Hello!
Happy Saturday!
I hope you all had a wonderful week.
I wanted to share a little story with you that happened last Sunday.
When I woke up and went into the restroom, I looked out the window and saw a hummingbird stuck in the skylight of the building next door.
At first, when it popped its head up, I was like, oh what a good ulman, today is gonna be a great day, but then I saw it struggling in there, trying to get out, trapped.
This devastated me, this poor hummingbird; what could I do to help?
I immediately came out of the bathroom googled what to do, and asked my boyfriend if he would come with me next store to try and save the hummingbird.
The building next store is empty, and no one lives there, as there are plannes for it to be torn down.
Despite my current injuries, I was determined to save this bird.
So, I scaled the gate, threw my body over the railing, and walked downstairs to let my boyfriend in.
We put out a red dish with sugar water in the eye line of the hummingbird in hopes it would be attracted to it, fly down, and escape to freedom.
We stood there for a while watching, but the hummingbird just kept trying to go up towards the sky and hit the glass.
Ahhhhh, what a metaphor for life…I thought.
Sometimes, we stay stuck trying the same things over and over that are not working, but we don’t know what to do to get unstuck.
As I continue on this affiliate marketing journey, a lot of lessons seem to be coming up.
One I spoke of in my blog post last Saturday, 1/27, was the need to slow down and look at this journey as an opportunity to learn valuable skill sets and explore versus trying to get to the finish line.
But this was another lesson: you need to struggle to succeed. A moment of friction is necessary and critical for the breakthrough that is coming.
And when these moments of friction arise, it is important not to give up, but to keep going.
Happily, the hummingbird finally figured it out, and flew away!
With the hummingbird safe, I was finally able to concentrate on the day ahead. And I took this lesson to heart.
I spent Sunday and the rest of last week reviewing the previous week’s homework, playing, and learning as much as I could to practice and develop the skills I have been taught so far.
I built another funnel! I learned how to clone a section or the entire page so that you can use it in another design!
I approached it as an experiment, giving my permission to just play around, thinking I could just delete it if I messed it up. This was “just for fun” time to play around and see what I could accomplish and explore the different aesthetics and features of the platform.
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Then, I started to work on my social media content. I am learning a lot about social media, and still have a lot to learn.
This is a skill that I believe is critical for success. For awhile I have been using Facebook and Instragram, but recently, due to all the buzz, and Dean recommending it I have started to post on TikTok.
TikTok is very powerful because of the platform’s algorithm. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, where you build an audience, TikTok shows your video to people who are not your friends. Most of my initial videos got 0 or 1 view, but once I started posting shorter videos that were well edited, with substitutes, I got over 600 views on TikTok
.#WIN – a total win that I wanted to celebrate, but then, a sense of panic happened.
One of my teachers saw the TikTok videos I was showing up in my Facebook friends’ “people you may know” feeds in TikTok. And one peer from a class I am taking said, “I saw this video of you…”
I was so embarrassed. Here I was making videos about my affiliate marketing journey being vulnerable, and people I know are seeing it, not strangers, but teachers, co-workers, peers, and people I look up to.
I have to say, at first, I was in a panic; how can I stop this from happening?
Back up for a second, and let me tell you that If you look at my personal social media pages, I barely post anything, and If I do, it’s usually a picture of a vacation or a band I went to see or my cute kitties.
Rarely do I post a picture of myself and I have never posted a video of me talking until my affiliate marketing journey.
But the more I sat with the feeling of uncomfortableness, I realized I needed to own it.
I should be proud of having the guts to put myself out there on social media, sharing my journey of affiliate marketing. And even though some of my videos are horrible, they are part of my journey, and I believe this journey is going to end in success!
It wasn’t a coincidence that Dean said during class on Friday that “ Our greatest threat to our success is ourselves, ALWAYS,” and Dean spoke about how he considered himself not really a social person, so he resisted posting on social media for years.
I feel like Dean knew that as we follow his proven plan, FEAR and uncomfortableness are bound to come up, and he reminded us on Friday to let us know this is going to happen, and you have to do what it takes to overcome it and keep going.
Anyone can learn the 4 skills to thrive as an affiliate marketer: learn how to drive traffic, capture traffic, send email follow-ups, and make offers.
But if you let fear get in your way, and prevent you from taking action, and give up, there is no chance of success.
You can’t fail if you don’t try but you cannot succeed either, that is why we must step out of our comfort zone.
This is where your WHY comes in!
In my previous blog post I talk about the importance of starting your affiliate journey with defining your WHY.
I explained that when starting this path, it is important to know why you are doing it.
Is it to spend more time with friends and family? Is it to be able to watch your kids or grandkids grow up, take their first steps, tuck them in, and read them a bedtime story? Is it because you can’t stand the 9 to 5 and want to create your own schedule?
Whatever your why is, it is something along this journey that you will need to keep reverting back to, to help propel yourself over the challenging moments and move forward.
Friday’s class was filled with tough love and a ton of information, and it was our introduction to TRAFFIC!
When I first started out this scared me, as mentioned above I really hate posting videos of myself and sharing what I am doing with the world.
But right now, I am doing both, and surviving!
This blog, as mentioned before, is intended to not only document my journey and share what I am learning with others so they can find success and inspiration, but it is also a form of organic traffic.
What is traffic?
Traffic is ultimately people.
Our goal as affiliate marketers is to attract people, well specifically, the right people (targeted traffic), who are interested in learning about what we are teaching, in my case, the steps and skillsets needed to be a successful affiliate marketer!
When it comes to traffic, it’s important to know that you do not create it, traffic already exists.
People are already on the internet browsing Google, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, etc..
Our goal is to get our content in front of people who are interested and can benefit from the information we want to give them as they are looking at content on these platforms.
There are two types of traffic: Organic (Free) Traffic and Paid Traffic.
Here is a little video I created to explain the difference:
How do you find your people?
People Can be found in these places:
- Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
- Video Sharing Platforms (TikTok YouTube)
- Search engines – (Google)
- Discussion platforms/forums (Quora)
- Blogs/Websites
- Email Inboxes
- Podcasts
These platforms have the people (traffic) hanging out there; now, all we need to do is leverage these platforms and get our content in front of the right people!
Let’s be real; there is no magic button for this; figuring out how to create content that resonates and getting it in front of the right people is a skill that needs to be learned and developed. And that is what Dean and the team will be teaching us over the next few weeks.
Make sure when starting the traffic journey to set realistic expectations – Another pro tip from Dean during class.
It is not realistic to think you are going to start running ads and make $10,000 a month. But it is realistic to shoot for 100 emails in 15 days or your first sale in 30 days.
Another lesson that comes up often is CONSISTENCY.
You are going to need to consistently put out content on the traffic source that you choose.
By consistently putting out content, you will maximize the chance of people finding it.
Since only a small % of people who consume your content will be intrigued and click on it, and a smaller percentage of people might follow you, join your list, or respond to your call to action, constant creation is key because it is a numbers game. If more people get to see your content, there is a higher chance of responses.
This is going to take time, and organic traffic will take more time than Paid Traffic, but with organic traffic, typically, you will get more targeted and engaged people on your list. Organic traffic is sometimes referred to as free traffic. Although it has no monetary investment involved, I want to convey that this strategy will require an investment of time.
Your time and financial restraints will definitely play a role in determining your traffic strategy.
The other major contributing factor to determining your traffic strategy is what you are willing to do.
Are comfortable with making videos, writing content, posting images, and or posting audio clips?
You will need to get real with yourself, and what you can commit to. This will help you determine what is your best option.
For example, TikTok is an up-and-coming platform that has a ton of potential, and short videos seem to be what works best, so are you willing to create short videos? If yes, this is a viable strategy. If not, then TikTok is probably not the way to go.
Now, tough love here: it is perfectly okay to say no to videos if you are unable to post this type of content because of your job ( i.e., you are a spy who needs to keep your identity under wraps). It is not okay to avoid a traffic strategy out of FEAR.
This is a moment where you need to be truthful with yourself.
So, this week’s homework assignment is just that. Be honest with yourself, be ready to step out of your comfort zone, not self-sabotage, and remember your why.
Comment below what you are willing to do. Will you be focused on written content (blog, quora, etc.), video content (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.), and/or audio content (podcast, etc)?
I am going to be doing a combination of written, video, and images, using organic traffic methods including this blog, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
It is recommended when choosing a traffic strategy to just start with one.
The reason for this is to not overwhelm yourself. You will need to really learn this skill set, so picking a platform you are familiar with and resonate with is a good place to start.
If you already use the platform, then you know what the feed looks like and what grabs your attention, and understanding the user experience is important to understand. Learn all you can and become an expert in this traffic strategy.
What do you think you want to choose as your primary traffic strategy? Comment below I would love to know what your primary traffic strategy plans are!
Don’t forget to comment below: Do you have any fears or concerns about creating video, written, and/or audio content? What are you scared of but going to push through anyway? What is the WHY that is giving you the strength to push through your fears???
Remember to take your time to weigh the options and pick which strategy is right for you. This is not a one-size-fits-all, this is about you, and what you can commit to doing consistently and wanting to learn and master.
I look forward to reading all your comments.
Let’s ride from rookie to riches together!
To our success,
Alison Blaire
28 Responses
Alison what happened when you mentioned your teacher had seen your video? Did they like it or just razz you? I applaud you for going out and taking on the uncomfortable!
He liked it, but it made me feel self-conscious. He is my dance instructor, and it seems like two of my worlds were colliding.I am so determined to keep going and learn all I can to make it in this world of affiliate marketing. I know this is just one of those things I just need to accept, be a little embarrassed, but keep going anyways!
Hi Alison,
Congratulation for getting over your fear and posting on Tik Tok. I have watched some of your Tik Tok videos and I like how natural you are on video.
I have a suggestion for you. You can consider adding thumbnails with text to the beginning of your video.
People’s attention span are very short, and they just keep swiping on Tik Tok.
So you want to grab their attention immediately with a strong hook so that they will watch your video instead of just swiping away.
Great suggestion thank you so much, I will work on adding thumbnails with text to the beginning of the video!
Alison,
Funny how we can mirror each other even when we do not know each other but the story of the hummingbird and relating that to the way we do some things knowing full well that that way does not work. And at the same time, the need to struggle, to grow is also the way that the caterpillar grows into a butterfly.
I want to do TikTok so thank you for getting out there (worrying about stuff that we will struggle over) to then finally to fly free
Yes exactly, it is like the caterpillar that grows into a butterfly, life is full of so many lessons all around us. It is beautiful! If TikTok is on your radar you should do it, I am hoping Dean and the team will provide more insights, but there is a video Dean’s wife made in the portal that helped me to get started! I have a lot to learn but in 5 years it will be fun to look back and see the progression, and probably have a big laugh! Beta then Better!
I’ve been posting my blog videos on TikTok for the last month. More and more are viewing the content. I have a lot to learn, however, but don’t we all? Lol. Thanks for the Humming Bird analogy. Humming Bird Medicine signifies intelligence, beauty, devotion and love, They are a symbol of good luck, a good sign that your Affiliate Business will bring great success into your life. When I read about your symbol, it becomes mine, as well. Thank you for sharing!
I started following you on TikTok, your content is great! Keep going! To our success may 2024 be the year of the Hummingbird!
Alison, well done on a great blog. As usual it’s full of value and it’s honest and real. I love your hummingbird story and that is often what we do to ourselves. We get overexcited or we have fear and we get stuck for a little while. People around you help and then you get on your merry way. I like your section on traffic and your video which makes things really clear so well done on that. But the thing I’d like to mention is that you took the plunge and started posting on TikTok. This is something that I want to do, and I am petrified . Who’s going to want to watch a middle-age guy with a beard talking about his journey to becoming financially free. But with the response I’ve heard on my blogs, maybe there’s a chance people will want to watch the videos. I have watched yours and I’ve also started to follow you on TikTok. I did notice how suddenly you’ve got many hundreds of views so that’s great. Well done! keep going! I plan to start videos probably in March after I have established my primary traffic source. You come across very well on your videos so keep going you’re doing great. Thanks, Atif
Thank you so much for your kind words. I am so glad you brought this up, because I thought the same thing. Who want’s to see videos of me? I believe that since we are all unique characters, with our own journey to share, and since “no body can be you but you”, we are special. There will be people who love me and people who hate me, and the same goes for everyone. We only need a small % of people to really resonate with our story and voice, so let your’s be heard, someone out there will be inspired!
What a post Allison
Great job! So glad you pushed through the fear!
Love the traffic video. Keep it up you are doing awesome.
Sandy
Alison, WOW. I feel like I was absolutely, positively meant to read this today! I am relatively new to this process, like you… and there’s one part that is getting me a little tripped up: the actual social media piece and putting myself out there! I have spent oodles of time getting the back end system set up and perfect… now there’s nothing left to do but jump off the dock and start swimming! AGH! I really appreciate you sharing this post… and I’m grateful I’m reading these words… and this moment right now. You provided me the comfort and encouragement… and maybe even that little kick in the pants that I needed. I’m so glad to see you moving right along in your journey… makes me get excited what I have to look forward to!
Alison, WOW. I feel like I was absolutely, positively meant to read this today! I am relatively new to this process, like you… and there’s one part that is getting me a little tripped up: the actual social media piece and putting myself out there! I have spent oodles of time getting the back end system set up and perfect… now there’s nothing left to do but jump off the dock and start swimming! AGH! I really appreciate you sharing this post… and I’m grateful I’m reading these words… and this moment right now. You provided me the comfort and encouragement… and maybe even that little kick in the pants that I needed. I’m so glad to see you moving right along in your journey… makes me get excited what I have to look forward to!
Hi Alison,
Great post! I love hearing stories like your hummingbird incident.
These are times that are designed to teach us life lessons, in this case the hummingbird is the instructor 🙂
Congrats on the efforts and results you’re getting on TikTok, great work!
Also great way of presenting the whole traffic topic, so detailed!
Awesome! Until your next post
Denny
Thank you so much for your kind words Denny appreciate it!
Hi, Alison.
I would like to say that, fear of the camera, fear of judgment, stage fright, fear of failure—these are the echoes we often hear, particularly from pessimistic individuals who lack belief in themselves and project that skepticism onto us. However, it’s essential to question: Who funds your home, your expenses, your meals, your indulgences? Your truth does. So, why lend an ear to those who won’t contribute to your lifestyle?
Certainly, venturing into the unknown can be intimidating, provoking a sense of fear. Yet, conquering that fear is the very essence of achieving our goals. I applaud your TikTok videos and extend my best wishes for your continued success.
I’m already on Quora but I would like to try myself with TikTok also. I’m thinking about it seriously to increase the flow of visitors to my blog. Well I’m a little scared about doing it but I think I will be ok with that. However I know I will need to overcome the fact that I hate to hear the sound of my voice and listen to me talking in English. But it’s part of the game right? I look forward to make my first try.
Thank you for this great content and all your precious tips.
Martin
I have never used Quora, have you had good results? If TikTok scares you then you should do it! I am sure you have a great voice, you can also use tools like AI to help overcome this, you can make videos with you and an AI voice, anyplace that gets you to start is a good place to be!!!
Hi Alison!
Your post is flowing with your personal flair. 😊 You are well on your way with your affiliate marketing business! I enjoyed your hummingbird analogy. The struggle is real. While teaching, I had a poster to remind my students, “Nobody said that it was going to be easy, but it is going to be worth it.” Your post is a reminder for everyone to keep with consistent effort!
I applaud you on your social media! You are an inspiration for those of us that need to take that next step!
I’m looking forward to future posts!
All the best!
Milissa Neirotti
Thank you for your kind words, Milissa; I love “Nobody said that it was going to be easy, but it is going to be worth it.” This hits the nail on the head and is a great poster to have up!
Alison,
I’m diving into the world of using Facebook, TikTok, and/or Instagram for my business. It’s a bit nerve-wracking to put myself out there, but deep down, I believe it’ll be worth it in the end. We’re often our own toughest critics, but honestly, I keep telling myself that my videos are just fine, and I am sure yours are also. Consistence is key. Positive vibes all the way!
Sherri
Sherri, you are so right, we are our toughest critics, and it is hard to get over the self-doubt, fears, and resistance, but it will be worth it. Social media is critical for success; I look forward to your first post and encourage you to just do it, beta then better!
I think I do a good job with written content within my blog. But given that Video is such a compelling form of advertising, I’m not willing to let that slide.
I acknowledge that I am my greatest threat to my success but apparently I need to push thru the doubt and fear and put my presence out there. While I feel very comfortable producing my own videos – in the past I had been getting an AI voice to do the talking for me.
But the resounding story in a coaching call was that the AI voice became a distraction causing the rest of my message to be boring. Both coaches would rather hear from me directly. And that makes me think – such is the preference my future viewers would likely have. Time will tell – but I’ll likely use the video content as a secondary traffic strategy with all secondary platforms leading to my blog.
Robert, I have watched your videos and checked out your blog, and I think they are great, but I agree, there is nothing better than getting to know you, and that means hearing your voice! I look forward to hearing more of it in your upcoming videos!
Alison,
Yes, we definitely need to step out of our comfort zones, and face our fears. Not an easy thing to do, but necessary! And being consistent is a must as well.
Congrats on your Tik Toc adventure! I need to suck it up and do that as well!
Kelli
Kelli, you got this!!! As you can see from my TikTok, there are many videos that get 0 views, and that’s okay; just keep going, and you’ll start to see views, and the more you do, the more you learn! Having fun with the process and learning is what I have been working on, as well as making myself do all the things I am uncomfortable with. Looking forward to seeing your first TikTok post, it is such a great platform that offers a unique opportunity!
Congratulations, Alison! You’ve inspired me to be brave on social media. I’m not afraid of strangers seeing me, but I am afraid of what my family will say.
My why is so my husband and I can enjoy coffee and quiet mornings each day. I really struggled to find my why. I have a bunch of stuff I want to do when the money comes in (I even made a vision board), but that stuff didn’t propel me forward when I needed extra motivation. I think I’ve finally landed on what I want that will help me to do the scary stuff moving forward.
I’m really encouraged by you!
Nakina, I am so glad that I inspired you; that makes my day! I have a vision board as well; it is such a great way to help us stay focused on our WHY and keep propelling us forward! Thank you for being on this journey with me, and may 2024 bring you nothing but success!