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Add me on SphinnInternet marketing is one of the best jobs in the world, but sometimes the only thing you want to do is go insane. Here’s a list of things I like to think of and/or do when it seems my job is getting a little too insane.
1) Cool off and realize what you’re doing.
No matter what’s going on, just take a step back and realize what it is you’re doing. You’re making a living and your job attire is a pair of boxers. You sleep in as late as you want. You stay up as late as you want. You get paid to sleep and take vacations. You take 3 hour lunch breaks if you want. Even if you’re not to that point yet, it’s what you’re striving to achieve. You tell anybody you know that’s how your job is, they’ll say “you’re dreaming buddy”…no we’re not.
2) Start a new campaign.
Whenever a campaign is just sucking and I can’t get it to work, I’ll pause that and start a new campaign. There’s something about a new campaign that gets me all excited, most likely the potential for it to work out. I can’t be pissed because it hasn’t flopped yet, so I’m optimistic. Even if I give it a go and it flops, I’m a little more optimistic about going back to that old campaign and giving it another stab.
3) Take a vacation.
Things not working out? The more stressed you get, the less productive you’ll be. Take a step back, pause everything, and just go on a vacation. Even if it’s a small weekend golf trip – go on it. You’ll have some fresh air to rethink what you’re doing, and will come back at it optimistic and productive. If you take this tip, make sure to read my article on affiliate marketing vacationing tips for my advice on taking a proper vacation.
4) Focus on others, not yourself.
If things are getting too frustrating with your campaigns and you can’t get things going, stop focusing on yourself and focus on other people. Read other blogs and see what they’re doing. Search random niches and look at everybody’s landing pages. Search your own niches and see what other people are doing. Just keep…on…browsing. It’ll get your brain going and you may think “Hmm…I wonder if I apply what that person is doing to their landing page/ad text to my niche.” You never know what’s going to happen, so take the pressure off yourself for a minute and see what other people are doing.
5) Organize and attack.
One of the things that drives insanity is disorganization. I’m talking about the way my desk looks right now, and it is in fact creating a little insanity in my workstation. I have papers, receipts, food, CDs, tape…everything just in a massive pile; it’s insane. I can’t find anything and it just pisses me off. It happens with our campaigns as well. I’ll try to start too much at once and not really pay attention to everything. Things get disorganized and I don’t even notice that Campaign C has been losing $100/day for the last 4 days. The answer to both problems is organization. I’ll clean up my desk and try to keep it clean for as long as possible. Things are easier to find, I don’t get mad, and I’m more productive. With campaigns, I don’t start too much at once, and I set up what I’m going to test and when. That way I don’t let things slip out of my hands and forget about them.
Alright just a few tips. Pardon me but I have to go clean my desk (for real).
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:13 pm
There is a definite difference in productivity when you are able to clear your mind and not be distracted by the multitude of thoughts running through your head. I would also second your focus on being organized, it calms your nerves and helps you to focus, setting a solid pattern in your lifestyle. Great post Paul.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Great post, I should start using uber’s advice more. :-)
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:44 pm
“Search random niches and look at everybody’s landing pages”
How about a few of yours Paul ? :-)
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Great tips – especially #5. I recently cleaned out my office and noticed a huge increase in productivity. I really like the organization techniques mentioned in Getting Things Done (by David Allen).
Good post Paul.
Best,
Jeremy
April 24th, 2008 at 5:48 am
It’s funny how things like a clean workspace can really increase productivity. With that said I better get to cleaning, my desk is a mess :-).
April 24th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I once heard, if your desk is clean, your not making any money. :)
However, I know you guys make money hehe.
April 24th, 2008 at 5:09 am
The best thing I do to keep my sanity is avoid viewing my entire to do list. It is gi-nor-mous (I’m sorry I just got through looking at Nick Jr.).
April 24th, 2008 at 5:20 am
4) Focus on others, not yourself.
I was expecting some story about giving back and all that jazz… ;)
April 24th, 2008 at 6:03 am
Haha, are you going insane? lol
April 24th, 2008 at 7:32 am
I’ve found the same in my life in terms of keeping my work area clutter-free. Less mess means less distractions. My desk has only the laptop, monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse on it.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Great tips as always.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
kept thinking the next number was going to be “change your name to paul borque”
April 24th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
#5 should be #1 in my opinion. There is nothing more frustrating then not being organized, especially when running PPC. Managing hundreds of thousands of keywords in tight AdGroups is tough in itself but if you’re not organized in tracking things then you’re straight up screwed.
April 24th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Your ‘affiliate marketing’ tips have recently sucked hard
April 24th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Don’t come back then.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
nice post. Something I’d like to see here would be who you’d recommend a “project-manager” type to work with – so say I have ideas, where to go to implement them–everything from recommended web/graphic designers, coders, ppc specialists, seo specialists, etc. You don’t have to post this comment; it’s just something I’m interested in…trying to outsource as much as possible.
April 25th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Great idea John! :)
April 25th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Hey Paul, I think your post brings up a good point here. Not EVERY affiliate campaign is going to be a winner. Try to learn from the ones that don’t work, move on and start fresh.
-Ryan
April 26th, 2008 at 6:23 am
Just found your blog, nice post. I’d really love to have your opinion on outsourcing, what do you outsource and what do you NOT outsource.
April 26th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Great Post, I think we all need to be reminded that internet marketing can drive you insane if we let it. Your advice is really good ideas of things we can do to break the monetizing things that just become routine and we don’t pay attention to anymore. Great advice.
Pugsley
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:23 am
yeah! Uber tips ! I think head banging > getting a headache > sleeping
and then blogging about it would be a shortcut
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:32 pm
You could go play GTA4 and kill a couple hookers. Well.. I dunno if GTA will prevent, or cause you insanity. ANyways, it is nice to get away from your site for a day. Come back with some fresh innovations, and something to say.
Shudogg Dot Com – Make Money Online Blogging
May 4th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Thanks for the tips!
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Good tips.
I love marketing though so most of the stuff i dont need to do. It’s one of those “jobs” i can stay up till 2 working on and still want to get up at like 9.