I've read Millionaire Fastlane and Unscripted , and throughout both books MJ was pretty clear about the need to take into consideration the need to be in control of your moneymaking vehicle, and to be sure that there is some level of barrier to entry for what you're pursuing.
And so I took all that information and still jumped into an affiliate marketing arrangement with a company selling physical products.
Normal affiliate arrangement, I get a discount code and whenever someone makes a purchase with my code, I get a percentage of the sale. Simple.
I know, I know; that's NOT a business. BUT, it was one aspect to my side business endeavor. (I am nowhere near able to quit my SlowLane job yet).
For around 18 months, I made about $100-$200 per month, but recently that income jumped to over a thousand dollars a month.
I have a small (but monetized) YouTube channel, and some small following on social media. With over 150 videos, and over 15,000 posts of written content out across multiple platforms. Like anyone else in affiliate marketing, I integrate my coupon code and the products that I personally use into my content, and it generates sales.
Now that my monthly income jumped to over $1500 this month, I started to get excited about the potential to continue to make money from the content that I have been making with those integrations over the course of the last two years...
HOWEVER... out of the blue, I was contacted by the company and I was notified that they would be "refreshing" my coupon code. I am now to use a brand new coupon code to receive credit/commissions for sales moving forward. I will no longer receive compensation for sales made from the previous code.
With over 15,000 posts and 150 videos, there is no possible way that I can update the coupon code displayed in the videos and edit all previous posts to explain the change and encourage people to use a completely different code.
The result? The company will continue to get attention, advertising, and sales based on two years of my work. And I will no longer be compensated for it.
I did not have control over the system, and therefore I relinquished the decisions about my income to a faceless company somewhere. That was a bad decision, and apparently I had to learn it the hard way, instead of taking MJ's advice to heart.
On the plus side, all is not lost. I never altered course from my SlowLane job while I am building my side hustle into something greater, so this will not be my financial ruin...
But mostly, I now I know that I have a content creation process that works to garner attention for a product (or a service for that matter), and THAT is something I can bring to bear on my next endeavor. An endeavor over which I WILL absolutely ensure I have control.
Lesson Learned.
My thanks to MJ for trying to steer me clear of my own stupidity... unfortunately, the Force was too strong with me and I had to pay my stupidity tax this time.
And so I took all that information and still jumped into an affiliate marketing arrangement with a company selling physical products.
Normal affiliate arrangement, I get a discount code and whenever someone makes a purchase with my code, I get a percentage of the sale. Simple.
I know, I know; that's NOT a business. BUT, it was one aspect to my side business endeavor. (I am nowhere near able to quit my SlowLane job yet).
For around 18 months, I made about $100-$200 per month, but recently that income jumped to over a thousand dollars a month.
I have a small (but monetized) YouTube channel, and some small following on social media. With over 150 videos, and over 15,000 posts of written content out across multiple platforms. Like anyone else in affiliate marketing, I integrate my coupon code and the products that I personally use into my content, and it generates sales.
Now that my monthly income jumped to over $1500 this month, I started to get excited about the potential to continue to make money from the content that I have been making with those integrations over the course of the last two years...
HOWEVER... out of the blue, I was contacted by the company and I was notified that they would be "refreshing" my coupon code. I am now to use a brand new coupon code to receive credit/commissions for sales moving forward. I will no longer receive compensation for sales made from the previous code.
With over 15,000 posts and 150 videos, there is no possible way that I can update the coupon code displayed in the videos and edit all previous posts to explain the change and encourage people to use a completely different code.
The result? The company will continue to get attention, advertising, and sales based on two years of my work. And I will no longer be compensated for it.
I did not have control over the system, and therefore I relinquished the decisions about my income to a faceless company somewhere. That was a bad decision, and apparently I had to learn it the hard way, instead of taking MJ's advice to heart.
On the plus side, all is not lost. I never altered course from my SlowLane job while I am building my side hustle into something greater, so this will not be my financial ruin...
But mostly, I now I know that I have a content creation process that works to garner attention for a product (or a service for that matter), and THAT is something I can bring to bear on my next endeavor. An endeavor over which I WILL absolutely ensure I have control.
Lesson Learned.
My thanks to MJ for trying to steer me clear of my own stupidity... unfortunately, the Force was too strong with me and I had to pay my stupidity tax this time.
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