Getting Money Out of Gurus – Part II

In Part I of this three part series, I talked about how you can get money out of the blogs you read. I talked about supporting the blogger through comments, links, and subscriptions to boost their motivation to write more quality content. A happy blogger is a good blogger, remember that.

Now I’m going to change fields and talk about getting money out of affiliate gurus. A personal relationship like this can be 100x as profitable, but there are many things that you need to understand. I’ll talk about how to approach and treat the relationship to really get something beneficial in the long run. Again, being on the outside now and having 30 IMs with questions every day gives me a little experience to write about building these sorts of relationships. Keep all of the following points in mind when trying to extract information out of an affiliate marketing guru.

1) This is not fast money. The absolute number one rule you have to understand is that building profitable relationships with affiliate marketers should take a very long time. You’re not going to get answers to your questions if you ask them before even having a non-intrusive relationship. What I mean by this is pretty simple : if you email/IM a guru saying “Hey, I was just wondering if you wanted to talk about landing pages. I want to know blah blah blah.” You’re already trying to get in on that persons knowledge before you even know them! Honestly if you guys are wondering why I’m not responding to your emails, it’s not because I’m ignoring you – it’s because I don’t have time to go and personally help 50 people a day. If I see “Hey Paul, can you help me with this?”, I click the back button and read the rest of my emails, sorry. If you’re newer to the game, building affiliate relationships can take many months, even a year or two before you start getting some real information. Generally speaking, the more you know/make, the faster you’ll be able to build relationships, because you’ll be able to provide more information from your end. This brings me to the next point.

2) Affiliate relationships are about exchange. Even if I’m friends with another affiliate marketer for two years and we haven’t really helped each other, if he asks “so what are your best ways of making money?”, I’m not going to tell him. These relationships are about exchanging information to benefit both parties. The more you have to bring to the table, the more you can receive in return. I’m not saying you email me saying “Hey Paul here are all my best money makers…now what are yours?”, but small things are exchanged here and there. Again I’ll go back to an example with me, and I apologize in advance for being honest, I mean absolutely no offense. I get a ton of emails and IMs every day from noobs looking for information. “Hey Paul can you tell me how you do your keyword research and separate your ad groups? Blah blah for another 3 paragraphs.” Let’s look at it from my end :

-What do you bring in return for my knowledge?
-Why is it worth my time to respond to all of these emails (would take a few hours)?
-Will this benefit me in any significant monetary way?

There’s really no use in me taking hours to respond to these emails unless I feel like being Mother Theresa (I like using her as an example lol). When I have $20 million sitting in the bank, I’ll have more time to be giving. As of now this blog takes up enough of my time, and I feel like I am giving a great amount when I’m making .01% of my income from this blog, and could be using this time to work on campaigns making thousands. This goes with any affiliate guru. They all are busy working on their campaigns, testing, trying new things, tracking…why are you worth their time?

3) Expect bullshit. Even in my closest affiliate relationships, there’s always bullshit. Understanding this can make things easier for you down the road. I’m not going to really share all my ways of making money with my friends, just as they aren’t going to do the same for me. I’m not saying expect lie to each other, I’m just saying that nobody is going to be completely honest. No matter how long you know the person, greed can always destroy the relationship. Money destroys people. You can feel like being honest and slip a really nice tip to your friend and say “You can try it in Yahoo, but please stay out of Google.” If it’s making the cash, you sure as hell may their ad on top of yours in a few days. The point I’m trying to make is, don’t try and base yourself 100% off of what other people tell you, even if they are your close affiliate friends. Nobody is going to tell you exactly how they make their income, there’s no logic in it.

4) Impress them. If you’re trying to get “in” with a guru, emailing and asking them a noob question surely will not impress them. If you have a sweet SEO company or social networking site, say “Hey what’s up? I’m the owner of XYZ Social Network, we get a decent amount of traffic. Just thought maybe we should chat for a little and shoot the breeze, I’m sure you could find some use for my knowledge on viral traffic. Ping me on my AIM some time, it’s XYZsocial.” Right there in a couple short sentences you have :

-Shown me you own a respectable company. I check it out and it looks pretty good.
-Shown me what you have to offer in our conversation. Any traffic is good traffic, and viral traffic is free. Awesome.
-Shown me you’re not just some noob wanting to “pick my brain”. I HATE that expression and I hear it at least five times a day.

I’m much more likely to respond back to this person than someone who comes off as a complete noob just wanting to pick my brain. It’s like picking up a girl, they showed off their sweets and then left it up to me to get back at them. I’m curious so sure why not, could be beneficial.

5) Don’t be a pest. If you email me saying “Hey can you help me with this?” and I don’t respond, that means I’m not responding to something like that. Emailing me every day saying the same exact thing won’t yield any different results. It’ll just annoy me and make me block you or something like that. Don’t pest gurus, especially with noobie questions. Now if you ask me to chat for a few minutes and I don’t respond, I could just be busy or have missed the email. Ask again and I may get back to you, no big deal. If you want to get in touch with Shoemoney to ask him all the ways he makes monies with ringtones, emailing him 10 times asking so will not get you anywhere except his blocked list.

6) Buying your way in is an option. If you want to ask Shoemoney about ringtones, you’re probably not going to hear back with him no matter how many times you email him. If you’re shooting to make connections with the really big gurus, you may have to take some more time. I’m talking about find him at an event party, and then buy him drinks until he’s calling you the king of ringtones. Of course he’s not going to tell you anything really useful (drunk does not mean illogical), but it is the start to a relationship and you can catch up with him the next day about how fun last night was. I apologize to Jeremy if he has a flood of noobies that want to buy him even more drinks, but I’m sure he’ll look past the negatives and capitalize on the free booze.

Alright I’m sure that I’m missing about 10 points here but it’s late and I have the work week coming ahead that my mind is on, so that’s what I have for now. All should help you guys out (especially ones newer to affiliate marketing) in trying to build long lasting profitable relationships from other affiliates you network with. Just remember that these things take a long time and are not built overnight. The amount of trust required is incredible and will never be fulfilled, no matter how close the relationship. Money corrupts, don’t let it get to you.

In a few days we will be taking a look at making money from biz dev gurus and anybody else that is holding a wealth of information inside of them. You can get some really cool ideas from creative guys if you know the right ones. Stay tuned fellas and bellas.


37 Comments

  1. November 26, 2007

    Thats some really nice pointers there.

    I’m no guru myself, but I get e-mails and IMs almost daily from ‘noobs’ who seem to want to pick my brain. I try to be nice generally, but sometime it pisses the shit out of me when they’re about as good as asking for my offer, keywords and landing pages.

    You really hit the nail on the head with this post. Can’t agree more with you.

  2. yeikow
    November 26, 2007

    Well said.

    As a newbie myself, I don’t understand how people DEMAND gurus to share their beans and knowledge. What do they owe you? Nothing.

    This happens in almost every field though, not just AM. I tend to try to have something to offer before asking for anything. That means I probably won’t even try to mingle with gurus until I’m already making money myself. Sure, a simple question here and there is worth a shot. But the attitude of “you know it, you owe it to me” blows my mind.

    I like the bluntness of your articles.

  3. November 26, 2007

    so… you want to have a blog where ppl come and read about how to be an super uber affiliate .. but you don’t want to share about how you do it…

    I can understand why you don’t want to reveal everything but I think you need to re-evaluate what your goals for the blog are…

  4. November 26, 2007

    What you mention is really amazing! I think most people really forget to give first before we ask for help.

    This is like the same old thing like beginner trying to sell the first time people visit their page or try to get people’s contact before providing value to others.

    Great post and this is really the foundation of building a relationship. There’s no short cut!

    Alex Liu
    SecretsOfUnlimitedWealth.com

  5. Sherry
    November 26, 2007

    Wow, I have been reading your blog since you started and have found some worthwhile info, but that Sunday post truly blew me away. I’m new, just learning, really have nothing to offer you in this field, but I agree with the We finanace comment, you need to re-evaluate why you are doing this. I feel very unwelcome by that blog and definately will clear you from my blog reading list. Very harsh, very nacissistic, with nothing to teach me. You even want to control MY comments. Hate it for you that you are so successful that you have already forgotten the little people.

  6. Lewis
    November 26, 2007

    I really wanted to expose you infront of all these people but.. alas i cant reveal your Azoogle stats here coz i am not authorized to do that. Now you will think how i know your stats…. i.e coz i got some nice links in there :-p .. I must say this post is good one.. but paul i really hate when you lie .. :D So dont be a dickhead!!

  7. November 26, 2007

    I certainly have not forgotten the “little people”, I’m actually planning a full article series on launching profitable campaigns with a limited budget.

    What are my goals for this blog other than to help other marketers out? I’ve been trying to share how to “do it” this whole time. I’m not going to give cut and dry answers because that would just be dumb and illogical.

    You can clear me from your blog list that’s your decision, only you will be missing out on the information.

    I apologized for being blunt and told you all I meant no offense, but just asked the question “does it make sense for me to spend hours a day helping others out?” Not right now it doesn’t, I’m trying to do all I can with this blog – as are other super affiliates.

  8. November 26, 2007

    Lewis – I didn’t lie. You probably had an Azoogle manager look up my account by my name and it would show that I’ve made about $8,000 this month in it.

    I wasn’t born yesterday friend. My “real” stuff is hosted on a dedi server (with multiple IPs), with private domains, in a private corporate, and a separate Azoogle account. You think I would write an article showing people how to spy and not be protected myself?

  9. November 26, 2007

    Your blog is about Affiliate Marketing. People come to your blog because they want to learn more about Affiliate Marketing. If people, “Noobs” are asking you the same kind of Noob questions about Affiliate Marketing, then maybe that means you’re not answering these questions in your blog. Maybe if you started answering these questions you’d stop getting our emails with our noob questions?

    I’d admit I’m a Noob when it comes to affiliate marketing. But, I’m not a Noob when it comes to learning. If it’s going to take me two years before I get some real answers from a particular source, I’m going to get the answers from a better source and that’s all there is to it.

    I don’t expect an answer to emails, but I’d like to see some noob questions answered and addressed on your blog. What are the most common questions?

  10. November 26, 2007

    If you idiots don’t believe his screenshots, stop reading his blog. If you don’t think the blog has enough information in it, and that he’s being stingy with it, then ask yourself how much money do you think he makes from this blog? I’d have to assume very minimal considering there’s not really any ads and all of the adspaces are not taken.

    This blog is a freebie, and if you feel like the lack of information isn’t enough for you, then why don’t you go to another blog that’s giving away all of the gems you desire. Oh, I’m sorry, there aren’t any.

    No one in this industry is going to give you straightforward, factual information for free. No one. Not even my closest friends in this game give me facts, I catch them fibbing about things all the time. But can I get mad at them? I do the same.

    Trust me, if any of you complainers ever get up to a few hundred bucks a day or more, you’ll realize why his mindframe is where it is.

    This blog is his gift to “the little people”. If its not enough, go elsewhere.

  11. November 26, 2007

    I think these rules apply to getting to know anyone… Whether it be a local business owner to an author, to whatever. You can ask direct questions maybe during a conference Q&A, but if you want to have a relationship with someone, you have to gain it. Building the relationship is give and take. What you bring to it is important. Great post.

  12. November 26, 2007

    Marvin: Well, I get such questions all the time as well. Most of the time such ‘noob’ questions revolve around asking for what offer I’m promoting, or to show them an example of a landing page.

    Would you do that? Give away an offer you are currently profiting from, or to expose your landing page for people to rip off?

    Other than that, I don’t believe there is a ‘noob’ question that hasn’t already been answered in the guide section, or can’t be found with a little effort on forums or Google.

    And Marvin, you say you are looking for ‘real answers’, like you think of it as the ‘Holy Grail’ to affiliate marketing. I can tell you that the ‘Holy Grail’ which you seek, simply lies in testing multiple campaigns until you find one that works. Experimential learning is the most effective form of learning.

  13. Another thing I would add is “Get to the point”. I can’t stand when people IM me and say, “What’s up?” especially when I don’t know them. If you have a question, get to the point so I can get back to work!

  14. November 26, 2007

    Benjamin: I don’t expect a ‘Holy Grail’ answer. I was speaking generally when I talked about ‘real answers’. If it’s going to take two years to just to even get the chance to learn a particular thing or ‘real answers’, which as the Uberaffiliate put it, might not even be the whole truth, then you’re better off looking somewhere else.

    Being a business owner myself, I understand the need to keep trade secrets, the kind of noob questions I want answered are more in line with how do you even get started. How do you qualify a company before you become an affiliate? What are the pitfalls to watch out for?

  15. November 26, 2007

    Keep up the well written articles…I don’t even do any affiliate marketing but I enjoy reading your posts about it..

    From my perspective; it’s a dog eat dog world and smart people will read your articles and find them helpful…Noobs looking for handouts might not..

    Stay blunt and to the point….that’s your style or niche and it works.

  16. Alex
    November 26, 2007

    Chris Alexamder wrote: …”If you idiots don’t believe his screenshots…..”

    WOW!

    I for one appreciate everything Paul discusses. If anything, one has to appreciate Paul’s candor and willingness to take this subject matter to the details he does. No question that has a wealth of knowledge and is passionate and committed to becoming a huge online success.

    But dude (Chris Alexander) get off your high horse.

  17. November 26, 2007

    I’m not on a high horse. My problem lies with people acting like Paul is on a high horse because he’s not willing to answer every question he is asked and because he’s not willing to be 100% transparent with his exact campaigns and the details that go along with that.

    If the term idiots offended anyone, it should be the ones that assume his screenshots are fake. If you don’t think they are fake, then the idiot term doesn’t apply to you. It applies to the people who stick around reading his blog while claiming his stats are fake.

  18. November 26, 2007

    Good post Paul! Thanks for taking the time to write it, and ignore all these wimps that need to be coddled.

    I find it hilarious the people that get “offended” by your candor. Because you don’t take the time to give good information that they “deserve” from the blog world.

    The you look at this post:
    https://uberaffiliate.com/affiliate-marketing-guide/uber-affiliate-marketing-guide/

    And you realize how much time and effort you put into this blog. It truly is valuable. And worth the read everyday you post. Thanks man.

  19. November 26, 2007

    I agree. Thanks for all the information! I only do some affiliate marketing but love the stuff you put out. Your blog is bookmarked!

  20. November 26, 2007

    Yeah I agree, getting emailed daily with n00b questions is very annoying. I only get about 2-3 a day, but its always the same, “can you help..” right there, its already deleted.

  21. mutt
    November 26, 2007

    why would anyone be totally transparent about how they make money?

    i am a noob and his blog is like gold to me..one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

    this is like when people complain about what is on tv..just change the channel.

  22. November 26, 2007

    I think it comes down to this. People want to have everything handed to them on a silver platter.

    Saying, “I wont hand you my silver platter” is offensive to them (as you can view above)

    For the people who got all kinds of offended over this post, you’re just ridiculous.

    He gave you good tips which if used correctly can really be profitable to you.

  23. November 26, 2007

    “i am a noob and his blog is like gold to me..one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

    This is a good point Mutt. Lets be glad though… the more for us. Heh.

  24. jeff
    November 26, 2007

    Hi Paul,

    (In my Randy Jackson voice) I don’t know dawg.. this is a post you should have hit save and re-read it a day or two later.

    Point to point I can’t fault what you’re saying but when you combine it as a whole it sounds to me like you’re getting a bit too annoyed with your noob audience… sigh… you’ve made the ‘how-not-to-contact me’ post which is so, so popular on blogs these days and I guess a prerequisite to super-affiate status (I can’t write one yet).

    I think it goes without saying that anyone coming to you looking for handouts and ‘the answers’ is a foolish dweeb and you have to expect too that when you get some buzz going you’re going to get foolish dweebs bothering you 24/7 – goes with the territory. So what’s with this post, it’s just stating the obvious… there are tons of lazy/stupid/fools who really think that a stranger is going to post to the world the secrets of their gravy train which will quickly then destroy their income stream through competition.

    Just inspire us to make our own money – that’s what I like best about your posts – not the noob trashing cliches.

    Now if you think that the majority of your audience actually are affiliate welfare cases, then I suppose this post was necessary.

  25. mr brain
    November 26, 2007

    So the main purpose of creating this blog is to show off that you can make so much money in a month(200k which i dont believe is true), and to gain popularity, but not to teach anyone else anything you know….wow, what a great idea

  26. mr brain
    November 26, 2007

    Maybe you can check out http://www.chairmanmiao.com/, its also a blog that show off but teach nothing

  27. November 26, 2007

    Right, because I’ve provided nothing useful in this blog so far.

  28. November 27, 2007

    Mr Brain: That’s real funny. You say you don’t believe 200k/mth is possible, yet you’re complaining that he doesn’t teach anything he know. But if he weren’t making 200k/mth, there wouldn’t be anything to teach, would there?

    Or maybe the little optimist deep inside you is wanting desperately to believe this, but yet your current knowledge about affiliate marketing just doesn’t let you believe it is possible, so you are just using your cognitive schemata to judge others? Brilliant.

    You guys really need to lay off. At least this blog isn’t sugar-coating the fabled ‘internet multimillionaire lifestyle’ that we are constantly being fed by dumb internet gurus who claim you can make a truckload of money with little or no work. And what do those internet gurus teach? Usually nothing of value. They’re just trying to push eBooks after eBooks down our stuffed throats, and the worst thing is that ‘noobs’ are actually falling for such crap.

    And before you say this blog doesn’t create any value, let’s just that a golf club in your hands is probably just a golf club. But a golf club in Tiger Wood’s hand is worth millions. And Tiger Woods wasn’t born a golfer. He got there through tough training and persistence.

    So stop complaining and go do some campaigns from what you’ve learnt so far. If you haven’t learnt anything useful about affiliate marketing here, you’re probably better off subscribing to John Chow’s blog.

  29. November 27, 2007

    Hey guys I found a guy making a killing using google local I wrote a post about it on my blog. Seems very cheap and easy and has a ton of potential. Let me know what you think.

    http://oooff.com/php-affiliate-seo-blog/affiliate-marketing/making-big-easy-money-with-google-local-search/

  30. November 27, 2007

    nah this blog is sick, yall haters are just dumb.

  31. November 27, 2007

    I have the same problems with noobs writing me looking for advice on Picking up chicks… Its like the info is there.. im not going to hold your hand.. read the info..

    you come across kind of dickish..which might turn people off.. but you’re younger than most of the john chows out there so you style is bound to be different.

  32. November 28, 2007

    I guess you need to be a guru too with similar levels of income to become friends with the gurus. Personally I don’t trust them, most seem to be greedy and milking all the cash from noobs.

    I would rather take note of what they do and see what I can learn and apply from the stuff that they don’t teach or tell.

    Great blog by the way!

  33. November 29, 2007

    It’s great blog and very useful tips indeed.

    Keep up the good work of sharing!

  34. December 15, 2007

    who want to be my partner for buseness

  35. I get a lot of emails from newbies that ask for help, and when I help them, they don’t do what I told them to do…just because they are lazy. Ridiculous.

  36. grasshopper
    January 2, 2008

    Does a fisherman tell you where his best fishing hole is, and when to fish and what lure to use? No… but from time to time he will drop hints to those who are willing to listen.

  37. October 16, 2009

    bless this post with love,peace,respect and success.

    just let love be

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