For more information, you can visit Ian’s blog, or find him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

An Interview With Ian Fernando

How did you get started in the industry?

I first started out with eBay. Selling old things and buying things from flea markets and selling them on eBay. I soon started an eCommerce store which I think was a big mistake because of the customer support.

Then I started doing bulk orders, which was a hassle with customs and vendors.

I needed a way where I can make money ‘selling’ something and not deal with customers and the actual product itself.

I then found affiliate marketing and started with Linkshare, CJ, Clickbank, and ShareaSale. I definitely think it was the best due to the fact that I just had to make a sale and not deal with any troubles from vendors or customers.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

My biggest learning experience is probably tackling Facebook. Back in the day when Facebook had their first advertising system called Facebook Flyers, I was on top of it but with their strict rules, it was hard to get things approved.

I almost gave up on it but kept going with small tests. Until I got some things profitable, I stuck to it and then scaled through.

It definitely taught myself to just keep going and tackle this specific traffic source.

What was your biggest success to date?

The biggest success I think is the opportunity to speak and I want to thank Affiliate Summit for giving me the opportunity to do so. It is one of the bigger milestones in my online career. I think I like having the online presence and definitely helping people tackle their goals.

It definitely put me in a different light and has changed my attitude a lot.

How did you learn the business (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)?

Curiosity I guess. I read a lot of blogs and some mentioned affiliate marketing with Clickbank and how important it is to sell information.

I use to be in the forums back in the day just reading, until I decided to do it myself. I did download a bunch of crappy free eBooks and reports.

They did give me some foundation, but I found out quick that most are repetitive.

What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

Like any consumer, they all want to learn more and get the information. The most important part is how something will benefit them. All marketers are good at selling. It is in our blood to get everyone to convert.

The reason for this is because we want to get them through the sales funnel with ease. If we provide something to the consumer with value, they will go through the funnel with ease.

Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

Depends. The reason I say this is because as a consumer and a marketer I find it annoying because I know what it is. BUT I also use it as a source of traffic.

Social conversation and recommendations will be more powerful than a banner ad moving forward. It will be and is useful to take advantage of it now and use it.

Since sponsored conversations are up to the publisher, they get to choose what to advertise based on their recommendation. So there is a place, all traffic needs to be utilized and understood to be used properly.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

There are a lot of people out there that definitely know a lot about the industry. I always read up affbuzz.com to check out what’s happening in the industry.

I can say Shoemoney. Ever since I met him he definitely has great knowledge to share and experience.

How do you balance professional v. personal?

Well for 2010 I set working times. I usually look at professional and personal as nothing because I like being in front of my PC and looking at my stats.

But sometimes it does take me away from my goals, so I would have to start creating timelines for myself.

Personally I travel a lot and my business is always with me; I never look at my business as a professional job but instead as something I look forward to all the time, because I enjoy what I do.

How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

More like all the time. I have one PC dedicated to just my Spy view so I am always checking my stats. If I am away I check my stats on my iPhone. I learned not to look at it every so often, but I def look at it at least 1 an hour.

You just don’t know what will change in an hour or 5 minutes.
If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Hmmmm…. Probably 50 Cent. Just because he is a marketer and a G.
OK, now who would REALLY play you?

Maybe Jay-Z then… he has a lighter tone complexion that matches me more.
What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

Not too sure since I am a ‘Super Duper Up, Up, Up and Away Affiliate’. Not really a fan of the term Super Affiliate. I look at myself as a learner. I learn from everyone and there is a lot of information to be taken in.

Being successful vs being average is different. Successful users know how to work demographics, dig deep into the numbers, decipher how users react, etc.

It is probably these things that separate big affiliates from the smaller ones.
Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

Pretty much, I always imagined being on my own and owning my own stuff. So yes. I never was a fan of the workplace; it was just an option but a fixed option to many.

I was always a hustler trying to make that extra income to get what I wanted.
Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

Imagine you are at a candy store. You ask your mom to buy a bag of skittles. She opens the bag and rewards you 10 pieces out of the 100 skittles that are in the bag. That is affiliate marketing to a child in its simplest form.

The mother being the consumer, YOU the child (affiliate) funnels your mom to buy, which in turn you are rewarded with just 10% of the income, in this case 10 skittles and your mom keeps the bag and hides it away from you forever so you won’t get tooth decay.

For more insights, you can visit Brandon’s blog, or find him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

An Interview With Brandon Adcock

How did you get started in the industry?

I got started in the industry because of the SEM work I was doing.  I started out doing SEM consulting, then moved into an in-house SEM role at Lowe’s Home Improvement.  While I was there I started working on some blog projects to test out new ideas and make some extra money.  That evolved from working to optimize adsense, to rotating in affiliate offers.  After getting my feet wet with credit card affiliate programs, which took a huge hit last year, I quit my in-house job to do affiliate marketing full time in August of 2008.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

This is a tough question.  In terms of single experience, I would have to say it was the day I lost roughly $25,000 on a campaign and my server wasn’t even down.  I had gotten to a point where I was getting sloppy with my media buying because everything had been going so well.  I took some uncalculated risks and it completely bombed.  It was a great ego check for me to make sure I was still spending the appropriate amount of time to ensure my buys were setup correctly, my landing pages were tweaked, my creative was good, and I was targeting the right demographics.

What was your biggest success to date?

This is a tough question, too. I’ve been very happy with what I accomplished over the last year, not to mention I’ve learned so much.  Outside of learning so much about performance marketing, I’d say my biggest success was consistently being the top earner at a top network this fall.

How did you learn the business (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)?

I bought one eBook on cookie stuffing before I ever really got into affiliate marketing.  Worst money I ever spent and a moronic tactic.  I got to where I am by networking and testing.  The only way you can get a campaign to work is by trying and tweaking.  I am not a fan of eBooks or membership sites.  Any information that is worth knowing is usually kept within a small circle of people.

What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

Well, inherently affiliate marketing is just an extension of a brand’s marketing department.  So as long as affiliate messaging matches the brand’s messaging, it provides any, if not all of the same value the marketing department provides.  The real value of affiliate marketing is provided to the company itself.

Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

Sure, but it isn’t something I have actively participated in so far.  There is a time and place for all sorts of advertisements, conversations are one of them.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

Ha, I would hardly call myself the most valuable resource. If I had to pick one that is/was the most valuable resource, I would say it is my friend who tries to fly under the radar but he invented/first affiliate to use a blog style testimonial and has now single-handedly taken an affiliate offer to a mainstream brand;  a feat no one else has ever really done before.

How do you balance professional v. personal?

I combined the two so it has just become my life. I don’t really view it as a separation.

How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

In the beginning I checked a lot, as all people do. But as of this year as I became mostly media buying, I became a “traffic controller” where I pretty much just watched traffic and stats all day.  Made sure things we’re tracking right, offers converting, staying under caps, etc.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

They wouldn’t. It would be the most boring, monotone movie ever.

OK, now who would REALLY play you?

Lorenzo Lamas

What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

Honestly super affiliate is a term that shouldn’t be used anymore and doesn’t fit.  A super affiliate in my mind, was the guy who made a six figure, maybe low 7 figure income before affiliate marketing became the juggernaut that it is now.  Now the biggest affiliates, the ones doing half a million a day are small companies.  They have developers, designers, media buyers, etc.  Affiliate marketing has turned from individuals to companies, in terms of the top echelon. Not to mention you have large media companies now with affiliate divisions that run affiliate offers on their own media and on other ad networks.  The line has become blurred as the amount of money at stake has increased.

But to get back to the question, what makes differentiates successful ones from less successful ones are the people who test, take big risks, and are willing to spend big money on media.  Without doing these, you won’t be near the top.

Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

No. A year ago, what seemed like huge feats/earnings seems miniscule now. The bar is always being raised. I had no idea I would be as lucky as I have been when I first got into this industry. I try to keep working and making progress as fast as I can.  I never know what the next month has in store for me.

Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

Affiliate marketing is basically a performance based, independent marketing arm for a company.  Affiliates can be people or companies, but all affiliates promote something for someone else based around performance metrics (that was geared toward smart kids).

You can check out Trisha’s blog, or find her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

An Interview With Trisha Lyn Fawver

How did you get started in the industry?

I was working at a printing company in the marketing department when they asked me if I wanted to take over the affiliate program.  I had been running other programs and turned them around and the affiliate program needed a lot of work and updating.  So I took over the affiliate program, turning it from a independent Direct Track based program to a top performer with Commission Junction.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

It was interesting working at a start-up marketing firm that was backed by an existing company and seeing what that dynamic was like.  Despite good affiliate results, the backing company still ended up dictating what happened at the firm and ultimately sealed it’s demise.

What was your biggest success to date?

Growing the two printing company affiliate programs I’ve managed into top earning programs.  Reorganizing the first program I managed completely to a great running program.

How did you learn the business (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)?

By jumping in head first and listening to my manager, who had run affiliate programs at other companies.  I also attended my first Affiliate Summit about 6 months after jumping into affiliate marketing, and learned a lot that way.

What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

A lot of affiliate sites offer tons of value to consumers.  Whether you’re talking about cashback sites or incentives, or just offering an abundance of coupons.  Obviously, if affiliates didn’t provide a lot of value, consumers wouldn’t go to their sites.

Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

It’s a fine line.  If the conversation also has a lot of good value and doesn’t push the sponsor before the good content, then there’s definitely room.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

The obvious answer for me is Shawn Collins, as his blog is a fountain great information.  A second would be AffPlan, which is starting to really come into its own with the information being presented.

How do you balance professional v. personal?

Very carefully lol.  Especially since I work at home, sometimes it’s very difficult to turn off work mode and turn into professional mode.  Basically my weekends are personal only and every other day is professional until my husband tells me it’s time to put the laptop aside and watch some tv or eat with him.

How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

As an affiliate manager, I check the stats of my programs daily pretty much.  We do weekly reports that are a bit more in-depth.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

It would be cliché to say Kathy Bates since she’s one of the only plus sized ladies in Hollywood, but she’s also a great actress so I think I’d still go with Kathy Bates.  Or I could throw America Ferrara a bone.

OK, now who would REALLY play you?

That girl on Drop Dead Diva lol.

What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

Lightning in a bottle.  From talking with super affiliates, yes they put in a LOT of work, but many of them were also just in the right place at the right time with the niches they chose (ringtones, mobile phone accessories, etc).  There are also other affiliates that got started in the beginning 10+ years ago and have built up their businesses to successful enterprises.  I think what mainly differentiates them from the less successful affiliates is time put into their businesses.  You have to make this a full time business to earn full time profits, otherwise it’s still just a side job, even if you’ve been doing it for years.

Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

Ha!  10 years ago I was graduating high school and on my way to college for Theatre Arts – I thought I was going to be an actress and playwright.  So this is miles from where I thought I’d be.  5 years ago I was working in customer service and still thought it was a stepping stone before selling a script.  A month ago is probably the closest expectation!

Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

Affiliate marketing is where people put advertisements for online stores on their websites and get paid a fee when someone else buys through their advertisements.

You can check out Jonathan’s blog, or find him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

An Interview With Jonathan Volk

How did you get started in the industry?

It was roughly around age 11 that I began to learn to code first in C and C++ and then websites languages. I’ve been doing it ever since and it’s really what began this passion for everything internet-related.

It was then in 2004 that my Dad called me into his office and told me that he was interested in starting another business with me, web hosting. This was my first venture into making actual money online.

While attempting to get a successful hosting business up, my Dad invested tens of thousands of dollars into learning SEO and other techniques. As an example, one conference with Brad Fallon and a few select others cost $10,000 for two days. While there was a lot of great information, the hosting business still failed.

The business might have failed, but we did not fail. It really was this foundation that enabled me to reach the level that I have reached currently.

After moving on from the hosting business, I had learned quite a bit about SEO and affiliate marketing.

Early in 2007, I really decided to get serious about affiliate marketing. I had been running some adsense websites and such for a while and had made up to $250/day during the peak of my adsense days.

The adsense income was very inconsistent and the profit margins were very very slim. I was essentially buying traffic and sending it to my heavily ad ridden websites.

As I began to apply my techniques to affiliate marketing, I began to learn how much potential affiliate marketing had. I researched everything I could about affiliate marketing through forums, friends, and my friend, google.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

The biggest learning experience has come from all the failures that I have had. I’ve had many businesses and websites that would have been successful had I executed them better. Looking back on those failures, I have learned the most from those experiences.
What was your biggest success to date?

My biggest success is probably marrying my beautiful wife Maria.

How did you learn the business (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)?

I learned the business from forums (digitalpoint, clickconsultants, etc), from blogs, and any resource I could find on the subject.
What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketers try hard to show relevant products, services, etc to people looking for a solution to a problem.
Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

Sponsored conversations? I don’t really know until I saw it. It’s less about the idea and more about the execution of the idea.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

I would say all the affiliate marketing blogs listed on Affbuzz.com. I couldn’t pick a single one as they all mostly have good information. If I had to pick it would probably be Chad from CDFNetworks.com. Great information.
How do you balance professional v. personal?

I set a schedule. I get up around 8 am every day, start work around 9:30 or 10 am. I work until 4pm. Then I spend some time with my wife, cook dinner with her, and clean up the kitchen. After this we go back to work until 9PM. At 9PM we go and watch TV for a little while. Around 10:30 or 11PM, we go and read until we are tired enough to sleep.

It works really well for us.
How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

Month 1: Very often – 10-15 times a day or so.

1 Year in, 4-5 times a day.

Today: 1-4 times a day.
If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Michael Cera for sure.

What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

I would say connections in the industry and drive.
Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

Where I am now is way beyond what I would have expected when I was younger. Where I am now is not where I want to be in 2-3 years, however. I want to always be growing in more areas then just affiliate marketing. I want to create websites and services that I can sell later on.
Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

Affiliate marketing is being a sales man online. You get commission for selling products or services for companies. This is done by telling interested people about a product or service and helping them to know the benefits of the product or service.

Thanks for doing the interview with eMonetized, Jonathan! For more affiliate marketing strategies and interviews, check out JonathanVolk.com!

Kate Morris is a search marketing guru who I met at SXSW last year. Our unofficial tour guide in Austin, Kate has organized some great search and affiliate marketing meetups and discussions both locally and on panels at several trade shows including Affiliate Summit. Kate also co-founded Marketing Demons, a search and social marketing agency.

You can check out Kate’s blog, or find her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

An Interview With Kate Morris

How did you get started in the industry?

I got started in the search marketing industry when I was in school at The University of Texas. The internship I was at had a client that wanted to do PPC ads, so they put me on it. The rest is history.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

The greatest learning experience has been at 360training where I was in charge of a team of 5 people, mostly developers in Pakistan. Most were men, most older than me. I learned a lot, and grew a lot as a person. It also helped professionally because we had 30+ websites to run, ad campaigns for 6 divisions, and the search optimization for them all. It was hectic but I got a lot of experience there.

What was your biggest success to date?

My first real site optimization on my own, I was working in-house as a marketing manager doing everything from online stuff to designing ads for magazine placements. After a few months, we ranked on the first page for the most general term for the industry. Very hard to do. I could barely believe it.

How did you learn the business (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)?

I learned from reading and from mentors. One is Brian Combs, I call him my Yoda. He taught me a lot from the start. But sites like WebmasterWorld and SEOmoz will always be in my heart because it’s because of them that I learned the basics.

What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

The value to consumers lies in the fact that they can learn about products when doing something related. Reading, researching, or just being entertained. Affiliate marketing gives companies a way to be a part of people’s online lives.

Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

There is a very fine line there. I think they do have a place but need to stay in check. Just because someone sends me a product sample does not mean I am indebted to write a glowing review. But sometimes it’s needed to get your product name out there. Basically, if you do it or ask people to do it, just keep your morals in check.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?
I am not sure that I am a «most valuable resource», but I think one of the best resources is Scott Polk. He is who got me interested in affiliate marketing, and has been a champion of the industry for a long time. He really understands the need to build relationships and how to connect the right people.

How do you balance professional v. personal?

This is hard considering the fact that I work from home and am finishing up my MBA right now. It’s probably my outside obligations and my goal to have a work life balance from the beginning that has kept me from working too hard. It also helps that the two merge a lot. I never thought I would be the person whos work was their life, but my work really is a part of me. So I enjoy what I do, it’s not really «work».

How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

Stats are checked weekly.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

I have no idea. I hear Julia Stiles and I have the same mannerisms, but I don’t see the likeness. I really don’t know.

OK, now who would REALLY play you?

Haha … you tell me!!

Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

10 years ago I didn’t know this part of the world existed. So no. 5 years ago, I was still figuring out if being online is where I needed to be. So not then either. A month ago, yes. These past few months have just flown by.

Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

My first answer was: Utilizing a person’s passion, expressed on the web, to get information out to others. And because that information crosses paths with some companies and their products, opening some of that space to advertising the products that match with the sites content.

There is no way a kid would get that. So  … placing ads on my website for things that people are interested in.

Thanks for doing the interview with eMonetized, Kate! Looking forward to seeing you in Austin again soon. You can visit Kate’s blog at www.katemorris.com or follow her on Twitter.

You can check out Logan’s blog at LRThompson.com and follow also follow Logan Thompson on Twitter.

An Interview With Logan Thompson

How did you get started in the industry?

Back in 1996 I taught myself how to design websites. The first site I ever created was about all of the inconsistencies in the show Saved By The Bell, and was more of a personal type of site that had very little traffic. I never really looked to monetize it or any of the other sites I was messing with at the time; until I heard about Linkshare. It wasn’t until 2001 when I made my fist commission check for 72 cents. Since then I’ve been hooked on affiliate marketing (although that was probably my last check using Linkshare). After spending time at a few jobs as a web designer with companies like GiftTree.com and Dotster.com, I realized affiliate marketing was much more satisfying than working for someone else.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

Earlier this year I launched a Facebook campaign that went against what most people said would be successful on Facebook. Basically it was a cost per sale campaign on a product that was around $100. While most people would say that probably wouldn’t work, that 1 campaign earned me more in 3 months than I made in an entire year at my previous job. I learned that you have to try things out for yourself instead of just copying what other people are doing. What works for one person might not work for me. What works for me, might not work for you, etc.

What was your biggest success to date?

To me, my biggest success is just the fact that I am able to work for myself, choose my own hours, and support my family. I love that I don’t have to work for someone else and that is success to me.

How did you learn the business? (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)

Most of what I have learned is through my own trial and error. Although I spend some time reading blogs and a few forums, I generally like to learn by testing things on my own. Aside from that, I learn a lot just through networking with other affiliate marketers and by trying to learn something from everyone I come in contact with.

What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

If done correctly, affiliate marketing adds value to consumers by helping them find the information they are looking for in the buying process faster.

Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

I’m torn on this. As a marketer I like it. As a consumer it annoys the crap out of me.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

There are a ton of great people in the industry it would be hard to select who is the most valuable. I like to check out AffBuzz.com on a regular basis to keep track of whats going on in the industry.

How do you balance professional v. personal?

I make sure that I set working hours so that when I “come home,” I am out of work mode. I still spend time working late at night, but I make sure to spend plenty of time with my wife in the evenings, and spend time volunteering with middle school kids every week to get me out of the house.

How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

I check my stats way to much. In the beginning it was like every 5-10 minutes. Now I probably check them every hour during the day and set my alarm every 2 hours to wake up in the middle of the night to check them (just kidding about that last part).

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Maybe Justin Timberlake. I can’t sing, but maybe he would make my life seem more interesting.

OK, now who would REALLY play you?

Doh, probably Clay Aiken

What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

I’m not a huge fan of the term super affiliate. As far as the difference between a successful and unsuccessful affiliate is that successful affiliates work their butts off until they are successful and learn how to test things for themselves. They also don’t rely on others to be successful.

Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

Pretty much. Ever since I was in high school I always knew I wanted to work for myself. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do, but I knew that being an employee of someone else wasn’t my style. I’m in love with what I’m doing now and wouldn’t trade it for pretty much anything else (other than a contract with an NBA team).

Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

*Note- Please don’t just say I make money online. Assume the follow up to that would be ‘How?’

Affiliate marketing is basically when a business compensates an affiliate (me) for each customer or lead that is brought about by the affiliate marketers efforts. You probably have heard of Amazon.com, but you might not be aware that they were one of the first companies to offer an affiliate program. Since Amazon has so many products, what I would do is create a website based around a certain product or similar products. Lets say I create a site about computer speakers that has all kinds of information on the newest products available. I’d than create links to Amazon.com through special links they give me so when people click on them, they will track that the customer came from my speaker site. Now if that customer makes a purchase from Amazon, I get paid a commission.

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Logan, thanks for doing the interview with eMonetized! Keep up the great work on the blog! You can visit Logan’s blog at LRThompson.com and follow also follow Logan Thompson on Twitter.

If you are not reading his blog yet then you should be. There is a wealth of good information and quality posts so be sure to browse the archives.

You can also follow CDFnetworks of Twitter here.

An Interview With Chad Frederiksen of CDFnetworks.com

1. How did you get started in the industry?

I got started building adsense sites in my spare time while working at my day job back in 2004.  I quickly switched to affiliate marketing with pay per click and things really took off from there.

2. What was your biggest learning experience to date?

Basically, every time I try a go in a new direction with the business it’s a learning experience.  I’ve lost tons of money trying different things but those lessons have contributed to my successes in other areas.

3. What was your biggest success to date?

I had a lot of success very early on.  But I’d say my biggest success has been keeping that momentum going year after year.  As different things stopped working, I have been able to rotate in new profitable areas while continuing to expand.

4. How did you learn the business? (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)

I’m self-taught.  I’ve never read an eBook or used any paid learning sites.  Everything has been 100% trial and error or just searching for information on the Internet.

5. What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

I guess the value to consumers is increased visibility of an offer that they might have been interested in.  Also some affiliates add value before the sale by providing more information about the product or service.

6. Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

If done in a non-intrusive way, yes.  I don’t have a problem seeing an occasional sponsored tweet from a personal account.  When, it becomes the primary focus, it’s not good.

7. Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

Honestly, I don’t think any one person is.  I would say Google is the most valuable resource for finding anything you need to know.

8. How do you balance professional v. personal?

Personal time is very important to me.  I like to get outside and exercise every day and spend time with family and friends.  Luckily the nature of my business is that I can work at various times throughout the day and still do what I want, when I want.

9. How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

Usually twice a day, morning and night.

10. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

I’m not sure, the only famous person I have been told I resemble is Wayne Gretzky but he’s not an actor!

11. What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

I still have no idea what super affiliate means.  I’d say if you can support yourself with the lifestyle you want (whatever that may be) then you are a success.

12. Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

No!  10 years ago, I expected I would be doing research in biology, publishing papers, making big breakthroughs.  That was my goal for after college.

5 years ago I had the new goal to run my own Internet marketing business and that has gone as I hoped, and even better than I expected.

13. Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it. *Note- Please don’t just say I make money online. Assume the follow up to that would be ‘How?’

I usually just say it’s getting paid a commission to bring new online customers to a company.

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Chad, Thanks for doing the interview with eMonetized.com You can follow Chad Frederiksen on his blog CDFNetworks and on Twitter.

Who Is Andrew Wee?

An Interview With Andrew Wee of WhoIsAndrewWee.com

1) How did you get started in the industry?

In 2006, I stumbled up affiliate marketing and making money online seemed like a good gig, especially since other performance-based job (offline sales, marketing, direct selling) requires a lot of face-to-face followup. I liked the money, but the amount of time spent closing the deal was more than I was willing to invest. The online gig was a good match.

2) What was your biggest learning experience to date?

If by “experience”, you mean failure, I’m getting them every day. Testing something out, having it fail and having invested time and money into it, is a good way of remembering lessons. You’ll learn more than any book or course or conference could ever teach you.

3) What was your biggest success to date?

I don’t have a “biggest success” because I like to set big goals and do my best to meet and beat them every time. Being able to set goals for every project and meet and exceed them counts as a success each time.

4) How did you learn the business? (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)

All of the above. In general, I think you kinda get what you pay for. Most free stuff can be the most expensive, because when you try out someone’s crazy theory disguised as fact, you can spend a lot of time, energy and money going down the wrong path.

I’ve probably got the most value out of the premium courses and learning materials I’ve invested in, plus networking with experienced affiliates and marketers.

My “secret sauce” has probably been my Friday Podcast series (http://whoisandrewwee.com/podcasts) where I’ve been given license to kil, er, probe the thoughts of some of the most successful affiliates, networks and advertisers in the affiliate industry.

I’ve recently launched a new project, the Internet Marketing Cookbook (http://InternetMarketingCookbook.com) to share strategies with new and intermediate level marketers.

5) What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

They say the great product is useless, unless it’s put in the hands of the right consumer. Affiliate marketing, being a part of the distribution/marketing system can connect consumers with a problem with the appropriate solution – a product or service – marketed by affiliates.

6) Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

The key issue with online conversations is that they should be on-topic, relevant and appropriate to the audience. Sponsorship can help prioritize an advertiser’s message because writers, bloggers and webmasters have many requests for coverage/publicity.

Because there’s not overall editorial body overseeing webmasters/bloggers, some writers with less-than-stellar ethics might choose to prioritize scoring the sponsorship, rather than placing their readers first. If you persistently do this, your readers will vote with their feet…out your online door.

7) Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

I don’t think I nor any other one person is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community. On an individual level, there’s no substitute for experience as the most valuable resource.

On a community level, organizations like Affiliate Advocacy (http://affiliateadvocacy.com/) helmed by Melanie Seery, are out there looking out for affiliate’s interests.

How do you balance professional v. personal?

It’s depends whether you’re blogging for yourself as a cathartic exercise, venting your frustrations, cheering when you achieve benchmarks, or if you’re attempting to brand yourself professionally.

I like to inject some of my personality into my online presence, although I’m mindful that I don’t want to bore people with what I ate for lunch (unless it was something unique like centipedes or whale blubber). My core audience seems to like the industry content I put out, so that’s usually about 90% of my content. The other 10% consists of what happened in the latest episode of Gossip Girl, the latest XP service pack breaking my computer, or other fun stuff.

9) How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

I probably don’t check my stats as often as most affiliates. I treat affiliate marketing as a long term business and have a longer perspective than most. So unless I’m running a major ad campaign, I might check my stats once a week, or when an affiliate I referred to a network tells me they had a really big run this week…

10) If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Myself.

11) OK, now who would REALLY play you?

Myself.

12) What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

You’re running your own business at the end of the day, so whether you’re calling yourself a super, thuper or super duper affiliate, what matters most is the results you achieve. I’m a little sick of the phrase “Super Affiliate” because most of these guys don’t have heat vision, invulnerability or can leap tall buildings at a single bound. Heck, I haven’t even met one who can fly yet!

On a more serious note, a lot of it has to do with the mindset/perspective that more successful affiliates have. If they have the perspective of a business owner, rather than a work-at-home mom or dad, it will force you to think more organizational in nature and adopt more systems-based approaches. Both types of affiliates can be successful, the key factor is the scale of action they take and the scale of results they achieve.

13) Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

It’s a mix of expectation and surprise.

Expectation because I’m open to all opportunities – I’ve previously helped to manage a TV production studio, a software developer, a training company, a real estate team and one of the first portals in Asia (in the late 1990s), managing 10 vertical sites. So I am ready for whatever tomorrow throws up (or at me).

At the same time, it’s surprising the roads I’ve tread on and I might not have imagined it 10 years ago.

14) Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it. *Note- Please don’t just say I make money online. Assume the follow up to that would be ‘How?’

Make Money, Get Paid.

I have a 3 year old daughter.

Here goes.

Daddy makes a special place on the internet called a website.

And he brings people to the website to buy things.

When they buy things, the people who make those things gives daddy some money for helping them sell the things.

And that’s how daddy buys you all that Disney Princess stuff.

[I am still working on explaining “Management” to her…]

Make money, get paid.

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Thanks for doing the interview Andrew. I look forward to seeing you at Affiliate Summit West 2010! Check out WhoIsAndrewWee.com for blogging, affiliate marketing and free traffic strategies. The Friday Podcast is available at: http://WhoIsAndrewWee.com/podcasts. Follow Andrew Wee on Twitter.

I’ve only briefly met Bryn once during an Affiliate Summit where he was hanging out with his industry friends Ad Hustler & Ian Fernando. If you drop by his blog you’ll find a nice mix of both entertaining posts (usually related to aff marketing in some way) as well as some affiliate tips such as new PPV Traffic sources.

You can read more about Bryn Youngblut at Bryn.me and follow Bryn Youngblut on Twitter here.

An Interview With Bryn Youngblut of Bryn.me

1. How did you get started in the industry?

I got started before I even knew it to be honest. I started making various websites for fun over 8 years ago with no idea about monetization. I then discovered people were using adsense to make some money on their websites so I of course started using adsense and generated a little bit. I then got stupid (I was like 14) and started clicking my own ads because I realized every click made me money. I then got all of my classmates at school to click my ads and before I knew it my account was banned. I then moved on to AdBrite and realized it sucked compared to adsense. I eventually realized people were paying to show ads on my site so I thought why can’t I do the same? That’s when I found Commission Junction and started running random banners on my websites I thought people might be interested in. I eventually found much better networks and ways (like PPC) to make money with affiliate programs.

2. What was your biggest learning experience to date?

I’m not sure if it was the biggest learning experience but the only one I can think of off the top of my head. I thought it would be interesting to try and target “google.com” on PPV and I lost about $2000 in about 2 minutes, and crashed both of my large dedicated servers.

3. What was your biggest success to date?

I have had a few I guess, most being in the last 2 years. I managed to buy a new house, a brand new Lexus (with cash) and generate over a million dollars in revenue in under 6 months.

4. How did you learn the business? (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)

I have never bought an e-book in my life and in fact the only one I have ever even read was the one on Cashtactics written by Ruck called 60 Days To List Building Domination. I learned mostly from just making my own mistakes. I watched what other people were doing and saying and I would give it a try. I am a true believe that stuff like membership sites and paid services are for the most part a load of crap. Too often people waste a lot of time and money on that stuff when all of it is available for free if you just look around. I also hate when people complain about not having money to start. I remember when I first started I could only spend $5 a DAY (I was attending college and only had a part time job, plus lots of bills, car, etc)  and I eventually worked that up to $50+k within a few months.

5. Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

I am thinking about is sponsored tweets, and sure why not.

6. Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

I definitely couldn’t say one person but I have had a few mentors help me through my journey. I was a huge fan of Shoemoney back when I first started out and I used to listen and follow everything he did (still do). Not even 2 years later and I’m a personal friend of his which is pretty awesome because he is an incredibly smart guy.

I also learned a lot from Ruck who I mentioned above. I used to chat with Ruck on aim every day for long periods of time and he gave me so much good advice I don’t think I could ever repay him for that. This was back when Convert2Media was starting out and only had a small amount of publishers so he was able to give me more of his time as well as invite me multiple times down to their mansion in Florida. I think I really like both Shoe and Ruck because they tell it how it is.

7. How do you balance professional v. personal?

Not very well. I am a work-a-holic but I am proud of it because I enjoy every minute of it. I have a bit of a routine where I work pretty hardcore Sunday to Friday then I go for drinks and to watch the Hockey game at a local pub with some buddies. Saturday I may go out or just work depending on what is going on that night. I probably have more friends in this business than I do in real life but when it comes to conferences it’s so much fun to see everyone.

8. How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

How often did I or do I? I’ve checked them 3 times during writing this interview…just kidding. I actually used to check them hardcore probably 50+ times a day, now I am a lot more laid back. I still do check periodically just to make sure everything is still running.

9. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Haha well if they did that would be one boring ass movie of me sitting in a giant office with a ton of monitors. I would say I should play the lead role, I’ve always wanted to do some acting.

10. OK, now who would REALLY play you?

Haha wow I swear I didn’t read this before I answered the last question. I’m not sure but I’ve been told I look a bit like Tobey Maguire so maybe him.

11. What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

First off I really hate the term ’super affiliate’, I just think it’s lame, and mostly because people who call themselves that are overcompensating for something. I think it really depends on how you define success, I mean some people are happy making 50k a year while others want 7 figures. I believe anyone can make as much money as they want if they work hard enough. I’ve proven it to myself multiple times by simply setting goals and working my ass off.

12. Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

Somewhat, I always knew I would eventually work for myself ever since I was a kid. I used to tell my parents I was going to own a new Ferrari before I was 25. I never really knew how or what I was going to do, but I damn well sure knew I was not going to work for anyone.

13. Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it. *Note- Please don’t just say I make money online. Assume the follow up to that would be ‘How?’

I usually tell people who don’t understand what I do (99.9% of people) that I’m sort of like a car salesmen and I get paid a commission for every sale. That or I just say I handle companies marketing budgets and make them more sales for less. Either way people usually just go ‘OK’ even though their probably still confused, but hey it’s less questions for me if I just straight up said I do affiliate marketing.

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Bryn, Thanks again for doing the interview. You can read more about Bryn Youngblut at Bryn.me and can follow Bryn Youngblut on Twitter here.

Who is Shawn Collins?

I first introduced myself to Shawn at an Affiliate Summit convention. If you can only attend one convention each year then this THE affiliate conference to attend. I hope to get to know Shawn on a more personal level over the coming years.

Shawn Collins was nice enough to allow us to interview him. Thanks Shawn! Here we go:

An Interview With Shawn Collins of AffiliateTip.com

1. How did you get started in the industry?

I was looking for a way to supplement my income back in summer 1997 and I joined the Amazon.com affiliate program to monetize a horrible site I’d created on AOL. In November 1997, I got a job running the affiliate program for Medsite.com – while I had no marketing experience, I understood affiliate marketing from being an affiliate and could hand code HTML. I guess they were desperate.

2. What was your biggest learning experience to date?

It was one that came gradually – that creating content for people, and not spiders, is the best plan if you want to be in affiliate marketing for the long term.

3. What was your biggest success to date?

My biggest success in terms of ROI came back when I was getting started. I was buying targeted traffic from GoTo.com for $0.01 a click and pointing it to CPC affiliate programs that paid back high multiples of my investment.

4. How did you learn the business? (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)

I learned by doing. There were no resources to help when I get started. After two years, I moved on to Refer-it.com, the first affiliate program directory, and began attending their Affiliate Solutions conferences, where I started getting more of a formal education in the business.

5. What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

I don’t think affiliate marketing overall is valuable to consumers, but certain affiliates who create value by solving problems and providing shortcuts for consumers are valuable.

6. Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

As a consumer, I am cynical about the usefulness of the sponsored conversations, as I think it’s too tempting for some people to take money for products and services they don’t believe in.

7. Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

I couldn’t sum it up in one area, as I am consistently inspired and educated by a wide variety of forums, blogs, Tweets, conference speakers, book authors, etc.

8. How do you balance professional v. personal?

I work from home and work around my personal commitments. Work starts after my kids are at school and it stops at 6pm EST. Then I pick it back up after everybody else has gone to sleep. Also, my Blackberry is never far away, so I obsessively check on things when away from my home for errands, meals, etc. I was at a dinner party last Saturday, and I am embarrassed to say I excused myself to go to the bathroom a few times just to check email.

9. How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

In 1997, Amazon used to email the stats on a monthly basis, so there wasn’t an option. As stats became more available, I came to expect more immediacy. These days, unless there is a big event like Black Friday, I typically check them a few times a week.

10. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

I’d have to go with Campbell Scott when he was in Singles, but not any other roles.

11. OK, now who would REALLY play you?

Vince Vaughn – the version of him in pretty much any role.

12. What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

I’d say “super affiliates” are bigger risk takers – they have often put lots of money into the game or taken different risks like building up a company for their affiliate operations, and meanwhile the affiliates that have been around for a while, but haven’t become “big” are following a more slow and steady path to success.

13. Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

I had no idea where I’d be 10 years ago – the thing I most enjoyed about my job then was the ability to write columns, because writing has always been my primary interest. More recently, I sort of backed into the conference business, as Missy and myself created Affiliate Summit as an alternative to the old Affiliate Force conference. The growth and success came as a pleasant surprise, as I saw it as something positive for the industry that would supplement my affliate manager and affiliate income. Currently, I am loving what I do, especially the marketing, and the opportunity to work with a magazine and book publishing.

14. Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it. *Note- Please don’t just say I make money online. Assume the follow up to that would be ‘How?’

Affiliate marketing pays people for successfully accomplishing goals, just like you get your allowance for completing your chores. But it’s a little different – just doing the chore in affiliate marketing doesn’t earn the allowance. You make more money for doing a better job and working hard to take on more chores.

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Shawn, Thanks again for doing the interview with eMonetized! You can read more about Shawn at AffiliateTip.com and can follow Shawn Collin on Twitter here. If you attend the next Affiliate Summit then be sure to introduce yourself to him.