Greg

For everyone who is a member of PAL this week is going to be an interesting one. You’re basically in one of two categories. You’re either attending the BAC (Budapest Affiliate Conference) or you are at home doing the normal. Most affiliate managers and program representatives will be away from their computers and limited on providing much assistance this week.

I happen to be at home this week and wanted to share some insights on things to do when you’re not at an industry conference. This was a learning process for me in particular, being at the 80% of the gambling affiliate related shows over the past five years.

Five things to do this week while everyone else is in Hungary…



Simply your desktop (and your work lifestyle).

I have to attribute this particular thought to two influential people. One is our SEO guru and long time member Randy Ray for pointing out one of his favourite sites – unclutterer.com This site is a great place to come get inspiration and ideas on simplifying our everyday lives. Another is Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. He goes into an almost ‘religious’ way in which we can clean up our desktops and get motivated to act on the things that really matter.

If you’re in the position now where everything is running together (ie: you have 6 tabs open on your browser, 5 Skype boxes, Messenger going off, on a call, etc.) then chances are you’re not being as productive as you might think. If this is ‘just how you work’ then rethink things and see what’s a priority.
Zen Habits tip – Don’t use your email inbox as a priority list. Just because you received a message last doesn’t mean it’s the most important.

Access your own sites and domains.

Now’s the time to do this. You’ve been putting it off for weeks and months and letting good things expire and sit unattended. Make a list of which sites you have that aren’t achieving. See if there really is a market for that niche and what the top positioned portals for that niche are doing. If it’s impossible or doesn’t make financial sense to compete, drop them! Look at your domain names that are sitting there unused. Could a micro site or a partnership with a new affiliate help you make the most of that purchase? This goes along with Simplifying your life/work style. Take what has the most potential for success and devote more of your time and resources to it.

Brainstorm.

Everyone is away for a few days. This means you wont be getting as many emails and calls. Take the calm (before the storm) to see what comes to mind. Surf other peoples sites purely for ideas and inspiration. Take an extra 20 minutes to see how their developing those cool apps and improving their sites ‘call to action.’

Act on Something. Now!

So you’ve been thinking. You have some ideas, some untapped markets, some new features you’d like to add to your most productive or most potential sites. Develop a short, attainable course of action and go for it. Take the first step. If you’re excited about this new opportunity then go for it. Pull an all night work session and shut everything else out. Motivation comes in waves a lot of the time; when you’re excited about a new project get as much work done as you can before you level off back into normalcy.

Think outside the gambling box.

We’ve discussed this in detail on the radio show (affiliateliferadio.com) so I won’t go into major detail. If you have a chance download the show podcast and listen in. There are a lot of ways you can be making money online utilizing the same tools and principals as gambling affiliation. Read some blogs by web entrepreneurs (Shoemoney, Seth Godin, Copy Blogger, Dave Allen, etc). Look to these guys for ideas and for inspiration. Check out Warrior Forum and see what is moving. Check out Google Trends to see what is hot. Actually use your Twitter to start conversations with other marketers. They will love your insights into affiliate marketing and may share some amazing new verticals and opportunities with you in the process.

To all my friends in Budapest, have an amazing time. Take pictures and share what you learned with us here on the forums when you get back!

Greg Powell