Affiliate Marketing and The TV Show 'Lost'
I just finished watching the latest episode of 'Lost' on TV and
noticed it was a little different from most episodes. Instead of
the usual mysterious, cliffhanger type show, this one was more
of a character-driven background story. Then I visited a 'Lost'
fan forum and was surprised that many people were unhappy with
the episode and thought it was too dull.
This got me thinking.
In the marketing world, we're often told to "sell the sizzle,
not the steak", meaning to excite your prospect's emotions. But
if you focus on the "sizzle" in your affiliate marketing
business, or any business, you will likely fail.
Why? Because, although it's human nature to focus on the
exciting aspects of your business, they may only play a small
role in how much money you make. Focusing on your brand new
website, ebook, or other big project, is satisfying, but it's
the "dull" aspects of a business that can determine how far you
go.
Like in 'Lost', where the show creators use the slower episodes
to tell you about the characters so you care when the exciting
bits happen, youe affiliate marketing business has more mundane
functions that drive the "story" (your business) forward.
Things like keyword research, web page building, article writing
and submission, and getting links to your site are all dull and
repetitive, but are vital to your success.
Sure, software can automate many of these functions but not all
of them, and if you don't have a lot of money to buy the
software, you will have to do them manually.
So even though you may never completely enjoy these boring
tasks, if you want your business to prosper, keep on doing them,
at least until your business has grown to the point where you
can afford to outsource them. If you concentrate on these
less-exciting aspects on a regular basis, you will lay a solid
foundation for your affiliate marketing business, and make the
fun, exciting parts even more enjoyable and successful.