Today in Lynn Terry’s Elite brainstorming hour she gave elite members a secret! She will be closing membership to the elite forum.  As I have talked about several times, this has been the best investment I have been in my business! If you have ever thought about joining the elite group NOW is the time!

What is the benefit of the elite brainstorming group?

-A forum that is available to get one on one feedback and help from other elite members and Lynn Terry!  This is a very very active forum.

-Free downloads of all the webinars of the past.

-Free downloads of e-books, interviews and anything Lynn feels would benefit us!

-Opportunity for joint ventures.

-Find accountability partners (this is where I found Angie)!

-So much more!!

Those are just some of the benefits of joining the elite brainstorming/masterminding group! I believe that Lynn will be closing the membership tomorrow or Saturday!  So I can’t stress enough if you want to join, join now!

What have I gained from this mastermind group?

When I joined last July I had been working my business for three months on a daily basis and had not made a dime! I now am consistently making affiliate commissions each and every month!  I also found my fabulous accountability partner Angie Newton.  Angie and I are now working on a joint venture project.  One of the best things I have gained since joining the elite group is whenever I have questions or issues I can go to the private forum and get responses very quickly!

If you are in need of a brainstorming, masterminding group then you go join Lynn Terry’s Elite group!

Go do it now!!

Last week I was a bit absent from the blog.  This is because I was trimming the fat off of my business!  I know that sounds funny but it is what I was doing.  I have been spreading myself way too thin on everything I have been doing.  I guess that comes with being a mother, okay, maybe not.  Maybe it comes from being a type A personality!  Where ever it comes from I did it!

Too many blogs!

Up until last week I had four blogs and probably about ten websites.  I still do have all of them but I am not going to actively blog and update these sites!  I am finally doing what I really love!  I started a website on genealogy/family history.  It is called Start Your Family History.  This is where my main focus will lie!  Genealogy has been my passion for a very long time and I want to focus on helping others get started!  It can be quite overwhelming to figure out things on your own.

So in addition to affiliate marketing I am going to become an information product developer!  I am going to be selling the content that I create.  I have a long way to go on this project but it will happen!  I am really excited about this!

Focus your business!

It is really important to focus your business.  I know I have talked about this before but I am always needing more focus.  So what can you cut out of your business.  If you can’t cut things out can you outsource those jobs to someone else?  What I would challenge you to do is really take a good look at your business!  What can you do to have more success?

Yours,

PS. The catalyst of this change was going through Problogger’s 31 days to building a better blog.  It is a great ebook!

photo credit: Micah Sittig

So far we talked about what is affiliate marketing and what are the advantages of affiliate marketing.  Today I want to talk about the pros and cons of affiliate marketing.  There are some of both.

Pros of Affiliate Marketing

1. Very little to no money invested. – This is something that most people are looking for when they start an at-home business.  You do not have to invest money into the business to get started.  That is true if you are starting out by using Squidoo lenses or free blogging platforms such as Blogger or Wordpress.com.  A more professional look is to buy a domain name from Godaddy.com and setting up a self-hosted blog on Wordpress.org.  Godaddy it will cost you about $10 for a domain name.  If you search Google for a Godaddy coupon code you will be able to purchase a domain for as little as $7.  You can get hosting for a penny the first month at Hostgator.  Hostgator packages start out as low as $7.95/mo!  That is all you need to pay to get started!
2. You can choose products that you love. – The products you choose to promote are limitless.  That being said you should stick with one niche or subject until it becomes profitable.  Lynn Terry’s Elite masterminding group with help you there!
3. It is a repeatable business. -  Once you have become successful in one niche all you have to do is go and repeat what you already did with a new niche.  So the business can be as large or small as  you would like it.
4. You can truly work from home. – You do not have to go anywhere to be an affiliate marketer.  All you need is a computer and and internet connection!  You can even have kids running around you while you do this business!
5. Freedom to walk away. – A lot of businesses you are tied to everyday.  Once you have built your business up to be profitable you will be able to go take a vacation and still earn an income.  That is the life, right?

Cons of Affiliate Marketing

1. The time you must put into the business at the beginning. – In the beginning you will need to spend a lot of time working on webpages, link building, testing and tweaking.  This is not a get rich quick scheme!  It takes time.  I like to think of it as the snow ball effect. The first month you may get up twenty product pages.  The second month you get faster and more efficient so you put up thirty pages.  At the end of the second month you now have fifty product pages out there.  If you continue at the pace of thirty a month you will have three hundred and fifty product pages.  This means it will take time for you to create them as well as get traffic to these sites but the more you create the more passive income you will receive in the future!
2. You must learn a lot about internet marketing. – If you don’t know anything about internet marketing, you will soon become an expert in this field.  You will have to master search engine optimization and link building to get all of your web pages found.  This is something that is absolutely necessary.  This may be a pro for you!
3. You must have patience and persistence. – Okay for some of you that have these characteristics it will not be a con.  But for people like me this is a constant struggle!  You will have to be persistent every day for a long while to see results.  You must be patient while you wait for your income to become a full-time income.  It will come if you learn these skills.

These are the pros and cons of affiliate marketing!  I would love to hear your view on what I missed or what you think may be the pros and cons!  No business is easy but I absolutely believe that affiliate marketing can open up a world you never imagined!  You can have financial and time freedoms!  All the work you do up front is always a means to an end!

Best to you!

PS. To help you get started in affiliate marketing the best book I have found it the Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner.

photo credit: USACE Europe District

I have talked many times about my accountability partner Angie Newton.  We have been partners for quite a while now.  It has been a partnership that has helped me build and advance my business.  While Angie and I were at the NAMS 3 workshop in January, we were approached by several people asking all sorts of questions about accountability partnerships.

The questions about being accountability partners continues.

Since we have returned we still continue to get questions.  Here are some examples: How do you find an accountability partner?  What do you do when you meet?  How often do you meet? There are also many other questions.  During a recent call between Angie and I we discussed these questions and decided to address them by writing a report.

All your questions will be answered!  Now we need you questions!  Please comment in this post and share what you want to know about accountability partners!

Now think, think, think!  Also please pass this on to a friend and have them think too!  Now what are you waiting for go leave a comment!

Thanks,