I am a big advocate of teaching others how to do what you do, particularly when it can result in a measurable improvement in the quality of someone’s life.
Nick Reese has done just that (with some help from Chris Brogan) in his ebook that was just released, called How to turn Traffic and Trust into Sales (aff) and I hope you’ll take a look.
I’ve had a copy of the book for a while, so I can give it my enthusiastic endorsement without reservation. What also makes this post easy is the fact that Nick and Chris are living success stories when it comes to significant returns on affiliate marketing.
Plus they are both top-notch humans, which is actually what this post is about.
What on earth is affiliate marketing?
Glad you asked. From the book:
Affiliate marketing is just like the referral process found in the business world, but the referring process takes place online.
This should light a bulb in your head, as this is the appealing part.
By building a website designed to refer customers to another business, you essentially create an asset. This asset, if managed effectively, can work for you by producing passive income. (Passive income is income generated without you having to take any further action.)
Nick does a great job of walking through what affiliate marketing is and why we should care. The book advocates a trust-based methodology for building the necessary permission to recommend things to your audience.
Permission Marketing at its finest.
Why I respect Nick and his approach
If you’ve spent any amount of time on Internet in the past 10 years, you’ve seen countless “get rich quick” schemes. This book is not one of those. At all.
The reason I can get with the approach outlined by Nick in this book is that it’s built on a genuine interest in creating value for all parties involved. Nick has explained to me in offline discussions that he absolutely won’t promote a product that he doesn’t believe in. This says a lot not only about his character, but about the principles that govern his life.
Nick makes a lot of money. Probably more than you. Definitely more than me. And he could make a lot more (30%-40% more with very little effort in my armchair estimation) if he chose to promote products and services for the sake of making a buck, but he chooses not to. And I love that.
Why is this important to me?
Because the principles that govern a person’s life are often a very strong indicator of their success. This is why I’m not going into a review of the tactics espoused by the book in this post, even though I could probably get a few more people to buy the book if I did.
As for this Chris Brogan guy
Chris Brogan knows a thing or two about being a Trust Agent (aff). I first met Chris at an event in Atlanta last year, and I’ve seen no account of his character and personality than the this post from the event.
You will never catch me engaging in hero worship, but there are a few very public figures on this earth for whom I have tremendous and vocal respect. Chris is one of them.
Warm, kind, smart, and generous are words that come to mind when I think of Chris. He gives away tons and tons of advice on his blog (not to mention Twitter) every day without fail, from airports and hotels and conferences and wi-fi hotspots all over the globe.
Chris’s “overnight success” was anything but, and I celebrate his success (he also makes a lot more money than you and I do) because of the person he is and the principles that govern his life.
He also has great taste in hip-hop, so there’s that as well.
Bringing it all together
Buy the book. That’s my hard sell. Most people will buy it as an investment in the lifestyle they’re looking to create. I think that’s wonderful.
In addition to obvious and practical benefits like learning how to make a very healthy living with less work and more free time than you ever thought possible, promoting things you believe in to people who value your opinion on things…I think you should buy it to for these simple reasons:
- It supports two great guys doing business and living life on their own terms, the right way.
- There’s enough practical advice in the book to change your life within six months, easily.
- It presents a holistic, comprehensive view of affiliate marketing in a way that no other book currently does (to my knowledge).
- Because I said so (you knew this was coming).
Nick’s perspectives and insights on affiliate marketing (which have never been shared with the world before today) helped me generate hundreds of dollars per month in affiliate commissions with very slight modifications to what I was doing (delivering technology solutions for clients).
And did I mention that Nick is traveling the world right now because of the freedom afforded by him being an affiliate marketer? No? Well there’s that, too.
Go buy How to turn Traffic and Trust into Sales right this instant.
{ 14 comments }
I think I’m sold…very nice write-up Willie.
Makes a TON of sense…
Cheers, my friend.
I am sold too, I am going to take a leap of faith to purchase a copy due to our trust factor and excellent honest review. If Willie Jackson endorsed it then it worth looking into it. Because like Allstate’s commerical, I know I am in good company!
You’re a good man, Duane :)
Nice writeup Willie. I really love Chris Brogan, he’s just a wonderful human being. I’d personally buy anything that he endorses.
Thanks Todd. Chris is indeed a fantastic guy.
Great Post!
Hi Wiillie,
Just came to know about your blog through HowToMakeMyBlog.com.
I like Chris because the informations are really interesting. Thanks for putting up this post.
Visit your blog soon.
Cheers,
Krish
Hi Willie,
I just discovered your blog from Pam Slim’s site. I am always looking for great business books to read and I thoroughly enjoyed Trust Agents. Thank for giving me another book to add to my list and I look forward to a great read!
Thanks,
LaTosha
Hi LaTosha, thanks for stopping by! I actually left my copy of Trust Agents on a plane back when I first got it. I haven’t recovered emotionally ever since…
Hey Willie.
I’m brand new to affiliate marketing and just getting my plans in place to execute.
Nick’s book is insanely helpful for both planning and execution. I even printed and bound the book (costs just a few bucks at kinkos) and I pick it up for reference frequently.
I know Nick personally and he has an ocean of knowledge about internet marketing in general. I respect and trust him which makes the book that much more reliable.
Get the book folks.
Hey Matt-
Thanks for the note! Nick is the freaking man, and I’m glad you’re putting his material to use. I’m actually in the airport about to head his way now.
I really like the definition of affiliate marketing that was offered. As an affliate marketer I see a lot of people getting the wrong idea of what it really means and standing by the product that you are promoting to people. If you understand the product along with knowing how it could benefit yourself and others your more likely to become successful in making sales. To many markters promote products that they have to understanding about and they wonder why they either did not make a lot of money from the campaign or none at all. You gave a really good over view of the E-Book that they just finished up.
As a newbie to the online marketing world and a non tech I found this information to be extremely helpful. Thank you for being a corporate drop out and doing what you do! BTW, I love the new look of the site.
{ 2 trackbacks }