06 Jan 11 4:49 pm
I know that most people don't agree with my sense of actually having any integrity in business., if you can live with yourself, go for it. But just know you not only hurt yourself but everyone else in this business as well.
I know a lot of people who run their IM businesses with moral integrity, only reviewing products they use themselves, and only getting into niches that they really know.
and these people are making MORE than the FAKE experts that you see within the IM niche.
When it comes to marketing there are 3 people who I listen to, and Mark is one of them. everyone else I personally wouldnt trust as far as I could throw them, because they are so full of BS that I cant trust anything that comes out of their mouths.
Remember, everything I say is MY opinion, and that is based on MY experiences and what has helped me, and what has hurt me the most. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I just personally believe that the "fake it till you make it" attitude is a big part of why so many people fail.
I think part of it comes down to understanding terminology as well. your goal as an affiilaite isn't to be an expert. it is to become an authority figure that people look up to. Now, many people teach that you have to be an expert to gain authority, but that is a load of BS that I have proven wrong time and time again with my own business.
In my opinion, an authority is someone who knows more than the average user, knows where to find the best information, and shares that information with other people. You can become an authority figure fairly easily, by reading the ebooks you promote, and studying and researching your niche.
An expert, on the other hand has either professional accolades, or deep personal experience to back up their authority. This does give you more authority, which is why so many people create their own products. Owning a product increases your authority with people in the niche, and helps to establish your expertise. However, as an affiliate, you don't have to be the expert.
My first site to be earning money consistently was my IM blog. Yet, when I started making money from it, I wasn't making money at anything else yet, and I clearly stated as much in my blog posts.
I was simply sharing what I was learning, and the experiences I had along the way. I built up authority without really being an expert.
Once I saw that happening, I started changing the way I was doing things in other niches, and doing the same thing. And, I got the same results. I started making sales more consistently, I stated engaging people directly, and helping people find the information they needed, rather than claiming to have the answers myself, and I make a decent living that is growing every month by doing that.
Yet, I am NOT an expert at anything that I do. Personally, I think most of the so called experts out there are just full of themselves, and don't know as much as they claim. Did you know that probably 75-80% of all the 'IM gurus" have never made a dime outside the IM niche? over 90% of the WSO's on the warrior forum are by people who are dead broke, and those WSO's that they sell are the only money they make. with that level of BS, its no wonder that so many people fail. they are learning how to do things from people who have no idea what they are talking about.
Even Mark recommends that people not set out to be a fake expert. He isn't an expert in every niche, so he hires the experts to put the name and expertise behind his marketing efforts.
But, this is getting way off the topic of the thread which is about how many products to promote. Personally, on that score, if you have a variety of products related to the niche, it actually will increase your authority, by showing that you have researched various opinions, and you are not just spouting off one side of the story.
Although you will find various products that talk about the same topic, they will have varying opinions on how to solve the problem. You can increase your authority by reviewiing the various products, and sharing Your opinion on what is best.
Another thing is to find the specific problems in the niche, and find a general product and then various products that target specific areas.
A perfect example of this is marks WoW blackbook site. he has Dugis guide which is a general WOW help guide covering a lot of topics, then he has specific guides for specific problems such as a gold guide, crafting guide, horde leveling guide, alliance leveling guide, etc...
This way, you have a general product that fits the general info, but you have specific guides for each individual major problem people will face within the niche.
