ProfessorIM

Many people have asked me if I enjoyed the Armand Morin Internet Marketing Explained Workshop that I attended on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of last week. Armand loves the business he has created and it shows. Three days of standing on a stage before an audience speaking from 9:00 a.m to 7:00 p.m is hard work but it did not seem to phase him. As the speaker you do not even get the breaks that you give your audience because everyone seeks you out to have a personal chat. It was a great opportunity to observe someone working the business they had created. Armand has developed a system that works for him in a big way.

Recently, Keith Wellman advertised the Million Man March. He talks about being a success in Internet Marketing by using his tried and true system. There is that word again. Rob Benwell is selling his Niche Annihilation system.

Finally, I think I am beginning to get it. You develop a system that works for your business. You do not flail around trying one thing after the other. You may refine it by tracking and testing, but basically you work a system–one that works for you. Once you prove to yourself that it will do what you want it to–whether it is making big money or little money–whether it takes a large amount of time or a small amount–you stick to your system. Focusing, continuity, consistency, or whatever else you want to call it, is the way you achieve success.

If you do not know what to do initially, you may choose to try to work the system that other people have developed, but eventually you adopt what works best for you. By George! I think I have got it. I do not want to work Armand’s business where he promotes and gives big workshops and seminars. His system may not be one that I want to adopt, but he does serve as a great example of someone who has found what they love to do and it works for them. What do you think?

Last week I attended Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas. While at the convention, I heard the word “Superaffiliate” used many times. Having found my way to Internet Marketing fairly recently, I find that I envy anyone who has been doing it since 1998 or even the early 2,000’s. It does not even make me feel better when they tell me that I will gain experience quickly and will be able to do everything they can do. The Superaffiliates seem to be in consensus when they talk about the “good ole days” and how much better they had it back then. Apparently Google has had a major influence and has restricted many of the liberties that were taken for granted. Perhaps there is a benefit in not having the point of comparison and just understand the way it is now. In any case, it does motivate me to want to become a Superaffiliate as soon as possible.

The major controversial topic was the pollution of the web. Jason Calacanis, Founder and CEO of Mahalo.com was the keynote speaker who brought up differences in the Internet today versus yesterday. He explained how any system can be taken over by gamers and how they create problems for everyone. He pointed out that curation on the web has started. He gave the examples that people now police their services; anonymity is being reduced, and bad people are being punished. He asked Affiliate Marketers to do what they could not to contribute to the pollution. Of course, by saying that, it may be interpreted that you are including Affiliate Marketers in the group that are polluting. Now you know why I used the word “controversial” in the first sentence. It created a topic for lively discussion–some agreeing and some disagreeing. A trademark of a good keynote speaker is one that can evoke discussion and Jason certainly did that. He explained how the search engine Mahalo.com has been designed to incorporate more human intervention to reduce pollution and steer away from some of the obvious problems.

Now I will editorialize just a bit. In hearing many of the Superaffiliate success stories, I have learned that some have experienced terrific successes when they least expected it. You might say that preparation and opportunity combined at the right moment to bring them very good fortune. They were working, trying different strategies, when–bingo–success struck. Definitely, they were not sitting waiting for it to happen. An observation–many young marketers are not afraid and so they are not constrained by fear of failure. In any case, the stories are always great to hear. I would encourage everyone to attend one of these events because it is great fun to be in a group where everyone totally understands the language and the difficulties of your everyday life in the business.