I don’t know if you’re an NBA fan, however – we can learn quite a few amazing lessons that we can apply for affiliate marketing success from professional player, Kobe Bryant, (particularly if you’re new in the game.)
You see, most people wrongly define success in life as the lack of failure. I think success is actually the experience of failure… The failure we’re going to be facing on a regular basis and, especially – the lessons we extract and grasp out of these events.
Should challenges stop you from achieving affiliate marketing success (whatever that means to you)?
“I’ve played with IVs before, during and after games. I’ve played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don’t miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn’t that serious in the first place.”
– Kobe Bryant.
What I Learned From Kobe Bryant About Affiliate Marketing Success Helped Me Get Out of …Photo credit: Keith Allison
When I started with affiliate marketing about a decade ago I was close to $80,000 in all kinds of debts. I spent money on outsourcing, got some returns, and then lost many websites in the search engine rankings. In the process, my online income vanished like vapors…
I couldn’t help but find (better) ways to generate a living online with affiliate programs, otherwise, my debts would haven grown larger and the emotional pain would probably have turned into (major) health issues.
You could say I started to get serious about affiliate marketing to get out of debt. I never looked back since then. Today my main motivation is to help others succeed, which could also mean getting out of debt and generating passive income for you.
Allan Gardyne, legendary Super Affiliate and owner of AssociatePrograms.com, said recently:
“John is the hardest working affiliate I know – he deserves his success”
This is not to brag, but to show you that without these (inherent) struggles, I wouldn’t have been here writing this article, and sharing with you proven lessons and words of wisdom.
Should you build your online authority?
Kobe once said:
“I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.”
This teaches us the importance of creating your own name in the industry. Do you feel like branding is for big companies with large advertising budgets only? Think Coca-Cola and you’ll understand why most people associate branding with big companies only. However, the little guy like you and me instead has a little door called “authority presence”, to get their name out there and build a loyal following.
You want everybody in the industry, including super affiliates, web site visitors and customers, to know you’re the real deal.
How to build your online authority:
In short, you need to fully customize everything you put online and it has to have your name on it… Including but not limited to your web site (or blog) design and its content… as well as your product reviews… And, even your mailing list and relationship building methods.
In other words, everything you say or do (e.g. blogging, podcasting or emailing), make sure you put your whole heart into it. Inject your personality. Let your “brand” shine through. That’s how authority gets built overtime.
Authority is something you earn, not counterfeit. That’s why imitators will have insignificant if any success. Learn from Jeremy, and other pro bloggers, but create your own path, and approach marketing and business on your own style.
Should you ever give up?
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.”
– Kobe Bryant.
What does it take to win the affiliate game?
First of all, it requires you enter the field and play until the very last second. This means you don’t give up and quit, like most affiliates.
I have friends who started affiliate marketing back in the days when I dabbled with it myself. They’re still newbie’s, and have no mailing list or sizable income. Some are not in the game anymore. That’s sad…
Should you ever give up?
That’s the right question, and the answer is NEVER! You see, some affiliates give up the first shot they try something and fail. Others will quit in the first few months, or the first year. The only few who succeed, know a saying and live it: “Winners never quit, quitters never win”
I’ve heard all the excuses under the sun from former students that quit and didn’t make it, including “I am now pursuing a different business model!”
HA! You ask them where they are at later, and they’re embarrassed to admit they are no further ahead, and not even one positive income stream has been developed…
Anyhow, I hope you don’t become one of the quitters and I hope these inspirational lessons from Kobe (and the insights) I shared from my experience will propel you on the road to success. Remember, success is an experience, not the final road.
Make every day a success, both in business and your personal life.
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