He’s looking to get some exposure and traffic to his blog from popular bloggers.  Instead of paying to do guest posts on the blog, he recruited an artist to draw caricatures of popular online marketers and do a summary of their online advertising career.  I must hand it to Stéphane, he nailed mine, except for one minor detail that is still pretty private for the most part and is still brand new. Overall, I was pretty impressed with the research he did and the thoroughness of his post. I also like to see what type of image I’m portraying to the public. So far, I’m coming off exactly as I had hoped.

If you’re looking to have your own caricature done by Stéphane, he’s offering to do paid Who Is posts.  You can click the link for more information.  He also has been having contests where all you have to do is review his blog and you’ll be entered to win you’re own caricature!

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I find it extremely tough to give myself that kick in the ass to start getting work done.  Once I’m able to get in that mode though, I’m pretty efficient and can get quite a bit done.  It’s extremely hard for me to just start doing that work.  I do find that I’m slowly getting more disciplined day by day.  Another thing I’m working on getting back to normal is my sleeping schedule.  By nature, I’m a night owl and I’m most productive from 10pm – 3am.  Even as a baby, my mom said I would sleep all day and be awake all night.

My biggest pet peeve are the people thinking, since I run my own business and I work from home, that I don’t have a job. This is legitimate work and I try to put in at least 8 hours every day of the week, including weekends.  It seems like a couple days a week my friends will always call me at 9-10pm on a weekday and they’ll want to go have a couple beers.  Well guess what… I’m hitting my prime productivity time, I gotta do work.  Their argument is always, you own your business, you’re your own boss, you work your own schedule and this always baffles them that I’ll choose work over a couple hours at the bar. Or even worse, on the weekends they think that since it’s the weekend, I don’t have to work.

I like to think that I’m working on my self-discipline and slowly, but surely I’m getting to where I want to be. I’ve found that if I have a bad couple days I will work a lot harder to make sure my net income gets to where I want it to be.  Another personal issue I need to work on is being too complacent once I have a few campaigns running smoothly that are raking in the income.  I need to expand into more niches, find new traffic sources and throw up more campaigns.

What are some of the things you guys use or do, to limit the distractions and make yourself more productive?

Related posts:

1. How I manage my time
2. Affiliate Manager Expectations
3. Affiliate Product Review Sites

I have decided the time is now to see if I want to be a full-time affiliate. I’m going to take this summer to see what I’m able to achieve as an affiliate now that I’ll have the entire day to work on researching, developing and optimizing campaigns instead of a couple hours every night. Although I hate change, I’m extremely excited for this to happen.

I also am interested in pursuing my MBA in Finance, so I’m going to see if I can get accepted into graduate school as well.

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I drove from Tulsa, OK to Galveston, TX on Friday night to get there Saturday at noon for.  It was about a 10 hour drive and wasn’t as bad as I thought.  I was so tired from driving all night that I ended up sleeping the entire first evening of the cruise and missed the best event, the only event for singles the entire trip. FML!  Oh well…

The first full day was a Fun Day at Sea.  They had activities during the day for you to participate in, but they were geared towards older folk.  They included events such as an Art Auction and Comedy Routines.  Once we got up and around we took the Vodak we smuggled on the ship and drank 3/4 of the bottle and decided to spend the day find out what the ship had to offer while drinking as many beers and Strawberry Daquiris I could.

The following day we had our first stop, in Progreso, Mexico.  I signed up for a shore excursion called the Corona Beach Party that lasted 4 hours.  They took us to a small beach and we had an open bar with all the Coronas, Margaritas and Pina Coladas we could handle.  We had all the usual beach activities such as volleyball, singing, tug-o-war, waverunners for rent, etc… The best part of this excursion was the fact we walked into town and talked with the locals.  They tried to sell us everything, including pipes, weed, cocaine and pills.  It was probably my favorite part about the cruise.

The next day was a stop in Cozumel, Mexico.  I signed up for a Sail, Snorkel and Beach Party shore excursion.  A boat took us down the coastline about 20 minutes where we could snorkel for about 20 minutes.  The waters were as clear as everything advertises they are.  It was amazing.  We could easily see the bottom which was probably around 40 feet.  Then they took us to a secluded beach and there were toys in the water such as trampolines, a wall to climb on and other things.  We had enough time to rent waverunners this time and they were a blast.  It was the first time I’ve ever ridden one and now I want to buy one.  They finally took us back so we could board ship and we at at Three Amigos before boarding.  Since me and the guy I went with forgot our watches we didn’t know how much time we did or didn’t have to mess around, so we boarded the ship and we were about 2 hours early.  We were already drunk and decided to take a nap before dinner.

The next day was another Fun Day at Sea which I made fun by probably being the drunkest person on the ship.  I spent the day playing roulette and running up a $250 bar tab that day.  The nightcap was dancing my ass off at the Stripes club on the ship.

We docked on Thursday and spent the weekend relaxing in Galveston and came back home Sunday.  One of my most favorite places to eat is Pappadeux.  If you’re ever in or around Houston or Dallas, stop in and eat there.  You will not be disappointed!

The pictures from my cruise are below.

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P.S. I’ve got some good posts coming, so stay tuned!

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1. When Jon Fisher Speaks, The Affiliate Marketing World Listens!

Now I have a dilemma because my favorite team is the Los Angeles Lakers and always has been since I was young.  But, I ALWAYS root for the home team.  I decided I was going to root for the Oklahoma City Thunder because it was our state’s first playoff game ever, and I’m pretty confident that my Lakers will win the series.

The Lakers came out strong with a 10-0 lead and it looked like we would never score.  We would keep getting within 1 or 2 possessions, but every time we would gain some momentum Kobe would shoot one of his daggers and kill it for us.  There were a handful of great dunks, notably one by Russell Westbrook, of which I’ve included a video below.  The Lakers were up 5 to end the 1st quarter, 7 at half time and 1 heading into the 4th quater.  We didn’t sit for a large portion of the game and not at all in the 4th quarter.  We were finally able to take the lead with around 8 minutes remaining thanks to our defense and Kevin Durant finally getting into a rhythm after slumping all game long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LJLYuh6KA8

It turned out to be a freaking awesome game and I couldn’t have asked for a better game to attend.  The environment was absolutely insane.  The noise level was off the charts.  After the game Kobe Bryant was quoted as saying, “It was one of the loudest crowds I’ve ever played before in the postseason.“  And every seat had a blue Rise Together shirt on the back of it, turning the entire arena into a sea of blue.

I’m thankful for Clay Bennett and his desire to bring the team to Oklahoma City.  This Thunder team really has a lot going for them.  They had a 50-win season, made the playoffs and are the youngest team in the NBA if I’m not mistaken.  Their really young nucleus will allow for us to build an even better team in the coming years.  Even their coach, Scott Brooks, was awarded the NBA Coach of the Year award in the pregame ceremonies.

Thanks again Revenue Ads!

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1. Meetup Oklahoma was EPIC!

Day 1

You couldn’t ask for better weather on my trip to Revenue Ads‘ office in Oklahoma City.  I got there and got to meetup with Dylan Stout, my affiliate manager, Brandon, Edgar and Matt.  They had catered in Rib Crib for lunch and had all the pop and more importantly alcohol I could get my hands on.  And the most important thing was they had a television ready to rock so I could watch all the freaking March Madness games that were on.  I stayed glued to this tv while everybody showed up and got ready for lunch.  Sorry to everybody I didn’t chat with a bunch.  March Madness is serious business!  Lunch went well and I got to bullshit with a number of guys from around Oklahoma, including one that came up from the Dallas area.

After lunch Murray Newlands gave a pretty informative and broad overview about to get started in mailing.  He also let the attendees know how to setup campaigns and optimize.  If I was into mailing, it would’ve been a lot better for me.  I do believe it was a good overview into another aspect of affiliate marketing that most people aren’t involved in.

Next, my brother from another mother, Ian Fernando gave a great presentation on a few niche ideas on how to market an offer to different crowds using different traffic sources.  You can check out his presentation on Scribd.  If you’re stuck in a rut right now, he has a great couple of ideas you can check out.

Then, Revenue Ads, Ndustry Clix and NDemand all rented us a party bus so we could roll in style to go eat at Boulevard Steakhouse in Edmond.  The food there was nothing short of amazing!  Best steak I’ve had in a minute.  Finally we to Red Pin to get in on some bowling action.  It looked like everybody had a great time.  I say looked like because I was off in the corner glued to the television watching the final March Madness games of the day.  After bowling I called it a night and crashed at the Skirvin Hilton in OKC.  The King Suite is niiiice!  The Lakers blamed a lost to the OKC Thunder on the ghosts of the Skirvin, but I didn’t see any.

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Day 2

Oh man, day 2.  This day started with me looking outside to a bunch of snow, which was a bummer.  But Mike Pacheco from Ndustry Clix cam and picked up me and Ian Fernando at the Skirvin and Kevin and James from XY7.  The plan was to go watch the 2nd round of the March Madness games at the Ford Center in a suite that Ndustry Clix got for us.  So we had to bullshit for a couple of hours between eating and 3:10pm, when they finally opened the doors to allow us in.  Doing this wasn’t an easy task because it was freezing and snowing outside.  We finally were able to get in and start drinking.  You have to be ready to get your drink on during this time.  The NCAA doesn’t allow for alcoholic beverages to be served or consumed while the game is being played.  The cops would literally come around and give you a 3-minute warning on your drinking time.  So before the games, during halftime and between games you better be ready to chug!

Check the empty cups!  Ian even had a sick freestyle.  I’m trying to score this video for all my readers.  I think he might be slated for a guest appearance with the Paper Clique!

The first game made the entire trip for me.  Kansas was upset by Northern Iowa and was the upset of the tournament, so far.  Kansas State held on to beat BYU by 10 or so.  I’ve included a handful of pictures I took from the games below.

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After the games Mike from Ndustry Clix took us to Crab-town.  Ian Fernando, Kevin, James and I murdered some seafood there.  They litterally throw a huge bucket of shrimp, crabs, potatoes, onions and who knows what else on the table and we devoured it like animals.

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Conclusion

I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend from Revenue Ads, Ndustry Clix and NDemand.  Plus, I was able to do some great networking and even picked up a handful of tips that I have already been implementing into my campaigns.

Here’s a great summary video by Ian Fernando.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hNMdN9HikY

P.S. – Sorry guys for the lack of pictures.  Kevin from XY7 and Ian Fernando both have a lot more pictures than I do.  I even stole some of theirs.  Thanks guys!

Related posts:

1. Oklahoma Affiliate Meetup – Friday, March 19th
2. Oklahoma Affiliate Meetup 2011
3. Oklahoma, you should’ve listened… I gave away a 5-figure/day campaign.

Convert2Media sent me a nice little box of goodies.  It included chocolates, crackers, smoked salmon and more.  I wasn’t expecting anything from these guys as I’m not a super affiliate and this a helluva network.  Anytime I’ve got questions I always hit up my AM over there, Mike.  He’s always letting me know of new offers that they’re getting that I might do well with. I’ve included pictures of the assortment below.

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Profit Kings Media also sent me a nice little Dockers wallet.  Yousif is the man. Just re-read my previous posts about them, Free MacBook Air from Profit Kings Media and Another $1,000 from Profit Kings Media.  I can’t say enough about PKM. There are pictures of the wallet below.

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So, again thanks C2M and PKM for the Christmas gifts.  They’re much appreciated!

Related posts:

1. Free MacBook Air from Profit Kings Media
2. Another $1,000 from Profit Kings Media!

I received a phone call from Azoogle wanting to make sure we’re on good terms.  I mean I’m pushing some traffic their way, but I’m not a 6-figure affiliate by no means.  The phone call was mainly to make sure I wasn’t have any problems with my affiliate manager and I’m not.  I was just a little upset at the time and should’ve never made that post.

However, I won’t delete it.  I feel that if mistakes are made, that person should own up to it and say I’m sorry.

So to the network owners, my AM and the fellow I just got off the phone with, I wanted to give an official apology to say I’m sorry and that previous post was made out of haste.  There are no hard feelings towards you guys, I will continue pushing traffic your way.

P.S. For those wondering, I’m leaving names out of this for a reason.  I never wanted to call anybody out.

Related posts:

1. Affiliate Managers and Azoogle piss me off
2. Affiliate Manager Expectations

Her reply was show me your creatives, tell me how you’re promoting it, etc…  I politely tell her to fuck off.  I know this advertiser has their own in-house marketing team and that’s the last thing I want to do is show them my creatives.  As you can guess I didn’t get my payout bump.

A week passes and a few thousand dollars later she emails me saying the advertiser wants to know the exact details of my campaign so I give her something a little similar but not even close to what I’m running because they want to make sure I’m promoting it legitimately.  I felt like I had to do this considering its my best offer right now so I did what I did. Of course her replies were very prompt here.

Then an hour passes and I remember our past conversation where she asked for my campaign details in order for me to be given a substantial payout bump.  So I remind her about getting that payout bump now that I’ve revealed my campaign details.  Haven’t heard from that bitch since.

I fucking hate Azoogle.  But if them bitches pay me, I’ll push traffic their way.  Talk about a cut-fucking-throat industry.

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1. I’m sorry Azoogle you really are a stand up company
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Let’s take the most recent occurence for example.  A friend comes to me and says my computer crashed what can I do.  How can I fix it, how much will it cost, etc…  My first question is do you want to save the data on your harddrive or not.  Of course they do.  I suggest they buy a $50 Western Digital harddrive and let me borrow their computer for an evening or weekend and I’ll fix it free of charge.

Couple days later they call me asking what is the difference between a netbook and a notebook.  I explain. And we talk about talk about the pro’s and con’s of both and what they will be using this computer for, blah blah…  They finish the conversation by stating that, “I don’t know, I’ll just give it to ____’s husband.  He can fix it for me.

Um, didn’t I just offer to fix it for free?  You either want your data (which will cost $50 for your new harddrive, but you’ll have an extra one when the computer is running again) or you don’t and I can fix that in an evening no problem.

Man that pisses me off.

/rant

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