The AffiliateMarketingLessons Manifesto

This post is my written "manifesto" - a summary and declaration of what I stand for, and what AffiliateMarketingLessons is about.

My journey from being an engineer for 20 years stuck in a stressful and unfulfilling job to quitting my job and focusing on building an online business is based on 3 principles.

... and it's these principes that guide the content that I create and the way that I interact with you.

Developing the Right Mindset, Habits and Skills

The vast majority of aspiring affiliate marketers fail to make any real income… many give up soon after starting.

This can be attributed to what I refer to as the “vicious cycle”. It’s where you purchase one program after another, jump from one thing to another to another (and maybe even back to the first thing), trying all manners of methods and strategies, in an effort to figure out the “secret” to making tons of money online…

This leads to information overload, confusion, frustration, overwhelm, buyer’s remorse and other negative are really just barriers to your success… and you end up not actually making any money at all.

I've been a part of that cycle. Over the years, I've bought product after product chasing after that "magic button" to internet riches. I've spent money on ebooks and thousands on coaching (I was even scammed at one point.. more than one month's salary gone down the drain!).

The wrong mindset will keep you in the vicious cycle.

So... What's the right mindset?

The right mindset is the entrepreneurial mindset... affiliate marketing should be treated as a real business... Your own business.

Furthermore, instead of just thinking about making money, a much much better approach is to think about providing solutions to people... look towards solving problems… Find out what problems people want to solve… find a product that provides a solution to those problems…. You will be rewarded handsomely.

Build An Online Business That Gives You The Freedom and Income YOU Want

No, I'm not interested in that... I'm talking about income that makes me "comfortable"... allows me to take care of family, and not have to worry about money.

Can you relate?

I was an engineer for 20 years... I quit my job in 2019. 

Coming right out of university I was eager, exciting and hopeful... and why not - I'll believed that I would have much more independence... I'll be earning a salary, I'll be able to get my own car, my own place, and you know... buy myself stuff.

Throughout my engineering career, I did all the "right" things - got to work early, followed the boss' instructions, worked hard, worked extra hours, etc, etc.

But after about 15 years, I started to realize that not only am I not in a good position financially (even though I had started saving and investing early on in my career)

...but I was also definitely not on the path to the kinda wealth that I wanted.

I started to feel disenfranchised... weren't we told that the path to success was to go to school, stay out of trouble, get good grades, get a good job, work hard... blah, blah, blah.

... well I did all that!

But I noticed that my bosses were getting richer and richer... and richer. I was not!

I was too important and too valuable to the company to be allowed on to go on vacation for more than two weeks, but the bosses flew frequently... at one point spending more time out of the country than in the country.

... I couldn't afford to buy myself a home, but they had their nice home, along with properties that they rented out, as well as properties in other countries.

... they bought high-end vehicles one week, while the next week squirming over having to pay staff overtime hours.

... their children received the best education, while I couldn't foresee being able to do the same. Right out of university, their children were met with high end vehicles and apartments paid for by their parents

What was even more discouraging was that even after all this "good behaviour" on my part, I felt anything but appreciated... Among other things, promises of financial compensation for all that hard were often only partially fulfilled, or not all.

not fully I, as well as other staff, were spoken down to frequently... promises of financial compensation were often not fully, .

So, my time wasn't mine, and I wasn't in charge of my income.

Along with this were some health issues that started to develop... frequent headaches, feeling stressed and overwhelmed, anxiety attacks, not being able to sleep properly at night, not being able to eat properly.

I was not happy.

Enter your text here...

Integrity and Ethics

In one instance, I paid to part of a mastermind group... the package included blueprints, one-on-one consultation,  weekly group meetings, case studies and much more. The pitch was along the lines of that they'll "personally help you earn $X/month within the next Y months".

Communication was quite responsive while I was inquiring about the program and during the first couple of weeks after I joined.

I followed the training, completed the various exercises, got on the group meetings... But it started to dwindle after about a few more weeks... I found myself having to frequently follow-up  with them to response to my emails and give feedback on whatever "homework" I completed... meetings were postponed...  promises were not kept...

I subsequently received an email indicating that he'll join me onto this other training that he has for a huge discount (since I had already enrolled in the first program)... and that although the new program didn't have any one-on-one consulting or group calls, it would be receiving a tremendous amount of value.

I told him that I wasn't in a position to spend anymore money... he eventually allowed me access to a "lower level" of the training for no additional cost.

... So, they did not keep up with their obligations in the first program I joined (and I was no way close to the income promised), and with the second program I was left to go through the training and figure things out on my own, but it was confusing to me, so I gave up on that.

The other instance was even uglier...

It happened at a time in my life that I was really just down... apart from the stressful and unfulfilling job, my dad had just passed away. I came across this website where the sales copy really spoke to me... that night all that was going through my mind was "this could finally be the way to escape from my job and really have my own business.. be my own boss... get rid of all the stress"

... The cost of the training was US$2997... it was a significant amount of money... but, I just about had it... So I enrolled.

I communicated with the guy a few times and even met on Skype once.. He said he and is team would start creating a product for me... even showed me the outline... and after the product was created he would help "launch" it... Then, he'd teach me all how he did it... He said it would take him a few weeks and he would update me as things progressed.

... I never, ever heard back from him... no response to my emails, no response on Skype, no response via phone... nothing!

It was a real blow for me...

I can't bear to even imagine being the person responsible for putting someone else through that.

In my own marketing online, I try to promote quality products... products I can vouch for... products that I experience myself, either because I made a personal purchase or was given a trial by the creator of the product.

If I am not able to experience the product myself, my decision to promote the product is based on my assessment of how the product would benefit my audience and the integrity of the creator.

These are the values and principles that I upload as I continue on this journey to realize the freedom and income I want by building a sustainable and dependable online business.

And I'd love to have you along on the journey.

By nature I have always been eager to share my knowledge with others.

During my time as an engineer, and in particular in the last 5 years, during my stage of disenchantment, talks with colleagues would often lead to long discussions about this whole ideal of getting a good job and working hard didn't work out for them either, and that there has to be a better way.

My relative success with affiliate marketing has peaked the interest of friends... and I have been able to share what I've learned with them.

Many people are unhappy with their job and want to find a different, more enjoyable way to earn income... one that affords a better quality of life.

It's really from the experience of helping others get started with creating that source of income that I decided to create this website and share my experience.