Affiliate Marketing is NOT “Cool”!
What is up with this title? I was reminded once again today that affiliate marketing and internet marketing is not perceived as cool in the “real world”. I’ll tell you a funny story about how few people understand that affiliate marketing even exists. It happened today when I was signing up for a new gym near my house. The cocky gym manager put me in my place 
…but before the story, I’d like to show you a screen shot of one goal I accomplished today.
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440 Responses to “Affiliate Marketing is NOT “Cool”!”
I hired out a couple different graphic designers to create a bunch of new affiliate banners.
Here is a preview of one I just had designed. I had this made in a bunch of different sizes...
I'm buying high-end stock images with really attractive men and women. They will all be stylish.
Click here to get all of the codes for the new Women's Banners
And Yavor of "Relative Strength Advantage" created a new men's banner that looks cool and has the same feel as the woman's banner above. Here it is.
Click here to get all of the codes for the Men's Banners -Rusty
Here is a preview of one I just had designed. I had this made in a bunch of different sizes...
I'm buying high-end stock images with really attractive men and women. They will all be stylish.
Click here to get all of the codes for the new Women's Banners
And Yavor of "Relative Strength Advantage" created a new men's banner that looks cool and has the same feel as the woman's banner above. Here it is.
Click here to get all of the codes for the Men's Banners -Rusty
Poor Rusty! If only you were really good (and I mean, REALLY good!) you could possibly make a “living” working 7 days a week, with very little vacation time, early mornings, late nights, etc. Poor, poor, Rusty. You’ll just never be that good!
Nice post!
Gregg
Congrats on the gravity Rusty! That’s incredible.
That ignorant personal trainer has no idea what he’s missing!
I will never go back to being a trainer and trading my hours for dollars.
Oh and fitness marketing is very cool – if you are part of the 1%er
Great post Rusty. I tend to tell people I build websites as that seems to be more understood than I am a blogger. Our day will come no doubt, until then I’ll just keep building those websites!
“You Are Earlier in the Game Than You Probably Think!”
Thanks for the encouragement! One of my regrets is not starting the fitness blog thing much, much earlier in my life. But you are correct–there’s still plenty of room for quality fitness blogs.
Thanks for the encouragement, just have to boost my names some more.
“People don’t know what people don’t know!” I think the gym manager and trainer are narrow minded, a business owner should have an open mind about making money and look at all routes that he can.
Bryan
Yeah man, I’m surprised by how few people know about affiliate marketing.
I make $450/m from two little niche blogs and am working on an authority site that could make thousands per month. I have a full-time job in health care IT (great gig, but an hour commute each way), a wife, two young kids, and weekly volunteer activities I do. But if I can manage to make some scratch on the side then anyone can.
Seriously, follow Rusty’s advice, invest $100/m in some good SEO tools/services, and make something happen.
Raza
Haha
So you are just a little kid by the street corner blogging away. When will you learn to make more money, just like the personal trainers are doing?
Rusty,
I have been with you from the very beginning and not only agree with what you are saying, I am living it! I went from zero to around $1,500 per month from clickbank since the start. The majority of my sales, as you know, are Visual Impact. Lately, I have been treading water with my blog because my brick and mortar business is so busy right now that I have little time for anything else.
I am happy to keep it like this for now until I get more time and energy to kick some ass again. Hopefully soon. The great thing about this is that it is pretty passive right now. I am making money off of work that I did months ago, last year, really. It would take a gun to make me to quit this now! I am hooked and know that it is only going to grow in the future.
I owe it all to you, my friend. I know that I have been pretty quiet in here lately, but I am still following along and keeping up with what’s going on. For all of the peeps that don’t know me, just know that what Rusty has been teaching on this blog really works. Me and a few other guys that started from the beginning are experiencing it. Stay focused and do the things that resonate with you and you will get far better results than you can ever imagine.
I hope everyone on this training builds their business as big as they want to and gets the word out there to help as many people as they can to get in shape.
-Kelly
You know, I already knew that I was in the vanguard. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard that I was so unique in the IM sphere. You’re right, no one has ever heard of Clickbank. No one knows who Mike Filsaime, Frank Kern, or John Carlton is. Much less, who Marlon Sanders is. We are in a special place in history and the opportunity is unlimited.
Hey! I’m a trainer! GRR!!! Just kidding,not offended. Many pt’s are cocky. So glad to know I am ahead of the game with my blog although I am not doing much with it right now. Having a baby sortof got me off track. Good to know that my competition..ahem..my personal training coworkers will be late in the game!
Hey buddy do you have any advise on getting a WordPress blog set up. I am hungry to get rolling with you.
Thanks for all your direction.
Shea
Rusty,
Maybe I spoke to soon about quitting the blog. I think I may just hammer stuff out like you say. I’m still getting reasonable traffic without posting. Thanks for the inspiration!
Congrats Rusty.
I have learned so much from you and plan on being one of those guys you help get their gravity over 100.
That’s awesome Rusty. Congrats on passing 100 grav.
I just started my blog 2 months ago, so hopefully I’ll hit the big bucks sooner rather than later.
Rusty,
Congratulations on reaching 100+ gravity. I have been tracking your gravity for a while and kept wondering when it would come because you were so close for the last month or so.
I am glad that I have contributed a bit to that number by making a couple of sales here and there. It is important to point out that the reason your products sell is because they are TOP NOTCH.
For anyone following Rusty, do what he teaches. If you have delayed starting a blog just do it. Don’t delay any longer.
I delayed doing One way links type stuff to help my traffic and since I did in early July my traffic has now more than doubled and hitting around 350 per day.
The important thing for me is that I have found it fun and fulfilling creating posts and helping others out with fitness. It makes the rest of the work with the blog a piece of cake.
-Sam
i wish it was a little easier t oexplain what i do to my friends let alone regular population…
For all those that comment here and follow Rustys advice “The shit works”
I talk to Rusty quite a bit and I am proud to say I now make 100-300 per day clickbank income…
The biggest question I get asked is how long did it take and how many blogs does it take…
MY answer…
I have no clue
…
Those on here that truly wan to make a full time living online will realize that it is all about volume, I have hundreds of satelite sites and no real authority blog.
The more you work the more you will get paid, so man up and get workin
.
I hope maybe this insprired someone, as I know I rarely post in here due to the fact I am too busy building sites.
If i can help you all in any way just let me know, I am sure Rusty can vouge for my success
..
Thanks again Rusty, you rock.
Hey, Rusty, just want to add our congratulations to your gravity success! We are still plugging away.
You rock Rusty! We’re all thankful for all your help and guidance and we all know you deserve it.
Your products are great and your advice and coaching are right up there as well.
I’m REALLY looking forward to 2012. Gonna’ keep pushing without letup. I’m still in the beginning stages but doing respectable.
Side note … for those lingering around the $100-$300 range just keep pushing. You’ll be blown away at how fast that number can increase.
Congratulations Rusty!! I hope I will be able to build my blog and get enough visits so I can also sell a few copies of your products.
/
The beginning is really hard but posts like these always remind me never to give up. It just takes some time. If I just weren’t so impatient
Thanks for all your support!
Jen
Hi Rusty
Never commented yet; but just have to today. I’ve been lurking in the background for a year or more now, and just know you are the real thing. But this post about the dork trainer is just too much for me.
You see, I’m a trainer, more precisely, used to be. I had my own private practice in Beverly Hills/Malibu; then in San Francisco for the past 7 years worked in a gym setting. At the gym I worked, I never had the greatest displeasure to work with such conceited, narrow minded, myopic, ‘holier-than-thou’ trainers with questionable real-world knowledge.
You are much too kind not to have ripped into that Gym manager, and expose him for the fraud he really is. The industry has become a racket, fueled at the top by the greed of questionable professional organizations that exact exorbitant fees, while expecting you to jump though hoops, just for the privilege of calling yourself a ‘trainer’.
Never mind that I’m a Physiologist with a university degree, or that I can train now at nearly 60 with the same intensity I did at 30, or that you can actually see my abs, and that my weight now is the same as in HS.
Nooo, to work at this gym, I had to become ‘certified’, pay lots of money, take a test that represents less than 1% of the knowledge base I acquired in 5 years of study at the University level, and promise to keep my certification active by spending more money to be current! Ha, what a joke!
All of you who are reading Rusty and have blogs are doing more for those who want to change than these so-called ‘trainers’. Beside Rusty, Dave of Not-your-average-fitness-tips pops to mind; what a success
So all you following Rusty, you’re in the best place.
Well, I just wanted to give a peep into the real ‘industry’, and why that gym manager is such a sordid figure indeed.
Bye,
C.
Rusty,
I’ve been hiding for awhile trying to do some serious behind the scenes stuff with the blog. I have been working on my own “diet” product that I am extremely passionate about. You actually have mentioned a few of the health/disease topics on your blog that the diet…dare I say has “cures” for. When I’m finished with it, I would love to give you as well as the other bloggers in this tight, little, group a review copy for free. I’m just a little stuck with writer’s block and not really sure what else I need to include with it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Anyways, it is funny how you mentioned the trainer was basically telling you “how it really is.” I deal with these kind of people all the time. It’s unfortunate that there are so many that seem to know everything but remain clueless. Just keep trucking Rusty, as well as everyone else! Thanks for all the great tips.
Guys,
Thanks for all the kind words. I simply need to mix in motivating posts along with “how to” type of posts. I appreciate each and every comment…and I really do believe there is room for everyone to do well online. It is still wide-open.
I don’t have time to respond to each comment, but I’ll do my best to pick out a few and respond. Thanks again for the kind words
@ Gregg…I feel bad for many personal trainers. Certifying personal trainers has become a big business on its own. Many people with good intentions have been scammed…but some people can make a decent living from it. I agree, it is hard hard work…so someone has to really love it to make it work.
@ Gregg O…You are close to becoming full-time anyway. Totally jealous! I wish the internet was around when I was your age (that statement makes me sound old).
@ Slowstarter…yeah, my family has referred good web designers to me to make a website for my biz. That way it will take my business to “the next level”. They are happy for me, but really just don’t get it
@ Kevin…I had people tell me 4 years ago that it was too late to start a blog & that the fitness niche was too saturated.
@ Raza…I’m so pumped for your sites! You are well on your way to making a good income.
@ dudeshane01…Yep, I’m sure that is what he thought. I’ve also managed in retail in high volume stores. It is a little different than a gym, but the money isn’t very good…and the stress of employees calling in sick, not getting along, etc…will give you an ulcer.
@ Kelly…I can’t believe you are closing in on $2,000 per month after a year and a few months. So cool! What people don’t always realize is that the income seems to double or triple online year after year. My best guess is that you will be $4,000-$5,000 per month this time next year. Not a bad little side income
@ galacticapegasus…not sure why so many personal trainers are cocky. Even worse or the girls they pick to work at the front desk. At 90% of the gyms I belong to they are on the phone and are put out if you ask questions or even scanning your card. Part of me would love to open a gym, just to show people how to do it in a friendly way.
@ cashking777…there is a ton of info online on how to setup a WordPress blog. This guy has a great service and will help you setup and host your first blog: http://www.d-olsen.com/
@ Jordan…yeah, maybe just post 1-2 times per month and keep the traffic increasing at a steady rate. It will pay off over time for sure.
@ Jason…I know you can create a product and get it up over 100. You certainly have the training knowledge…so now it is just a matter of increasing traffic.
@ Keith…it never happens as quickly as you want. I was frustrated on a regular basis until I hit about $4,000 per month. From that point on, I was pumped because that was a job ending income for me. It was a little less than I was paid managing a suit store…but I disliked my boss so much, I took a pay cut and quit.
@ Sam…thanks for the kind words. Yep, 1WL really gets the job done. You can’t really go wrong with any of John Leger’s products. He makes top-quality stuff! Honestly…I may try to get him on here to do a guest post. We will see. I’ve never communicated with him.
@ Ryan…I love it that you are making a killer full-time income. I know you will be well into the 6 figures in 2012. You have come a loooong way since I first met you. You are so right about just working and writing like crazy. It is a lot of work, but unlike a job…you are building something. It sticks around, and over time you will have A LOT of stuff on the web.
@ Jeremy & Kim…thanks. I’m really excited, but now really want to push harder than ever to help people. I’ve never been to an Internet Marketing event and it would be cool to meet a few of you guys in person.
@ Kevin…thanks buddy. I’m glad your site came back up high in Google again. You had me worried for a week or two! You are so right about that $300 mark. You can quickly jump that to $700-$1,000. Once you get to $1,000…you have the belief level that maybe this could be a full-time deal. Then it is just a matter of time!
@ Jen…It is really, really tough in the beginning. I really do think the toughest part of this business is getting to 100 visitors per day the first time. Once you do it, you will be able to do it again in a heart-beat…but that first time is pretty tough. You will get there!
@ Claude…I’ve heard similar horror stories. It is very interesting to read it first hand from someone with your qualifications. That gym manager was kind of young, but it was funny the attitude he was throwing my way…and this was while I was signing up!
@ Adam…yes, send me a review copy. The toughest part is actually the sales page and sales funnel…and how to present it, etc. I will give you some pointers that could help.
Have a great weekend everybody!
-Rusty
Hi Rusty,
Congrats on the new Gravity level
My wife just launched her new “Complete Guide to Powerlifting for Women,” on Clickbank and we hope to hit the 100 gravity mark some day too. For now I am focusing in on all the tips you have shared on this site, thanks so much! Oh, I was nationally certified as a PT back in 1993 and I am still shocked at some of the attitudes of some of these trainers in the gym today. Kills me when I see them sitting down on a bench, barking orders at some older lady, not even watching their form. Oh well, some people may never “get it.”
To your continued success,
Thomas
Rusty,
Congratulations on your success with Visual Impact! It says a lot about the quality of your product and the quality of what you are teaching us here
.
A few things have slowed down my progress a bit, so I’ve been using my down time to “prune” my blog of posts that aren’t the best representatives of what my site is about. I’ve deleted all the posts that aren’t 100% unique. Now I’m working on re-writing the titles for some of my posts and meta descriptions. I don’t think any of us can play around when it comes to our content (that is if you’re trying to get free search engine traffic) these days.
Ray
BTW, congrats also to Kelly, Ryan and Raza for your success as affiliates in this niche!
Hey Rusty,
A little off topic but could you recommend someone who does article spinning? I want my article to be sentence spun to save time before sending it over to TBS – like you did with your nesting TBS video a few weeks back. I used to use Human Rewriter but they went out of business. Any recommendations would help.
Thanks,
Tim
Hey Tim,
You can find article spinners on Fiverr that use TBS.
Gregg
Congratulations on getting over 100 gravity, it is a great achievement!
Like everybody else here said, that person just believes what he wants to believe and even if you told him how much money you make he would think that you are just a blogger and not working in the real world.
Rusty,
This is a very inspiring post! I really enjoy reading about your success stories and those of others on here. It just reinforces my belief that this is the real deal. My progress has been slower than some others. I’ve been doing this for about a year and 3 months now and I’m still in the 200-300 visitors per day range, but I just cracked my first $100 month last month so that was very encouraging.
My goal is to just keep pushing until I get to the 500+ visitor range then eventually up to 1,000. Obviously I’d love to get there sooner rather than later, but no matter how long it takes, I’ll keep plugging away. Getting 1WL a couple of months ago has really helped boost my rankings in Google so I expect the traffic will follow.
Congrats and thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us!
Alykhan – Fitness Breakout
Hey guys,
I have a question regarding 1WL. I’ve been using 1WL for about 5 weeks now, and during the 1st week, it moved one of my rankings from the bottom of page 5 to the top of page 2. However, for the past 4 weeks, it just stayed at the top of page 2 and hasn’t really moved.
What do you guys do when your ranking is stuck even when you’re using 1WL? Any help is appreciated. Thanks
its amazing the feeling you get when you realize that you can make money on the internet. I’ve been a full time affiliate for over 4 years. No one ever understands what I do outside of the industry. i’ve had 4 figure days, some 5 figure days in sales. I run paid traffic so its quite a bit different than what you have going on. it can get intense. its unfortunate but millionaires have been made on the internet. this guy has a myopic view of the world. I’m building out my fitness site now. thanks for all the tips.
Interesting post Rusty. I find it funny that people react differently if you say you have ‘website’ or ‘blog’. The website always seems a lot more ‘cool’!
@bluenalumedia 5 figure days in sales!! wow…
Congrats on the accomplishment Rusty!!
sean
http://Skinnyfitness.com
Hi Rusty.
Not sure this is proper here; but don’t know where else to contact you? Contact us in footer sends me back here.
Setting up to promote both your products and have an encrypted link 4 VImuscle from CBK.
Do I just use the same link and manually add ?id=women, then insert that in my review page 4 VIwomen? Will CBK recognize this women’s link even though I did not generate the ‘?id=women’ from within CBK. Could it be that simple 4 CBK to track both?
You’re too awesome and so helpful. Can’t wait to make my first sale and help you make more money!
@Keith,
Time for some Fiverr.com link building. Search foe SENuke, Link wheels, EDU links, etc. This will bump up the posts that are stagnate on page 2.
@claude,
I set up both my men’s and women’s product under the same CB Vendor ID…so affiliates get max commissions. I’ll put my cardio program under that same ID as well…so you can promote one and get credit for any product that a customer buys.
Here is the link setup:
http://XXXXXXX.visimpact.hop.clickbank.net/
http://XXXXXXX.visimpact.hop.clickbank.net/?id=women
-Rusty
Hey Rusty,
I just cracked 4000 visitors and last month I made almost as much as I did working a full-time job as a pizza place manager, which was a pretty good salary. If this continues I will be making more money than I ever have before.
Pretty much everything I do is stuff I learned from fitness blog training.
Many, many thanks!
@Kris,
Heck yeah! I love hearing about people having the ability to quit their jobs. What I would recommend now it to save a lot of your cash. Once you have $10,000 in the bank and are making more on a consistent basis on your site than at your job, consider doing this full-time. Keep me updated!
-Rusty
Hey Rusty,
Which gigs do you recommend on Fiverr? There are just so many lol. Thanks
Hey Rusty,
Congrats and tons of respect Dude!
Mark
Hi Rusty,
I have the same experience when it comes to “affiliate marketing” that people don’t even know it ever exists!!! I talked to a number of guys (from different walks of life) and they just listened me without paying much attention what I am talking about!
I am still working to make things happen to me, and getting success in ranking high in google.
All the best.
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