The cash flow is one of the most misunderstood aspects of affiliate marketing says Peter DiCaprio.
In fact, I have been corresponding with a reader about this very topic and thought perhaps it would be good to share some of those learning’s here on my blog so others might benefit from them as well.
So let’s dive right in.
Millionaires – we all want to be one. “If you build it, they will come.” – This is the single biggest myth in affiliate marketing and I doubt if any other sentence has been written or spoken that has caused more wasted effort and heartache than this! Unless you have a ready-made list of hungry buyers sitting at home waiting for your product, then nobody is going to magically appear just because you have released a new product into the world.
The Cash flow System was developed around these principles:
1) To discover how to maximize profits, with the absolute minimum of outlay
2) Work your business around an ‘affiliate’ model so others are doing all of the hard work for you
3) Be able to spend your time with family and friends
4) Watch the income continues for years…even decades to come. So, in effect what is needed here is a system where you can generate more money than you spend on an ongoing basis – like ‘cash flow’. That’s why this strategy has become known as my “Cash flow Strategy”. Many affiliates seem to focus their energy entirely on building lists – which they then blast with promotions of products that they will never get paid for (because they are not the merchant/distributor). The cash flow proponent spends most of his or her time researching the best product providers (the people who pay out commissions), learning how to maximize conversions (making more money when promoting the product), and then finding ways to improve the number of clicks, conversions and commissions they receive relative to their investment in time and effort.
The ‘secret’ in affiliate marketing is not about building lists or generating traffic (ok – both are important, but so is sending your mother flowers on her birthday…or remembering your anniversary). The secret in affiliate marketing has always been about maximizing profits. If you can do this, you will ALWAYS have a steady flow of affiliate commissions coming into your account without having to spend huge amounts of money acquiring new customers explains Peter DiCaprio.
This then gives rise to the cash flow that every online entrepreneur craves! Once this concept is grasp by affiliates there would be NO MORE “How To Make Money” webinars and few, if any, discussion boards would be so focus on “how to build your list” as they currently are. Truly it would be the death knoll of the Internet marketer who focuses his or her efforts entirely on building a mailing list as this is NOT where the money is! There is no greater example of how many internet marketers fall at this first hurdle than by taking a look at what happens during an average day in the life of frequent participants in these forums.
Here are some common scenarios:
1) They wake up, grab their laptop/notebook/smart phone/iPad etc. They will check their e-mails (if you are REALLY lucky, there may be one or two affiliate commissions)
2) They then go to their favorite ‘How to Make Money’ forum and say “Hi!” to all the regulars. After an hour or so they move onto other forums, hoping against hope that at least one will contain some juicy information for them – but nothing. All the contests are over…there is no-one giving away affiliate commissions anymore…no hype at all about anything new or interesting.
3) Just before lunchtime their spouse comes home with a few things from the grocery store. Where he/she works, and hands over a $20 bill. He/she says proudly: “Here…I got this for you”. At first he/she might be a little disappointed as it’s not big enough to reinvest in any new courses or ads. But then he/she realizes it’s twice as much as the last one says Peter DiCaprio.
4) Time for lunch – so off they go with their spouse to a local restaurant. Where they have a very pleasant companionable meal. It’s actually nice not having to keep checking their laptop every 10 minutes (which can be quite annoying). While eating, they reminiscence about how great it is that. They no longer need to obsessively check traffic stats and build their list 24 hours a day. They’ve never had it so good!
5) After lunch they return home, log on for “just one quick look” at their favorite. ‘How to Make Money’ forum, and whaddyaknow! There’s someone giving away affiliate commissions to everyone who posts their link in the thread. They can’t believe it! Their spouse was right – you DO get something every day if you just hang around long enough.
Conclusion:
The secret of affiliate marketing is NOT about building a list. It’s not even, as some would have you believe, about making money on-line says Peter DiCaprio. It’s all about creating MORE PROFITABILITY. If you can do this for yourself then. You will ALWAYS be able to make money on-line and WITHOUT having to acquire new customers. The secret is: MULTIPLYING PROFITABILITY.
