17.670
Yeah, they're going to cut the
ability to program one day.

00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:20.400
Guaranteed now Walmart's
right behind them.

00:14:20.430 --> 00:14:21.210
Cause they're there.

00:14:21.540 --> 00:14:24.240
You know, they're all, you know, they're
always trying to out Amazon, Amazon

00:14:24.270 --> 00:14:28.020
that's I think they literally have
that printed in their office or they

00:14:28.020 --> 00:14:31.170
have, they have something printed in
their office that says don't try to out

00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:32.910
Amazon, Amazon, or something like that.

00:14:33.810 --> 00:14:37.050
So they're there, they got an affiliate
program that pays out, I think pretty

00:14:37.050 --> 00:14:42.180
well through LinkShare or whatever
is a no, sorry with impact radius.

00:14:43.740 --> 00:14:45.750
So I tried signing up for them denied.

00:14:46.140 --> 00:14:47.790
So I'm not on fucking Walmart.

00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:48.870
Okay.

00:14:49.350 --> 00:14:50.340
They keep denying me.

00:14:50.670 --> 00:14:51.000
All right.

00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:51.390
Whatever.

00:14:51.750 --> 00:14:52.680
I ain't got time for this shit.

00:14:54.330 --> 00:14:57.570
Well, I get an email after,
you know, the Amazon.

00:14:58.410 --> 00:15:01.590
Apocalypse happens in
20, um, Um, March, 2020.

00:15:02.670 --> 00:15:04.980
Uh, I think it went into
effect in April, 2020.

00:15:06.900 --> 00:15:11.160
I got an email from a substantially large.

00:15:11.670 --> 00:15:13.410
Pool e-commerce company.

00:15:15.270 --> 00:15:15.960
And.

00:15:17.340 --> 00:15:19.170
Fuck it they're called in the swim.com.

00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:19.470
That's.

00:15:19.590 --> 00:15:20.070
That's who they are.

00:15:20.070 --> 00:15:22.560
I was like, I didn't, I didn't mention
their name in the article, but whatever

00:15:22.560 --> 00:15:24.930
I'm mentioning it here, who gives a
shit and it's still public knowledge.

00:15:24.930 --> 00:15:25.680
You can look it up.

00:15:26.130 --> 00:15:28.620
Um, They were, they've
been around for forever.

00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:29.940
I mean, I used to get there, there.

00:15:30.180 --> 00:15:33.000
They used to have physical catalogs, they
would send out to pull owners in the mail.

00:15:33.330 --> 00:15:33.660
Excuse me.

00:15:33.660 --> 00:15:34.830
I'm going to sip some tea here.

00:15:37.590 --> 00:15:39.540
I'm a slurper I realized recently.

00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:42.420
Um, my friends flew into town.

00:15:43.140 --> 00:15:45.120
And I was drinking coffee.

00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:48.840
And she's like, man,
you really slurped that.

00:15:48.870 --> 00:15:49.170
Huh?

00:15:49.410 --> 00:15:50.340
I go, yeah.

00:15:50.670 --> 00:15:54.570
Oh, and then I started to Steph and
I'm like, do I slurp everything?

00:15:54.570 --> 00:15:55.710
She's like anything hot?

00:15:55.710 --> 00:15:55.890
Yeah.

00:15:55.890 --> 00:15:56.370
You slurp.

00:15:57.480 --> 00:15:58.530
I was like, is that annoying?

00:15:58.530 --> 00:15:59.700
She was like, absolutely annoying.

00:16:00.060 --> 00:16:02.040
Oh, I didn't know.

00:16:02.430 --> 00:16:03.570
I don't, I don't know why I do it.

00:16:03.570 --> 00:16:04.110
It's like habit.

00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:04.560
I don't know.

00:16:04.560 --> 00:16:04.950
Anyway.

00:16:05.520 --> 00:16:06.270
I digress.

00:16:07.140 --> 00:16:10.170
So I get an email from this
company it's been around forever.

00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:10.860
Huge.

00:16:11.760 --> 00:16:15.120
They have an, they have a
affiliate program on impact radius.

00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:19.620
And they email me and say, look, we know
that you lost all this money with Amazon.

00:16:20.220 --> 00:16:20.970
You wrote about it.

00:16:21.630 --> 00:16:22.710
On your own money lab.

00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:28.740
Uh, we have an affiliate program
and we'll pay you get this 10%.

00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:29.880
No, that's not what they said.

00:16:30.060 --> 00:16:31.410
They said we'll pay you 8%.

00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:36.810
And I said, if you, you know, we'll pay
you 8% of you start switching all your,

00:16:36.870 --> 00:16:38.370
you know, Amazon links over to ours.

00:16:39.870 --> 00:16:40.770
I said, okay.

00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:43.170
Make a 10% and I'll try.

00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:46.380
I okay.

00:16:46.410 --> 00:16:48.600
And they said, yeah, 10% cool.

00:16:48.900 --> 00:16:49.770
And I tried.

00:16:50.790 --> 00:16:55.140
Um, what I did was I didn't
replace Amazon links.

00:16:55.650 --> 00:17:00.870
With in the swim links, because
even though I'm only making 2.7%,

00:17:00.900 --> 00:17:04.410
it converts well, Is it going to
convert as well over at, in the

00:17:04.410 --> 00:17:07.170
swim.com, which doesn't have the best.

00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:09.210
Uh, user interface.

00:17:10.230 --> 00:17:12.240
I mean, I don't think
Amazon does either, but.

00:17:13.020 --> 00:17:13.800
You know, here we are.

00:17:14.760 --> 00:17:17.940
So I'm like, oh, I kind
of was a little hesitant.

00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:22.319
And so what I decided to do was the
same method that wire cutter was

00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:25.050
doing, which was offering a choice.

00:17:25.560 --> 00:17:29.370
So inside the lasso display
boxes for my affiliate links.

00:17:29.670 --> 00:17:33.540
I'd have an Amazon, you know, buy
a buy here on Amazon button and a

00:17:33.570 --> 00:17:35.400
buy here on in the swim.com button.

00:17:35.670 --> 00:17:40.770
If they were the exact same product,
which is not easy to manage.

00:17:42.090 --> 00:17:47.070
Even in something like lasso, it's still
hard because it's like, well now, Okay.

00:17:47.340 --> 00:17:48.420
I'm going to flash forward.

00:17:49.020 --> 00:17:51.870
To January, 2022.

00:17:52.860 --> 00:17:53.250
Okay.

00:17:54.150 --> 00:17:57.300
I get an email at the beginning of
the month that says in the swim is

00:17:57.300 --> 00:17:58.650
shutting down their affiliate program.

00:17:58.740 --> 00:17:59.340
Thanks.

00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:00.780
That's pretty much it.

00:18:02.190 --> 00:18:02.970
And I go.

00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:04.980
Well, fuck me.

00:18:05.430 --> 00:18:07.800
Because that was my big payout.

00:18:09.120 --> 00:18:10.230
And they were, and I was making.

00:18:10.860 --> 00:18:13.860
Probably four or $500 a month
in the slow season from them.

00:18:13.860 --> 00:18:15.720
So I'm like, it was, you know,
the affiliate links that I

00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:17.700
had put up, they were working.

00:18:18.090 --> 00:18:19.500
I could have been more aggressive.

00:18:19.770 --> 00:18:22.470
I could have added more affiliate
links from them and I could have

00:18:22.470 --> 00:18:26.070
made more money from them, but I'm
so glad that I didn't do that because

00:18:26.070 --> 00:18:27.780
they shut down the goddamn program.

00:18:28.170 --> 00:18:30.120
So here I am thinking.

00:18:30.690 --> 00:18:31.470
Okay.

00:18:32.460 --> 00:18:33.600
Now, what do I do?

00:18:33.900 --> 00:18:36.090
Do I spend my time?

00:18:36.570 --> 00:18:38.970
Going back into my content.

00:18:39.270 --> 00:18:41.910
And deleting those links
because they're not paying me.

00:18:42.990 --> 00:18:46.950
No, because deleting those links
and spending that time, doing that.

00:18:47.130 --> 00:18:50.760
First of all, I have to find the links
because unfortunately with lasso,

00:18:51.090 --> 00:18:53.280
if you add it as a secondary button,

00:18:53.670 --> 00:18:55.110
And not the primary button.

00:18:55.860 --> 00:18:57.300
It's you can't search for that.

00:18:57.300 --> 00:18:58.440
So I have to.

00:19:00.030 --> 00:19:03.840
Manually go into every single
affiliate link and see if I add it.

00:19:04.080 --> 00:19:06.690
Uh, a secondary button.

00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:09.180
So Andrew, if you ended up hearing this.

00:19:09.810 --> 00:19:11.850
Um, could be a good feature to have.

00:19:12.660 --> 00:19:15.030
So, you know, Cause now I
can't do anything about it.

00:19:15.090 --> 00:19:18.660
I literally would have to go into every
single link and find it and delete it.

00:19:18.900 --> 00:19:20.490
But again, why would I do that?

00:19:21.180 --> 00:19:22.200
When it doesn't that.

00:19:22.230 --> 00:19:24.570
That time isn't earning me any money.

00:19:24.570 --> 00:19:27.090
It's just removing a link
that I'm not being paid for.

00:19:27.330 --> 00:19:29.400
I mean, it's still helping the end user.

00:19:29.670 --> 00:19:31.380
Find the product they're looking for.

00:19:32.100 --> 00:19:33.000
You know, so.

00:19:33.510 --> 00:19:35.160
It's not a bad thing to have.

00:19:35.580 --> 00:19:37.890
Lingering there, but
if a, if a link breaks.

00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:39.600
Then then it is bad.

00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:43.710
So at some point, I'm going to have
to go in and do it, but not now.

00:19:44.370 --> 00:19:45.660
They just, they just canceled it.

00:19:46.620 --> 00:19:47.610
Second sign of death.

00:19:48.090 --> 00:19:49.590
My second largest affiliate.

00:19:50.520 --> 00:19:51.000
Canceled.

00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:53.760
So I'm sitting there gone,
well, let me find it.

00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:54.930
Let me find another one.

00:19:54.930 --> 00:19:55.740
I found another one.

00:19:55.740 --> 00:19:58.470
I emailed them cause they said
they had an affiliate program, but

00:19:58.470 --> 00:19:59.850
no, one's gotten back to me yet.

00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:04.170
How many times we've got to keep
emailing you to give you money.

00:20:05.430 --> 00:20:07.170
Once I'm sorry, dog.

00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:07.830
Once.

00:20:11.100 --> 00:20:11.670
Anyway.

00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:13.110
You could tell him a little bitter.

00:20:13.770 --> 00:20:19.230
And I think rightfully so because
it's like, dude, I spent all of this

00:20:19.230 --> 00:20:22.170
time and effort building up a website.

00:20:23.130 --> 00:20:26.340
Making trying to run a business
with affiliate marketing.

00:20:26.580 --> 00:20:29.520
I'm seeing growth up and up and up and up.

00:20:30.120 --> 00:20:32.370
2020 was my biggest year ever.

00:20:33.690 --> 00:20:41.100
And I made, so I went from $284,000 in
affiliate revenue in 2019 down to one 70.

00:20:41.490 --> 00:20:42.600
Now you're thinking.

00:20:42.930 --> 00:20:44.280
That's still fucking good.

00:20:44.820 --> 00:20:46.110
Yes, it is still good.

00:20:46.830 --> 00:20:48.750
But it went down a lot.

00:20:48.930 --> 00:20:51.840
That's like, Almost like 50%.

00:20:53.730 --> 00:20:54.720
Uh, revenue gone.

00:20:55.860 --> 00:20:59.460
And, and my website had the
biggest, the most traffic that year.

00:20:59.850 --> 00:21:00.510
So.

00:21:02.190 --> 00:21:04.500
How am I supposed to.

00:21:04.890 --> 00:21:05.520
Continue.

00:21:06.660 --> 00:21:07.800
How am I supposed to continue?

00:21:08.430 --> 00:21:12.450
Am I going to just keep hoping that
these companies keep their fucking

00:21:12.450 --> 00:21:14.100
promise with their affiliate commissions?

00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:14.700
No.

00:21:15.300 --> 00:21:16.050
Why would they.

00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:19.320
It makes no sense once they're
once they're big enough.

00:21:19.740 --> 00:21:21.750
Or they have a cashflow
problem in their company.

00:21:21.750 --> 00:21:22.410
God forbid.

00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:23.370
Yeah.

00:21:23.370 --> 00:21:25.560
The first in their cotton
man is the affiliate program.

00:21:26.040 --> 00:21:27.420
Sorry, you're fucked.

00:21:27.450 --> 00:21:29.610
Your business who gives a
shit about your business?

00:21:30.030 --> 00:21:30.420
Okay.

00:21:31.170 --> 00:21:32.160
It's their business.

00:21:32.250 --> 00:21:33.810
You're just riding off their coattails.

00:21:33.810 --> 00:21:35.790
You're just taking the
fucking table scraps.

00:21:37.020 --> 00:21:37.890
And that's a show.

00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:38.910
That's not, I'm sorry.

00:21:38.910 --> 00:21:40.470
I'm I, this is going to be, I'm sorry.

00:21:40.710 --> 00:21:42.390
This is going to be a curse Laden episode.

00:21:43.260 --> 00:21:43.890
Because I'm mad.

00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:44.940
I'm mad about this.

00:21:47.220 --> 00:21:49.620
You can't build a business off the
backs of these people who don't

00:21:49.620 --> 00:21:51.870
give a fuck about you and you
don't have a seat at the table.

00:21:51.930 --> 00:21:54.450
You can't just, you can't go,
oh, don't cut the program.

00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:55.290
My business.

00:21:55.320 --> 00:21:56.310
Hey, I'm over here now.

00:21:56.370 --> 00:21:57.270
Gives a shit about you.

00:21:58.560 --> 00:21:58.980
Okay.

00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:03.480
I wasn't going to write this
article because of those two things.

00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.180
Those two signs of death for me.

00:22:06.600 --> 00:22:07.710
We're in e-commerce.

00:22:08.430 --> 00:22:12.600
But that's not where a lot of
affiliate marketers make their money.

00:22:12.600 --> 00:22:14.880
Uh, they make their money with software.

00:22:15.780 --> 00:22:20.100
You know, or startups or companies
that have on handful of products.

00:22:20.100 --> 00:22:25.350
And there's always new little e-commerce
stores popping up that are offering decent

00:22:25.350 --> 00:22:27.840
affiliate commissions because they're
trying to get their shit off the ground.

00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:28.560
Right.

00:22:28.770 --> 00:22:34.290
There's also these, these awesome
tools like you have Jarvis, right?

00:22:34.290 --> 00:22:36.750
The, the AI software
that everyone's pitching.

00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:39.900
You know, All the email
marketing companies.

00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:43.290
They are offering affiliate deals.

00:22:43.320 --> 00:22:45.540
All the new guys they're
offering affiliate deals.

00:22:46.230 --> 00:22:46.710
Now.

00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:48.180
That's great.

00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:49.980
You know, if you want to.

00:22:50.040 --> 00:22:53.070
And then a lot of them are
offering really good money, money

00:22:53.130 --> 00:22:54.810
to which you could spend on.

00:22:54.810 --> 00:22:55.050
Right.

00:22:55.050 --> 00:22:58.620
You could technically promote
for them in paid advertising.

00:22:58.620 --> 00:22:59.700
You could technically.

00:23:00.270 --> 00:23:05.460
Send emails out, which is what, you know,
If you're, if you're getting a huge chunk

00:23:05.520 --> 00:23:09.340
like B school, for example, you know,
B-School season, if you're, if you're a

00:23:09.360 --> 00:23:15.660
female in this industry, I don't see it,
but Steph sir sees it every February.

00:23:16.080 --> 00:23:19.080
She gets bombarded with fucking
emails from all these affiliate

00:23:19.080 --> 00:23:22.200
marketers pitching Marie Forleo's
B-School because you know what?

00:23:22.590 --> 00:23:26.940
Marie Forleo's B-School is expensive
and they're getting a 50% cut.

00:23:27.180 --> 00:23:28.320
That's big money.

00:23:29.070 --> 00:23:30.600
Until Marie Forleo is like,

00:23:32.370 --> 00:23:33.360
We don't need to do that anymore.

00:23:33.360 --> 00:23:33.840
We're big.

00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:35.700
We don't need affiliate marketing anymore.

00:23:36.060 --> 00:23:37.860
And all those people that relied on that.

00:23:38.520 --> 00:23:39.390
What are you going to do?

00:23:42.660 --> 00:23:44.340
So that's the third sign of death.

00:23:45.570 --> 00:23:46.500
Third side of death.

00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:48.810
And again, the catalyst.

00:23:49.350 --> 00:23:51.000
For what made me write this article?

00:23:51.900 --> 00:23:53.880
It was, it was, it was in my head.

00:23:54.600 --> 00:23:55.590
Steph had given it to me.

00:23:56.820 --> 00:23:59.940
And then I got an email from
Thomas Frank buddy of mine.

00:24:00.900 --> 00:24:01.410
Now.

00:24:01.890 --> 00:24:04.590
Why I got a text from him is because.

00:24:06.270 --> 00:24:08.370
I used to use convert kit.

00:24:09.390 --> 00:24:12.030
And if you're in this industry,
you know, that convert, kit's

00:24:12.030 --> 00:24:13.920
got a 30% recurring payout.

00:24:14.790 --> 00:24:15.540
For affiliates.

00:24:16.020 --> 00:24:16.860
That's awesome.

00:24:17.130 --> 00:24:20.520
They were, they were very, very
aggressive with that in the beginning.

00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:25.410
So that's why, if you, if you're
on convert kit now, Or, you

00:24:25.410 --> 00:24:26.640
know, somebody on cover kit.

00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:30.780
Even myself it's because there
was an awesome affiliate program.

00:24:31.020 --> 00:24:32.130
Is the software good?

00:24:32.250 --> 00:24:32.610
Yes.

00:24:32.610 --> 00:24:33.450
The software is good.

00:24:34.590 --> 00:24:37.320
But in the early days, it was
all about that affiliate income.

00:24:38.130 --> 00:24:38.460
Okay.

00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:40.050
They're trying to grow their business.

00:24:40.110 --> 00:24:41.010
That's how you do it.

00:24:41.580 --> 00:24:42.450
It's one way to do it.

00:24:42.450 --> 00:24:42.870
I should say.

00:24:45.060 --> 00:24:45.690
Now.

00:24:46.470 --> 00:24:47.370
Thomas.

00:24:47.850 --> 00:24:50.880
I had, you know, I literally
got a call from Nathan Barry.

00:24:51.030 --> 00:24:54.390
Who's like, uh, you know, we
talked on the phone, he got me

00:24:54.540 --> 00:24:55.770
to switch over to convert kit.

00:24:56.070 --> 00:24:57.060
I'm on convert kit.

00:24:57.480 --> 00:24:58.470
I like convert kit.

00:24:58.590 --> 00:24:59.850
I still like convert kit.

00:25:00.390 --> 00:25:00.780
Okay.

00:25:01.170 --> 00:25:04.440
So I'm like, oh, well they got
a kick ass affiliate program.

00:25:04.470 --> 00:25:05.220
Sign up for that.

00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:08.430
Thomas asked me what email
service are you using?

00:25:08.490 --> 00:25:10.170
I said, I switched from
MailChimp to ConvertKit.

00:25:10.230 --> 00:25:10.740
He goes cool.

00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:11.280
I'm going to do that.

00:25:11.340 --> 00:25:12.120
I go great.

00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:13.080
Use my affiliate link.

00:25:13.530 --> 00:25:14.910
Now Thomas has got a big list.

00:25:15.120 --> 00:25:18.270
So all of a sudden I'm making
like 300 bucks a month.

00:25:18.810 --> 00:25:21.570
From one from referring one
person, cause his list is so big.

00:25:22.140 --> 00:25:22.650
Okay.

00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:25.680
Now I've also put that
link all over money lab.

00:25:25.800 --> 00:25:28.350
And again, still recommend ConvertKit.

00:25:29.190 --> 00:25:29.550
Okay.

00:25:29.580 --> 00:25:32.250
I'm not sitting here shitting
on ConvertKit by any means.

00:25:33.990 --> 00:25:37.080
But Thomas texted me in the
middle of February and says,

00:25:39.030 --> 00:25:41.610
R I P that suite $300 a month.

00:25:41.640 --> 00:25:43.140
You get from my ConvertKit account.

00:25:44.730 --> 00:25:47.850
I'm like, oh, are you switching
from ConvertKit to something else?

00:25:48.420 --> 00:25:49.260
He goes, no.

00:25:50.340 --> 00:25:52.080
They're changing their affiliate program.

00:25:52.770 --> 00:25:56.400
Seventy-five dollars flat fee
for new sales and old commissions

00:25:56.430 --> 00:25:58.230
will stop paying out in September.

00:25:58.890 --> 00:26:01.080
And I'm like, holy shit.

00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:04.950
Uh, that to me.

00:26:05.580 --> 00:26:08.280
Nail in the coffin for
affiliate marketing.

00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:11.100
For me again, this is all subjective.

00:26:11.970 --> 00:26:13.890
But there goes.

00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:16.710
One of the best paying affiliate.

00:26:17.070 --> 00:26:20.280
Software companies that everyone
in our industry was recommending.

00:26:20.700 --> 00:26:22.200
Fucking gone.

00:26:23.370 --> 00:26:23.970
Now.

00:26:24.510 --> 00:26:26.100
I know a lot of people.

00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:28.320
Who relied on that income?

00:26:29.250 --> 00:26:34.020
And, you know, they, a lot of people
have built an entire business around

00:26:34.020 --> 00:26:36.840
convert kit, around email marketing
and specifically convert kit.

00:26:37.290 --> 00:26:38.370
Entire businesses.

00:26:38.550 --> 00:26:44.190
I see people even Thomas right
now is fully not fully, but

00:26:44.190 --> 00:26:47.580
he's got an entire little mini
side business all around notion.

00:26:48.930 --> 00:26:53.040
That's like me putting all my eggs into
fucking Assana no way am I doing that?

00:26:54.060 --> 00:26:55.470
But he's got it all in notion.

00:26:55.950 --> 00:26:59.010
Now I don't, I don't know if he's
making any affiliate money with notion.

00:26:59.460 --> 00:27:02.370
But God notion changes anything.

00:27:02.670 --> 00:27:04.440
And he's not a part of that meeting.

00:27:05.490 --> 00:27:07.770
And a lot of his content is kind of.

00:27:08.970 --> 00:27:09.810
Worthless.

00:27:10.560 --> 00:27:12.780
That just sucks at socks.

00:27:13.710 --> 00:27:18.840
You know, But that's not, you know,
affiliate marketing is, is when

00:27:18.840 --> 00:27:21.180
talking about affiliate marketing,
not like basing your entire

00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:22.710
business off another mega court.

00:27:23.730 --> 00:27:24.570
But that's what.

00:27:25.410 --> 00:27:27.060
You know, that's what
we're talking about here.

00:27:27.060 --> 00:27:32.340
So I saw that and I'm like, Oh, I'm
going to write this article now, because

00:27:32.580 --> 00:27:37.740
that was honestly in my brain, the
one company where I was like, I really

00:27:37.740 --> 00:27:41.970
can't write about this because you know,
there's still a lot of people making

00:27:41.970 --> 00:27:43.740
good money with software affiliates.

00:27:44.040 --> 00:27:48.510
But if they were thinking about cutting
it because they ended up not cutting it.

00:27:49.410 --> 00:27:50.130
It's not cut.

00:27:50.130 --> 00:27:52.380
It's changed, but it's not fully cut.

00:27:53.250 --> 00:27:57.180
Uh, if they're thinking about
doing it, two things, one.

00:27:57.900 --> 00:27:59.130
Why do they make that decision?

00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:01.890
And I have not talked
to Nathan about this.

00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:03.690
Um, I.

00:28:04.590 --> 00:28:05.610
Not sure.

00:28:06.420 --> 00:28:09.600
They're going to want to, I mean, I'm
assuming, I mean, if I were him, I

00:28:09.600 --> 00:28:10.980
wouldn't want that information out.

00:28:12.120 --> 00:28:13.410
Y w w the Y.

00:28:13.740 --> 00:28:14.220
Okay.

00:28:14.610 --> 00:28:15.930
The why could be.

00:28:17.910 --> 00:28:18.870
A little cash.

00:28:19.290 --> 00:28:20.400
Poor right the second.

00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:23.670
And we need some, we need some
cash because here's the thing.

00:28:24.330 --> 00:28:29.520
You flip that switch in September when
you stop paying out 30% of your revenue.

00:28:29.940 --> 00:28:31.500
You get that 30% back.

00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:33.720
That's instant cashflow.

00:28:34.710 --> 00:28:35.190
Okay.

00:28:35.820 --> 00:28:37.680
Perfectly legitimate reason for doing it.

00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:42.570
You know, so I can see them not
wanting that in Bo out there.

00:28:43.530 --> 00:28:45.060
The other reason could just be.

00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:48.000
Well, we're big enough now.

00:28:48.360 --> 00:28:50.220
And we don't really need this anymore.

00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:53.730
We don't really need additional affiliate.

00:28:54.540 --> 00:28:55.080
Traffic.

00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:58.170
So we're going to, we're
going to scale it back.

00:28:59.280 --> 00:29:00.060
It could be another reason.

00:29:00.060 --> 00:29:00.960
I'm not thinking about.

00:29:01.560 --> 00:29:05.040
You know, The the $75
flat fee is interesting.

00:29:05.520 --> 00:29:06.270
Because.

00:29:06.870 --> 00:29:08.940
I'm assuming that
applies to free accounts.

00:29:08.970 --> 00:29:11.490
So if you're, if you're getting a
lot of customers that are signing

00:29:11.490 --> 00:29:14.070
up for free accounts, then you're
going to get that 75 bucks.

00:29:14.460 --> 00:29:15.930
You're not going to get
recurring on a free account.

00:29:16.050 --> 00:29:16.320
Right?

00:29:16.320 --> 00:29:20.760
So it does benefit the people who
are signing up a bunch of noobs, but.

00:29:21.900 --> 00:29:24.720
It's really not helping the
people who are, who are, you know,

00:29:26.280 --> 00:29:28.500
Basing their entire business
around like teaching.

00:29:28.560 --> 00:29:29.460
Email marketing.

00:29:29.850 --> 00:29:30.810
You know, whatever.

00:29:31.470 --> 00:29:34.410
But can convert kit, walked it back.

00:29:34.650 --> 00:29:35.220
Okay.

00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:39.540
Uh, I guess people spoke up.

00:29:40.500 --> 00:29:42.360
And, um,

00:29:44.250 --> 00:29:44.670
Yeah.

00:29:45.210 --> 00:29:50.490
They the, apparently they reached out to
people like personally and, and, you know,

00:29:50.490 --> 00:29:53.550
they ended up, uh, changing it so that.

00:29:54.570 --> 00:29:59.340
I think it's a, now you get
over 30% recurring revenue for

00:29:59.340 --> 00:30:01.230
two years and then it's done.

00:30:02.100 --> 00:30:03.060
So for me, I'm done.

00:30:04.379 --> 00:30:05.700
I don't get that 300 anymore.

00:30:06.360 --> 00:30:07.140
And.

00:30:08.639 --> 00:30:11.730
If you want the $75
payout, you can get that.

00:30:11.760 --> 00:30:13.770
So if you're signing up a
lot of new people, then you

00:30:13.770 --> 00:30:15.810
may want the $75, you know,

00:30:16.409 --> 00:30:16.919
Whatever.

00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:19.800
I don't, I don't blame
them for doing this.

00:30:20.010 --> 00:30:21.990
I don't really blame Walmart or, sorry.

00:30:21.990 --> 00:30:23.550
I don't really blame Amazon.

00:30:23.820 --> 00:30:26.790
And I really don't blame in the same
for canceling their affiliate programs.

00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:28.950
I can't, I run a business too.

00:30:29.670 --> 00:30:30.750
I get it.

00:30:31.500 --> 00:30:33.120
Once you get to a certain level.

00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:37.470
You really don't need it, or maybe
you're just cash poor and you

00:30:37.470 --> 00:30:38.580
just need the cash and that's.

00:30:39.210 --> 00:30:40.140
One way to do it.

00:30:40.410 --> 00:30:41.520
There's one, there's one.

00:30:41.970 --> 00:30:43.740
Pole in the bucket that you can plug.

00:30:45.540 --> 00:30:50.130
Uh, what I at, and so I
just want to be very clear.

00:30:50.910 --> 00:30:51.390
That.

00:30:51.660 --> 00:30:51.990
Yeah.

00:30:52.020 --> 00:30:55.530
A lot of people spoke up and got
convert kit to flip it around.

00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:56.820
That's great.

00:30:58.680 --> 00:31:01.620
Do you think they're going to con
I mean, honestly, I don't see.

00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:04.650
I mean, maybe after two years,
They're going to cut it again.

00:31:05.310 --> 00:31:06.270
Why w why wouldn't they.

00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:08.220
And.

00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:11.970
I'm not again, not blaming
convert kit for this.

00:31:12.090 --> 00:31:12.690
They should.

00:31:13.770 --> 00:31:16.440
Just like Jarvis is going to
build up all their people.

00:31:16.470 --> 00:31:18.720
They're going to get everybody and
they're going to have a thriving business.

00:31:19.080 --> 00:31:21.210
They're getting, they're going
to get cash poor, or they're

00:31:21.240 --> 00:31:22.050
gonna be like, we don't need it.

00:31:23.010 --> 00:31:23.550
Goodbye.

00:31:24.389 --> 00:31:25.050
Stopped the program.

00:31:27.750 --> 00:31:30.149
You know, Maybe, maybe they don't.

00:31:30.929 --> 00:31:32.909
But I'm not taking that bet.

00:31:33.990 --> 00:31:34.889
I'm not taking that bat.

00:31:38.670 --> 00:31:39.149
Some tea.

00:31:39.929 --> 00:31:40.920
It's getting cold on me.

00:31:41.010 --> 00:31:42.330
Some sitting here yelling into it.

00:31:43.829 --> 00:31:45.029
I'm not taking that bet.

00:31:46.260 --> 00:31:48.510
I'm not betting on Jeff
Bezos to help me out.

00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:49.920
Absolutely fucking not.

00:31:52.170 --> 00:31:54.149
So, where are we now?

00:31:55.109 --> 00:31:56.819
That was 30 minutes of me.

00:31:57.330 --> 00:31:58.139
Telling you.

00:31:59.250 --> 00:32:02.820
My thoughts on why affiliate
marketing is a shitty business model.

00:32:03.659 --> 00:32:05.189
Do I, am I going to stop doing it?

00:32:05.219 --> 00:32:05.639
Nope.

00:32:06.179 --> 00:32:08.550
I'm going to take that one
70, oh, announced down to one

00:32:08.550 --> 00:32:10.649
50 a year, 150,000 a year.

00:32:10.679 --> 00:32:11.700
I'm taking that money.

00:32:13.260 --> 00:32:13.679
But.

00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:16.230
I got to look at it as bonus money.

00:32:16.320 --> 00:32:19.050
And I know that sounds just
so elitist of me to say.

00:32:21.360 --> 00:32:24.540
It's like, ah, take 150,000 a year bonus.

00:32:26.370 --> 00:32:27.540
It is I'm using it.

00:32:27.570 --> 00:32:29.130
I'm spending it within my business.

00:32:29.460 --> 00:32:30.600
I got to think of it.

00:32:30.630 --> 00:32:30.720
I.

00:32:30.780 --> 00:32:32.850
You know, whether it's,
it is, it is what it is.

00:32:32.940 --> 00:32:34.320
I'm thinking about it that way.

00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:37.170
And I don't care if you are.

00:32:38.010 --> 00:32:41.550
You know, making hundreds of thousands of
dollars with affiliate marketing or not.

00:32:41.910 --> 00:32:45.030
Or if you're, you know, you could
be making a hundred dollars a

00:32:45.030 --> 00:32:46.020
year in affiliate marketing.

00:32:46.050 --> 00:32:46.680
I don't care.

00:32:47.130 --> 00:32:48.420
Think about the future.

00:32:48.570 --> 00:32:49.620
This is what it's all about.

00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:51.420
I'm so glad.

00:32:51.930 --> 00:32:55.440
That the first time they, they
took a little chunk off of

00:32:55.440 --> 00:32:57.450
roasty coffee back in 2018.

00:32:57.720 --> 00:33:00.840
That I looked at that as, oh shit.

00:33:01.290 --> 00:33:01.770
I better.

00:33:02.130 --> 00:33:04.590
I better start investing
in other revenue streams.

00:33:05.160 --> 00:33:06.990
I'm so glad that happened because.

00:33:07.860 --> 00:33:08.460
Honestly.

00:33:08.850 --> 00:33:10.170
If I didn't do that.

00:33:10.710 --> 00:33:13.950
I would be making $150,000 a year today.

00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:16.500
Now that's not bad.

00:33:17.130 --> 00:33:17.430
But.

00:33:18.120 --> 00:33:19.530
That's not a business.

00:33:19.800 --> 00:33:21.270
It's just a solo preneur thing.

00:33:22.170 --> 00:33:23.040
Completely fine.

00:33:23.640 --> 00:33:24.090
Okay.

00:33:25.470 --> 00:33:27.900
I'm glad that I'm, I'm
running a legit business.

00:33:28.050 --> 00:33:29.550
Now I have.

00:33:29.910 --> 00:33:31.710
Digital products that I focused on.

00:33:31.770 --> 00:33:31.980
Right?

00:33:32.010 --> 00:33:35.430
So I'm selling my own, my own
products, the products that I make

00:33:35.730 --> 00:33:38.220
instead of making 2.7% commission.

00:33:38.850 --> 00:33:44.190
I'm making like on a, on a course on
online course, like 95% commission,

00:33:44.370 --> 00:33:50.190
because maybe that 5% goes to
having podia hosts, the course

00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:53.250
having every Stripe or every PayPal.

00:33:53.280 --> 00:33:56.460
You know, credit card transaction
taken 2.7 off the top.

00:33:57.390 --> 00:33:59.550
You know, There there's
there's your number?

00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:01.140
95% margin.

00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:03.810
Fucking ridiculously huge.

00:34:04.860 --> 00:34:05.400
Okay.

00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:07.320
This isn't the same.

00:34:08.340 --> 00:34:10.050
Of course digital
products is the way to go.

00:34:10.590 --> 00:34:15.930
You know, So I started focusing on that,
but it's not, it's it's much, much,

00:34:15.930 --> 00:34:18.870
much harder to sell a digital product.

00:34:19.380 --> 00:34:20.520
Than it is to sell.

00:34:20.970 --> 00:34:23.610
You know, someone else's affiliate
product, cause it's not yours.

00:34:23.670 --> 00:34:24.330
Easy to sell.

00:34:24.780 --> 00:34:25.260
Uh, or.

00:34:25.380 --> 00:34:26.160
And there and there.

00:34:26.310 --> 00:34:26.520
Yes.

00:34:26.520 --> 00:34:28.200
The other thing too, what sucks.

00:34:28.230 --> 00:34:28.320
What's.

00:34:28.560 --> 00:34:31.620
What's great about affiliate marketing
is like, especially with Amazon as

00:34:31.620 --> 00:34:32.880
an example, or even convert kit.

00:34:33.060 --> 00:34:33.450
Right.

00:34:34.200 --> 00:34:38.460
You're going to do all the Uh, to,
to sell them on the thing, right?

00:34:38.460 --> 00:34:40.620
You're gonna, you're
gonna pump up the story.

00:34:40.620 --> 00:34:43.530
You're gonna tell him why you
use it, whatever, whatever.

00:34:44.490 --> 00:34:47.160
And then you're sending
them off to some other site.

00:34:47.640 --> 00:34:51.900
And they, hopefully in the case of
Amazon, a hundred thousand percent

00:34:51.960 --> 00:34:55.560
have done the job of optimizing the
living shit out of their landing

00:34:55.560 --> 00:34:57.600
pages to get that person to convert.

00:34:57.840 --> 00:35:01.830
So you're benefiting off of all their
hard work of getting them to convert.

00:35:02.490 --> 00:35:05.760
Which is why a lot of people aren't
diverting from Amazon, even though

00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:10.290
they're only paying 2.7% commissions
because other companies, other smaller

00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:12.990
e-commerce companies, like the one I
was currently using until they shut

00:35:12.990 --> 00:35:15.690
the program down was paying me out 10%.

00:35:15.960 --> 00:35:19.530
But their fucking conversion rates
were not nearly as high as Amazon.

00:35:19.530 --> 00:35:20.550
And why should they be.

00:35:21.450 --> 00:35:25.050
We're talking about Amazon versus another
small company that no one's ever fucking

00:35:25.050 --> 00:35:26.370
heard of until I sent them the link.

00:35:27.780 --> 00:35:28.380
So.

00:35:29.550 --> 00:35:30.510
That's a benefit.

00:35:31.410 --> 00:35:33.930
When you start switching to
your own digital products.

00:35:34.020 --> 00:35:36.480
Now, all of a sudden you are
in charge of that optimization.

00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:38.640
So it becomes a lot harder to do.

00:35:39.600 --> 00:35:40.109
But.

00:35:41.640 --> 00:35:45.029
It's a lot more reward
rewarding and a lot more stable.

00:35:45.660 --> 00:35:47.370
You have control of everything.

00:35:47.370 --> 00:35:48.150
Every piece of it.

00:35:48.839 --> 00:35:49.199
Okay.

00:35:49.860 --> 00:35:50.220
Now.

00:35:51.329 --> 00:35:54.869
That was the first piece, you
know, just creating more of my own

00:35:54.869 --> 00:35:57.209
digital products on swim university.

00:35:57.269 --> 00:36:01.799
I've created three pool
courses and one hot tub course.

00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:03.209
I want to make more.

00:36:03.209 --> 00:36:03.929
It's hard.

00:36:04.559 --> 00:36:04.979
But.

00:36:05.729 --> 00:36:08.309
Because I've kind of like maxed
out the number of courses I could

00:36:08.309 --> 00:36:11.609
really make on something, but
there's certainly room to grow.

00:36:12.989 --> 00:36:16.919
There's you know, the more traffic I get,
the more people I get on my email list,

00:36:17.009 --> 00:36:20.609
the more people are buying that course
every single year people move and they

00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:24.089
move into houses with hot tubs and pools,
and there are new customers all the time.

00:36:24.359 --> 00:36:25.889
So it's happening.

00:36:27.689 --> 00:36:31.079
Now, you know, money lab has
never really made any money on

00:36:31.079 --> 00:36:34.799
affiliate marketing except convert
kit, which fucking has gone.

00:36:34.979 --> 00:36:35.429
Okay.

00:36:35.939 --> 00:36:37.199
There it goes three 50 a month.

00:36:37.349 --> 00:36:38.909
Not, I mean, a big.

00:36:39.299 --> 00:36:40.259
A loss.

00:36:40.589 --> 00:36:41.579
Not a huge loss.

00:36:42.449 --> 00:36:44.819
And eventually like my
affiliate marketing, the what?

00:36:45.119 --> 00:36:46.319
I probably make.

00:36:47.519 --> 00:36:51.929
Maybe on a good month, I make a thousand
bucks on affiliate marketing and

00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:54.509
money lab makes about $8,000 a month.

00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:56.219
Uh, yeah.

00:36:56.639 --> 00:36:56.939
Yeah.

00:36:57.569 --> 00:36:58.139
Which is.

00:36:59.309 --> 00:37:01.079
I can live off of money lab.

00:37:01.109 --> 00:37:01.619
If I had to.

00:37:02.519 --> 00:37:02.819
Right.

00:37:04.019 --> 00:37:05.399
But it's all coming from courses.

00:37:06.479 --> 00:37:07.769
It's all coming from courses.

00:37:08.459 --> 00:37:08.819
Okay.

00:37:09.539 --> 00:37:11.609
I'm selling courses, I'm making courses.

00:37:11.609 --> 00:37:11.999
Okay.

00:37:12.179 --> 00:37:14.429
I'm I'm making an email marketing course.

00:37:14.819 --> 00:37:18.659
I am rebranding my affiliate marketing
course, because here I am writing

00:37:18.659 --> 00:37:20.819
this fucking article saying it's dead.

00:37:21.089 --> 00:37:24.329
How am I going to sit there and make
and capitalize off a course called

00:37:24.329 --> 00:37:25.559
affiliate marketing for bloggers.

00:37:25.889 --> 00:37:28.139
I'm not it's called
monetizing for bloggers.

00:37:28.139 --> 00:37:29.549
I've already rebranded it.

00:37:30.029 --> 00:37:32.219
And it will teach.

00:37:33.029 --> 00:37:36.359
You know, not just F it will teach
affiliate marketing, but it will also

00:37:36.389 --> 00:37:38.099
teach creating your own digital products.

00:37:38.279 --> 00:37:41.339
And it will teach how to create, I
mean, I think I'm going to do this.

00:37:42.629 --> 00:37:44.819
Uh, creating your own physical products.

00:37:45.209 --> 00:37:49.619
So this is something that I can't do
it every brand, but SUNY university.

00:37:49.649 --> 00:37:50.519
Absolutely.

00:37:50.999 --> 00:37:56.009
I did all of this in money lab pro I did a
little experiment back in September, 2021,

00:37:56.219 --> 00:38:01.109
where I white labeled a couple of hot tub
products and sold them on a Shopify store.

00:38:01.499 --> 00:38:02.219
And it.

00:38:02.669 --> 00:38:04.259
Worked very well.

00:38:05.009 --> 00:38:10.859
To the point where I am now in a
position where I think physical products

00:38:10.949 --> 00:38:16.289
will outperform digital products in
2022, which is an insane thing to say,

00:38:16.709 --> 00:38:18.779
'cause I just, I just started this.

00:38:19.439 --> 00:38:21.419
You know, A couple of months ago.

00:38:24.479 --> 00:38:25.289
I need to take a breath.

00:38:28.109 --> 00:38:29.069
I'm all worked up here.

00:38:30.629 --> 00:38:31.739
So I'm doing that.

00:38:31.769 --> 00:38:34.649
That's not for everybody, but that's
going to be in the course at some point.

00:38:35.129 --> 00:38:37.469
And with that, that's all
about margin too, and not

00:38:37.469 --> 00:38:40.229
making 95%, but 70% is not bad.

00:38:40.229 --> 00:38:41.219
60% is not bad.

00:38:41.549 --> 00:38:43.709
That frigging 25% not bad.

00:38:44.009 --> 00:38:44.939
If I'm being honest.

00:38:45.749 --> 00:38:47.369
I mean, obviously I want more than that.

00:38:47.999 --> 00:38:49.709
But it's better than 2.7.

00:38:52.679 --> 00:38:53.669
Just a lot more work.

00:38:53.939 --> 00:38:54.419
That's all.

00:38:55.049 --> 00:38:57.749
You gotta stock shit and you gotta
have capital and there's all, there's

00:38:57.749 --> 00:38:59.849
others, other things, but it's doable.

00:39:00.209 --> 00:39:02.639
If you, if you're up, if you're up there,
you know, if you're, if you've got a

00:39:02.639 --> 00:39:04.919
real business, And I say real meaning.

00:39:05.399 --> 00:39:06.329
You know, you're making.

00:39:06.869 --> 00:39:07.739
Decent money.

00:39:08.039 --> 00:39:11.969
You can set aside some capital,
maybe try a physical product.

00:39:12.539 --> 00:39:13.019
Okay.

00:39:13.529 --> 00:39:14.579
On top of that.

00:39:14.669 --> 00:39:16.019
So now I'm creating my own.

00:39:16.349 --> 00:39:18.209
Digital and physical products.

00:39:18.899 --> 00:39:23.459
They net currently make up like 70
plus percent of my revenue affiliate

00:39:23.459 --> 00:39:24.449
marketing's down all the way.

00:39:24.539 --> 00:39:25.529
Like 20%.

00:39:27.149 --> 00:39:30.959
I, you know, I'm making
decent money on a YouTube.

00:39:31.619 --> 00:39:32.189
Ads.

00:39:32.729 --> 00:39:37.439
Almost as good as not almost as good
as affiliates, but it's taken a chunk.

00:39:39.719 --> 00:39:42.299
It's just insane how bad
affiliate marketing has gotten.

00:39:42.299 --> 00:39:43.649
And I haven't changed anything at night.

00:39:43.679 --> 00:39:45.089
My tactics are exactly the same.

00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:46.679
It's just that the programs have gotten.

00:39:47.249 --> 00:39:51.059
They're just paying out less and I have
to constantly go in and change links

00:39:51.059 --> 00:39:54.389
and it's, and even with, uh, with,
with a software, like lasso, it's time

00:39:54.389 --> 00:39:55.799
consuming to manage that inventory.

00:39:55.799 --> 00:39:57.119
It's just a fucking insane.

00:39:58.739 --> 00:40:00.569
And I've and I've thought
about hiring for it.

00:40:00.629 --> 00:40:03.269
And I, and I, and I will this
year just because like, again,

00:40:03.269 --> 00:40:05.429
$150,000 is nothing to sneeze at.

00:40:05.909 --> 00:40:06.299
But.

00:40:07.229 --> 00:40:11.729
You know, It's really hard when it's,
when it just, when I'm seeing it drop.

00:40:11.789 --> 00:40:13.589
And I'm just like, man,
there's these other two?

00:40:14.039 --> 00:40:14.669
Areas that are.

00:40:14.999 --> 00:40:17.219
I have way more control
over way more margin.

00:40:17.609 --> 00:40:18.959
If I scale these.

00:40:19.619 --> 00:40:23.759
Sky's the limit, you know, affiliate
marketing is just like, there's a limit.

00:40:24.809 --> 00:40:25.319
Now.

00:40:26.399 --> 00:40:28.769
You can't just create products.

00:40:29.069 --> 00:40:30.509
You have to market them.

00:40:31.499 --> 00:40:32.069
Okay.

00:40:32.579 --> 00:40:37.199
When it comes to digital products,
I find the best way to market them

00:40:37.319 --> 00:40:40.439
is to get people to your website,
get them to subscribe to your

00:40:40.499 --> 00:40:42.749
email list and sell them there.

00:40:44.399 --> 00:40:45.929
I do it at some university.

00:40:45.929 --> 00:40:49.079
I get some people who impulse buy
Austin university because it's such

00:40:49.109 --> 00:40:53.159
a, it's a course that people need
right away because it's seasonal and

00:40:53.369 --> 00:40:57.149
people just moved into a house money
lab doesn't have that same thing.

00:40:57.179 --> 00:40:58.769
Even brew cabin doesn't
have that same thing.

00:40:58.769 --> 00:40:59.909
It's like, oh, I'll buy it.

00:40:59.909 --> 00:41:02.159
If you convince me that there's no rush.

00:41:03.419 --> 00:41:06.089
So I'm doubling down on email marketing.

00:41:06.899 --> 00:41:08.429
I think it's super powerful.

00:41:08.909 --> 00:41:11.519
It's incredibly valuable, right?

00:41:11.879 --> 00:41:12.539
Think about it.

00:41:12.839 --> 00:41:15.659
If you were to sell your
business, you know, one day.

00:41:16.019 --> 00:41:18.509
Even if it was on empire
flippers or something or

00:41:18.509 --> 00:41:19.769
Flippa or something like that.

00:41:20.519 --> 00:41:22.889
Like, yeah, traffic's super important.

00:41:22.889 --> 00:41:24.449
The website it's super important.

00:41:24.449 --> 00:41:25.589
The contents important.

00:41:25.949 --> 00:41:28.349
But the email list is invaluable.

00:41:29.159 --> 00:41:32.189
Like I would pay money
just for an email list.

00:41:33.449 --> 00:41:35.189
That's where you start getting big money.

00:41:36.719 --> 00:41:38.129
And that's where all the money is.

00:41:38.159 --> 00:41:40.469
I, I'm not going to go
into it in detail here.

00:41:40.499 --> 00:41:41.729
You can go on the website.

00:41:42.239 --> 00:41:43.499
And look up this article.

00:41:43.769 --> 00:41:46.289
And how, um, it's just
the money's in the list.

00:41:46.319 --> 00:41:46.949
It's true.

00:41:47.189 --> 00:41:48.599
I didn't believe it for the longest time.

00:41:48.959 --> 00:41:52.259
Last year, I started really focusing
on it and it's, I mean, it's just.

00:41:53.489 --> 00:41:54.149
Here's why.

00:41:54.899 --> 00:41:57.959
I in back in September when I
created my first physical product.

00:41:58.349 --> 00:42:00.389
Sent one email out,
sold out the inventory.

00:42:00.749 --> 00:42:01.349
That was it.

00:42:01.589 --> 00:42:03.089
Didn't been didn't do any other marketing.

00:42:03.149 --> 00:42:04.619
I'm like, oh, I get it now.

00:42:05.579 --> 00:42:07.649
And what's cool about that product.

00:42:08.039 --> 00:42:08.849
It's a consumable.

00:42:09.899 --> 00:42:13.799
I sent another email out when you're,
when it's finished and you buy it again.

00:42:14.999 --> 00:42:15.659
It's just like.

00:42:16.889 --> 00:42:17.549
Feels like.

00:42:18.659 --> 00:42:19.469
It's fun.

00:42:19.979 --> 00:42:20.999
But email marketing.

00:42:21.419 --> 00:42:24.359
And the other marketing channel
for me, which works very

00:42:24.359 --> 00:42:25.739
well for physical products.

00:42:25.739 --> 00:42:28.919
I've had a hard time cracking
the code on digital products.

00:42:29.309 --> 00:42:30.389
But physical products.

00:42:30.749 --> 00:42:31.649
Works very well.

00:42:31.859 --> 00:42:32.999
And that's paid advertising.

00:42:33.119 --> 00:42:33.239
Now.

00:42:33.239 --> 00:42:35.819
I know people are out there
like, ah, you got to run webinars

00:42:35.819 --> 00:42:36.809
on Facebook, blah, blah, blah.

00:42:36.809 --> 00:42:37.889
And I know.

00:42:38.249 --> 00:42:39.839
There's ways to crack the code.

00:42:39.839 --> 00:42:42.299
And I know people who have cracked it,
you know, miles Beckler is out there.

00:42:42.329 --> 00:42:43.289
He's cracked the code.

00:42:43.499 --> 00:42:44.549
He's tried to help me.

00:42:44.819 --> 00:42:46.199
No matter what I've tried.

00:42:46.229 --> 00:42:48.839
I CA I can't get it to
work for the pool industry.

00:42:48.869 --> 00:42:54.059
And, um, Um, Still trying to
crack the code, but it's hard.

00:42:55.049 --> 00:42:55.409
Okay.

00:42:57.689 --> 00:42:58.649
Oh, look at this.

00:42:59.399 --> 00:43:00.509
Just got an email.

00:43:01.409 --> 00:43:04.229
Circle, which is the, which
is the company that I use.

00:43:04.859 --> 00:43:07.769
Uh, for my money lab pro community.

00:43:09.779 --> 00:43:12.929
They're saying, oh, they just
created a partnership program today.

00:43:13.049 --> 00:43:13.949
Affiliate program.

00:43:15.269 --> 00:43:15.599
Yeah.

00:43:17.219 --> 00:43:18.629
Let's see how long that lasts.

00:43:21.839 --> 00:43:21.959
Uh,

00:43:24.269 --> 00:43:25.529
So here's the thing.

00:43:27.869 --> 00:43:30.599
Um, Is affiliate marketing dead.

00:43:31.019 --> 00:43:32.429
The answer's no, it's not dead.

00:43:34.319 --> 00:43:36.509
It's I think it's dying,
but it's not dead.

00:43:37.769 --> 00:43:38.969
I think it's a great way.

00:43:39.929 --> 00:43:43.799
To get your feet wet in online
business, you create a website.

00:43:43.829 --> 00:43:45.989
You don't want to make a product
right off, right out of the gate.

00:43:46.019 --> 00:43:48.839
Cause you don't know what product to
create, but you know what to recommend.

00:43:49.139 --> 00:43:52.889
And so you recommend somebody else's
product and you see if it has legs.

00:43:53.039 --> 00:43:55.619
And if it does, then you
recreate your own version.

00:43:56.039 --> 00:43:56.849
And you sell that.

00:43:57.179 --> 00:44:02.459
And that way, instead of going from
even 30% recurring it's 95% recurring.

00:44:03.239 --> 00:44:03.719
Okay.

00:44:04.169 --> 00:44:05.369
It's just the way to do it.

00:44:06.449 --> 00:44:08.459
Now you look at your, like, you
know, you sit there and you're

00:44:08.459 --> 00:44:09.659
like, well, what about wire cutter?

00:44:10.199 --> 00:44:10.499
Dude?

00:44:10.499 --> 00:44:12.719
Wire cutter is fucking having problems.

00:44:13.679 --> 00:44:15.149
When that Amazon thing hit.

00:44:16.199 --> 00:44:20.039
Don't tell me that, that, that
Wirecutter didn't feel that

00:44:20.249 --> 00:44:21.899
they felt it, but guess what?

00:44:22.889 --> 00:44:25.859
My gut says that wire cutter
has got a special little

00:44:25.859 --> 00:44:27.419
side pocket deal with Amazon.

00:44:27.869 --> 00:44:28.769
Because they're big enough.

00:44:28.949 --> 00:44:29.939
It's the New York times.

00:44:30.599 --> 00:44:30.959
Okay.

00:44:31.349 --> 00:44:32.219
Now it's a competitor.

00:44:33.119 --> 00:44:33.749
Newspaper.

00:44:33.989 --> 00:44:35.219
To what Bezos owns, but.

00:44:36.719 --> 00:44:38.339
I think they got a
little side-pocket deal.

00:44:38.849 --> 00:44:43.199
But you'll go Wirecutter and look a
lot of their, uh, affiliate links.

00:44:43.889 --> 00:44:47.039
They have Amazon, but they
also have two other buttons.

00:44:47.249 --> 00:44:47.969
Walmart.

00:44:48.509 --> 00:44:51.059
And maybe directly to, you know,
Williams-Sonoma or whatever the

00:44:51.059 --> 00:44:52.409
hell they're there they're Hawking.

00:44:53.039 --> 00:44:56.309
So they got a lot of affiliate
programs to manage, but that's

00:44:56.339 --> 00:44:57.269
their whole business model.

00:44:57.299 --> 00:44:59.129
They've they banked their
whole business model on that.

00:44:59.129 --> 00:45:00.149
And then you have companies like G2.

00:45:00.149 --> 00:45:02.309
G2 that review software.

00:45:02.819 --> 00:45:03.329
Yeah.

00:45:03.689 --> 00:45:04.889
That's their whole business model.

00:45:04.919 --> 00:45:07.349
These are massive, massive companies, but.

00:45:08.099 --> 00:45:09.329
I'll I'll tell you this.

00:45:09.689 --> 00:45:11.519
That is not a business I want to be in.

00:45:11.999 --> 00:45:13.559
Of constantly.

00:45:14.519 --> 00:45:16.469
You know, having to manage.

00:45:17.009 --> 00:45:20.969
Even the convert kit switches, their
affiliate link one day, they're

00:45:20.969 --> 00:45:24.929
like, oh, we were using this software
to manage our affiliate program.

00:45:24.929 --> 00:45:26.039
Now we're on this software.

00:45:26.039 --> 00:45:27.419
You gotta change your affiliate link.

00:45:28.049 --> 00:45:28.919
Oh, God.

00:45:30.569 --> 00:45:32.309
Yeah, that's that's that's work.

00:45:32.339 --> 00:45:33.989
That's work that you have to do.

00:45:34.949 --> 00:45:37.799
And it doesn't change anything
about how much you make, but

00:45:37.949 --> 00:45:39.389
they're forcing you to do that work.

00:45:40.349 --> 00:45:41.249
Or else you don't get paid.

00:45:42.149 --> 00:45:42.659
So.

00:45:43.649 --> 00:45:45.989
You've got these, all of these
companies out there that are

00:45:45.989 --> 00:45:47.549
giving you fucking work to do.

00:45:48.149 --> 00:45:50.579
And only just so you can keep.

00:45:51.419 --> 00:45:52.019
Making money.

00:45:54.569 --> 00:45:59.309
I just, I'm not, you know, I don't
know about you and again, I'm not.

00:45:59.849 --> 00:46:01.439
Deleting all my affiliate links.

00:46:01.529 --> 00:46:02.429
They're all staying up.

00:46:03.149 --> 00:46:05.849
I'm probably going to work a little bit
harder on making sure they're in stock.

00:46:06.119 --> 00:46:10.469
Just for the fact that I want
people who come to my website to

00:46:10.469 --> 00:46:12.959
get a good link to a good product.

00:46:13.229 --> 00:46:16.169
If I make money on it, if I make 2.7%.

00:46:16.649 --> 00:46:17.969
Scraps on it.

00:46:18.329 --> 00:46:19.139
I'll take it.

00:46:19.289 --> 00:46:20.309
I'll take the money.

00:46:21.059 --> 00:46:24.119
But am I going to offer a
product just because it pays me.

00:46:24.269 --> 00:46:26.699
Uh, you know, uh, um, uh, commission.

00:46:26.759 --> 00:46:27.149
No.

00:46:28.079 --> 00:46:30.059
That would be disingenuous
of me as a person.

00:46:31.859 --> 00:46:34.229
I recommend convert kit,
but I also recommend active

00:46:34.229 --> 00:46:35.909
campaign I'm on active campaign.

00:46:35.939 --> 00:46:38.909
I like ConvertKit when, when I was
just getting started up into it,

00:46:38.909 --> 00:46:40.859
but I needed a more advanced shit.

00:46:40.919 --> 00:46:42.509
So I went to active campaign.

00:46:43.319 --> 00:46:45.149
I recommend both depending on who you are.

00:46:46.019 --> 00:46:47.849
Do I recommend Bluehost
cause they pay out.

00:46:48.059 --> 00:46:48.869
A good amount of money.

00:46:49.889 --> 00:46:51.299
No, they suck.

00:46:51.779 --> 00:46:53.369
I recommend WP engine.

00:46:53.459 --> 00:46:55.799
Do I make a ton of money with WP engine?

00:46:55.829 --> 00:46:56.339
No.

00:46:57.389 --> 00:47:00.449
Because they're more expensive,
so I'm not going, I'm going to

00:47:00.479 --> 00:47:02.009
con convert that many people.

00:47:03.479 --> 00:47:03.839
But.

00:47:05.549 --> 00:47:07.139
I'm just, um, you know,

00:47:08.849 --> 00:47:10.529
Just, just look at the industry.

00:47:11.909 --> 00:47:14.279
I know I've, I've heard stories now.

00:47:14.309 --> 00:47:16.649
I'm not really kind of,
I'm not interconnected.

00:47:17.039 --> 00:47:18.239
Into all of this right.

00:47:18.809 --> 00:47:19.229
But.

00:47:20.429 --> 00:47:23.819
When you look at PatFlynn as
an example, like old school

00:47:23.819 --> 00:47:25.589
affiliate marketing guy, right?

00:47:25.589 --> 00:47:26.459
He was my guy.

00:47:27.149 --> 00:47:29.099
He's not my guy for
affiliate marketing anymore.

00:47:29.699 --> 00:47:30.569
Not his fault.

00:47:30.959 --> 00:47:31.919
He's not focused on it.

00:47:32.459 --> 00:47:33.569
Why, why should he be?

00:47:33.629 --> 00:47:34.679
He's got a real business.

00:47:34.679 --> 00:47:37.109
He's he's he's he's doing Pokemon.

00:47:37.439 --> 00:47:38.309
No, that's not what he's doing.

00:47:38.339 --> 00:47:39.419
Well, yeah, he's doing Pokemon.

00:47:39.839 --> 00:47:41.249
Right, but he's doing.

00:47:41.729 --> 00:47:44.369
He's got a frigging, uh, physical product.

00:47:44.489 --> 00:47:46.049
He's got courses.

00:47:46.349 --> 00:47:48.179
He's got software.

00:47:49.379 --> 00:47:51.209
And I'm sure he makes some
money with affiliate marketing.

00:47:52.289 --> 00:47:53.279
But he's not pitching ed.

00:47:53.309 --> 00:47:55.709
He stopped doing the, the,
the, what do you call it?

00:47:55.739 --> 00:47:56.009
The.

00:47:56.549 --> 00:47:57.419
Income reports.

00:48:00.119 --> 00:48:01.019
And then I I've heard.

00:48:01.079 --> 00:48:03.869
I, you know, so, so you can't,
you're not really going to him.

00:48:03.869 --> 00:48:06.479
He's not, I don't know if he's writing any
new articles about affiliate marketing.

00:48:06.479 --> 00:48:09.239
He may be, or have somebody on his
team doing it, but you, but like,

00:48:09.269 --> 00:48:11.159
I, I don't know it personally, but.

00:48:11.579 --> 00:48:12.899
You know, he's not into it anymore.

00:48:13.349 --> 00:48:17.669
Y Y there's got this, he's got, he's got
products, real products that are his.

00:48:18.149 --> 00:48:20.009
Why would you be right now?

00:48:20.729 --> 00:48:23.609
You look at the, uh, I, I
heard this about a 30 hacker.

00:48:24.629 --> 00:48:25.349
How they H.

00:48:25.439 --> 00:48:27.599
You know, not change and not,
and it's not a bad thing either.

00:48:27.629 --> 00:48:29.609
It's exactly what I'm doing, which is.

00:48:30.269 --> 00:48:31.739
You know, you teach affiliate marketing.

00:48:32.639 --> 00:48:36.449
Because it's a really, it's a really
used to be, I should say a good way

00:48:36.449 --> 00:48:37.769
to get started on my own business.

00:48:37.799 --> 00:48:39.629
And I think it, I think it is.

00:48:40.679 --> 00:48:42.119
And it's just harder now.

00:48:42.359 --> 00:48:42.869
That's all.

00:48:44.429 --> 00:48:46.439
And now they're, you know,
they're teaching, you know, okay.

00:48:46.439 --> 00:48:47.729
Create your own damn product to.

00:48:49.829 --> 00:48:51.089
So now that's all I'm saying.

00:48:52.049 --> 00:48:55.349
Is if you're in, if you're into
affiliate marketing, And it's a

00:48:55.349 --> 00:48:57.029
hundred percent what your business is.

00:48:57.569 --> 00:48:58.349
Start.

00:48:59.729 --> 00:49:01.739
Trying to replace those
products with your own.

00:49:02.279 --> 00:49:04.259
But I know physical products is difficult.

00:49:05.039 --> 00:49:07.649
And it requires capital
may not be for everybody.

00:49:07.649 --> 00:49:09.599
It certainly wasn't for me until now.

00:49:10.259 --> 00:49:12.719
Uh, but I'm sort of kicking
myself for not doing it.

00:49:13.319 --> 00:49:13.859
Earlier.

00:49:13.919 --> 00:49:15.629
It's not as hard as I
thought it was going to be.

00:49:15.899 --> 00:49:16.889
So I'm, I'm kind of mad.

00:49:16.949 --> 00:49:18.329
I didn't start a lot earlier.

00:49:21.899 --> 00:49:23.849
But physical or digital products.

00:49:24.689 --> 00:49:26.519
Again, another thing I wish.

00:49:27.809 --> 00:49:30.149
Another thing I wish I
had done a long time ago.

00:49:33.389 --> 00:49:33.959
So that's it.

00:49:35.759 --> 00:49:37.349
I say death to affiliate marketing.

00:49:37.859 --> 00:49:39.569
I say start diversifying.

00:49:40.409 --> 00:49:41.339
I say.

00:49:43.079 --> 00:49:43.739
I say.

00:49:44.219 --> 00:49:47.699
Let's let's create a business off
the backs of ourselves instead of

00:49:47.699 --> 00:49:50.099
off the backs of fucking Jeff Bezos.

00:49:51.329 --> 00:49:52.949
He doesn't give a shit.

00:49:54.359 --> 00:49:57.209
You know, and as much
as I want to believe.

00:49:58.019 --> 00:50:00.059
That business owners, including myself.

00:50:00.449 --> 00:50:04.049
You know, Care, they do some of them do.

00:50:06.239 --> 00:50:08.699
But they care more about
their own business.

00:50:08.699 --> 00:50:09.629
It's survival.

00:50:10.079 --> 00:50:10.679
So.

00:50:11.219 --> 00:50:12.029
If it means.

00:50:12.419 --> 00:50:15.869
Injecting some cash in their business
because otherwise they could fail.

00:50:15.929 --> 00:50:17.129
Then they're going to cut in a PR.

00:50:17.129 --> 00:50:23.939
They're going to cut a Uh, if they, if
they just, you know, I'm just saying.

00:50:25.259 --> 00:50:26.579
Don't don't bank on it.

00:50:26.639 --> 00:50:28.199
Don't put all your eggs in the basket.

00:50:29.219 --> 00:50:30.359
You don't know, who's holding it.

00:50:33.089 --> 00:50:34.559
That's it for the show.

00:50:35.579 --> 00:50:39.779
And, uh, hopefully this was
in, uh, inspiring more than

00:50:39.779 --> 00:50:41.699
it was, um, in, in, in.

00:50:43.199 --> 00:50:44.039
Anger inducing.

00:50:45.689 --> 00:50:48.599
Uh, But let me know, send me an email.

00:50:48.599 --> 00:50:51.359
matt@moneylab.co I'm here
to answer your emails.

00:50:51.389 --> 00:50:52.559
I'm here to talk to you.

00:50:52.919 --> 00:50:53.579
I'm here to help.

00:50:54.149 --> 00:50:54.419
Bye-bye.

00:51:08.639 --> 00:51:10.979
Computer: Please tell your
friends about this show.

00:51:10.979 --> 00:51:16.778
Transcribing...