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The Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter
Feature Article - Chaos Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Get Things Done!
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Guest Article - 10 Secrets Of The Super-Affiliate Mindset
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Well, here we go again. The surgery my brother-in-law was scheduled for last week was rescheduled at just about the last minute (he was in the gown they were going to have him wear for the surgery) for this week on Wednesday. So I get to have the kids again. Four kids under four at my house for the next couple days. Yes, I will be getting very tired. They'd better not get cancelled again! My poor brother-in-law might get stuck in the hospital at Thanksgiving if that happens!
Still, I've been having fun planning things to do when life is that hectic. I don't want the girls worrying about where their parents are, so I have various fun activities planned for anytime the kids get bored. Coping with that many kids isn't easy, as I found last week. Ok, so that wasn't exactly a surprise.
In all honesty, the hardest part is dealing with Gage and keeping him out from underfoot of the older kids. He's crawling so fast now, but the girls are all too young to think to pay attention to where he is when they're playing together, so I have to be careful where he gets to.
The nice thing is that my mother is taking the kids for much of the time; she just wants to be there for my sister for the surgery. It's so wonderful having family all in the area to help out.
And one bit of exciting news! My oldest sister is going to have a baby! She's due in early July, but decided not to wait at all to announce it. She's quite delighted since she counts as an older mom (just barely!). I've been threatening her with twins, triplets and having a son (she insists it will be a daughter).
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Life is often hectic for stay at home parents. It gets more so when you work from home. There’s the kids to care for, the house to keep at least reasonably clean and meals to prepare, all while getting your job or business taken care of. It’s not the easy life many people think it is.
But even in the most hectic of times it is possible to get things done. Trust me, I know! I just spent two days helping my sister by watching her kids while she waited for her husband to go into surgery, and I’ll be doing it again this week since the surgery was rescheduled. Yet I managed to get things done with 4 kids under 4 running (or crawling) around the house.
How??
First comes sheer determination. The good thing about having the extra kids is that they kept my daughter a bit busy playing. Mealtimes took more time, as did discipline. Fortunately, my particular home business allows me to interrupt my work quite freely, so while all this was a hassle, it did not keep me entirely from getting things done.
However, under normal circumstances, a bit of planning can go a long way. I work a lot of evenings because that is when I can work in peace, making sure to take some time for my husband too!
If the kids are driving you nuts, it might be time to take time for them. With four kids in the house, I made sure to plan activities. We’re making play dough one of the days that they are here, for example. They’ll enjoy the process of making it, which of course takes some of my time as well, but then they’ll happily play with it for a long time after.
Next, consider some chaos-reducing ideas. Try scheduling your day a bit more. If you aren’t the type to adhere to a firm schedule, just have a general one, such as starting out by getting the kids breakfast, then answering your emails, and so on. One of the best things about working at home is that you don’t have to have a firm schedule, but a flexible schedule can help things tremendously.
Getting the kids out of the house helps too. If they’re old enough to play outside with little supervision and the weather is good, get them out of the house! They may only stay out for a little while, but they will have probably used up a good deal of their excess energy.
A separate home office is a big help if you can spare the room and the kids are old enough that you can close the door. Teach the kids to knock before coming in and what constitutes reason to interrupt your work.
Of course, kids aren’t the only thing that cause chaos when you work at home. Sometimes your home does it to you too. When you stay at home, you’re the one who has to deal with the plumber if there’s a problem, and that can be extremely inconvenient if you were really hoping to get things done. Just remember that a good plumber (or other repairman) does not need you to hover over him while he works, and let him do his job, keeping yourself available for questions and price quotes. He’ll often get done faster, so if you’re being charged by the hour, it will cost less too.
Then there’s one of the most difficult things for just about anyone working at home to deal with – computer trouble! This is why you should back up your machine regularly, so that a computer crash is an inconvenience, not an outright disaster! But even when you can’t use your computer you can probably get work related things done. You’ll be limited to organizational issues, however, such as going over paperwork and filing, or maybe calling customers, but if you haven’t been keeping up on these things, they need to be done anyhow. Then again, if you’re organized, maybe computer trouble means it’s time to take a little more time for the kids.
A hectic life doesn’t mean you can’t get anything done around the house, but it does mean you have to plan a little better in order to get things done at time. Take a little extra time as you need it and the chaos may not seem as bad.
Stephanie Foster is the owner of Home with the Kids. For more tips on managing your time, whether you work at home or are a stay at home parent, visit http://www.homewiththekids.com.
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Contrary to popular belief, super-affiliates don't really DO things differently than affiliate underachievers. Super-affiliates promote
the same products. They use the same SEO techniques. They have the
same headaches. And they work just as hard.
But super-affiliates THINK differently. Their minds and attitudes go
far beyond the commission check. For them, affiliate marketing is not
just a business. It's a CAREER. And that professional mindset makes
a huge difference in how and when they take action in the marketplace.
I've worked side by side with many super-affiliates. I've even helped
create a few. They all share a special kind of mindset. So as you
read these 10 characteristics of affiliate super-achievers, ask
yourself, "Could I learn to think this way?"
#1 Super-affiliates think creatively.
You know what you'll get if you do what everyone else does? You'll get
what they get... only you'll be splitting it with them, and all their
imitators.
In today's Internet marketplace, you need to be a leader, not a
follower. So super-affiliates don't follow the crowd. They sell TO
the crowd. They take the most successful marketing techniques, apply
them to selling the most popular products... and then add a unique spin.
It could be as simple as offering one unusual, but highly valuable
bonus. It could be as sensible as using low-cost offline marketing,
while everyone else is breaking the bank on expensive PPC. It could
be as innovative as dumping the sales letter, and substituting a quiz
or contest. But super-affiliates always, always, ALWAYS look for ways
to be alittle more creative than their competitors.
#2 Super-affiliates learn the hard stuff.
Less than 10% of people who start their own business are successful.
Why? Most fail because they lack direct sales experience, don't bother
with a marketing and business plan, or get into debt promoting products
that don't have a market. In other words, they flunk when they get
tested on the really tough aspects of business.
Super-affiliates are different. They learn how to do all the 'hard'
things other people shy away from. They learn about selling and they
get good at it. They set goals, make daily and weekly plans, and
measure their progress. They don't waste time creating huge content
sites unless they have hard evidence that those sites will eventually
bring them BUYERS (not just browsers or researchers).
And most of all, they keep their eye on PROFITABILITY. Not just traffic,
not just visitors. Super-affiliates look for a return on their investment
of time and effort, as well as money.
#3 Super-affliates follow up.
Most affiliates can attract prospects. A few can convert prospects into
customers. But only super-affiliates turn existing customers into repeat
customers.
Super-affiliates know that the person who has already bought from you is
the most willing prospect for your backend products, upsells, and cross-sells. These current customers are also the cheapest to sell to. So super-affiliates are always thinking of the lifetime value of a customer...
and always offering them the best value and deals.
#4 Super-affiliates give before receiving.
Super-affiliates invest time and money giving something of REAL value.
Before they ask for the sale... and before they seal a JV. Maybe they
give away useful content. Maybe they offer a valuable resource. Maybe
they offer to put in some sweat equity for a piece of the action. Maybe
they offer customers a chance to win something... or a smile.
But no matter WHAT they give, super-affiliates do business in a spirit
of openness. It's not about beating the other guy. It's about networking
and making alliances. It's about viewing the Internet marketplace as one
great big 'small town.' It's about saying 'let's talk.' And it's about
putting something ' money, effort, or reputation ' on the table BEFORE
making demands.
#5 Super-affiliates know how to receive.
Giving is the best first step ' but it's only the beginning. Once they've
hammered out a deal or given something of value, super-affiliates also
know how to take what they rightfully deserve.
That means they don't just pre-sell... they ASK prospects for the sale.
They're not afraid to capitalize on a good deal. They LIKE profits and
don't apologize for being successful. And if they're working on a JV,
they state their expectations clearly, forthrightly, without a lot of
fuss... and don't de-value their list or reputation with cheesy offers.
Yes, the best super-affiliates receive their just rewards graciously,
without throwing their egos around. And they not only say thank you.
They look for ways to turn a 'thank you' into an opportunity to generate
more customer loyalty and more sales down the line.
#6 Super-affiliates think strategically.
Affiliate marketing isn't a game of chance. It's a profession. Super-affiliates are just as savvy about their industry, and just as uninvolved,
as other expert professionals.
Which means super-affiliates spend quality time thinking, planning,
preparing, and evaluating. They analyze their sites, products, and
sales. They try to understand WHY one technique works and another doesn't.
They think about trends and ponder the mentality of their customers.
Bottom line is, super-affiliates LOVE their work.
#7 Super-affiliates test and analyze.
Profit, profit, profit... super affiliates are hard-headed about profits!
They split-test carefully. They think about WHY one ad pulls better than
another... and they try to duplicate the results. They analyze their traffic,
stats, and user purchase patterns. They're fanatics about knowing their
visitor to sales ratio on a daily basis. And they're obsessed with ROI.
If you want to say goodbye to the ranks of affiliate underachievers,
learn to love the numbers like the super-affiliates do.
#8 Super-affiliates know when to go for volume over commission.
Here's a very well-kept secret of some super-affiliates: you can earn a
fantastic income from cheap untargeted traffic. Believe it or not, not
every super-affiliate is brilliant at creating content or opt-in marketing.
Some just concentrate on traffic -- more and bigger traffic -- and make
money off of sheer volume sales and contextual advertising.
Here's the basic formula, oversimplified of course: Let's say that on a
given web site you get 1000 unique visitors per day, or 30,000 visitors
per month. If your average monthly profit from that site is $1500, then
each visitor is worth 5 cents ($1500 divided by 30,000 visitors).
So in this example, if you spend 5 cents to attract a visitor, all you can
do is break even. But if you can spend a lot less to get a visitor -- say
only 2 cents -- you've got the potential to make some terrific profits on
cheap traffic! Sure, it's not going to be tightly niched traffic. But it's
also the kind of traffic that fits well with products that have mass-market
mass-appeal, or even commodity products.
#9 Super-affiliates work a plan.
Successful affiliates have a simple business model: they replicate their
success. Once they find something that works, they tweak it slightly, test, evaluate, and repeat. Some of the most profitable affiliate empires follow
this simple, repetitive pattern. Consistent effort tends to yield consistent results, especially online, where certain types of marketing (like SEO)
take time.
And more importantly, super-affiliates follow a schedule. So much activity
per month, so many promotions, so many sales. When they fall short of their
goals, they figure out why. If they can't, they cut their losses and try
again.
Working a plan all boils down to discipline. Organization, tracking, and
daily project management are a way of life for super-affiliates.
#10 Super-affiliates never quit.
They may ruthlessly dump under-performing products. They may cut their
losses if the profits don't flow. But super-affiliates don't give up.
They assume that they're going to have some bumps and hard times. They
look at setbacks as essential learning experiences that, in the end,
help them build a stronger business.
This article is written by Anik Singal, founder of
AffiliateClassroom.com. Anik Singal has developed
his own affiliate system that helped him earn well
over $10,000 in just 60 days. Now, he's looking
for a few students to train one step at a time.
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