Q) Hi Alan. First off, can you tell me a little bit about how you got started? What were you doing before you went full time and how did you go from that to an affiliate marketer?

A) I was a graphic artist working for AT&T when I first got interested in marketing on the internet and I also was involved in an mlm business where I was making about $4,000 per month. I produced my own retail and recruiting leads in that business and began to see the potential of the web. Producing leads was the catalyst I used to start my first travel related site where I, what else, produced leads earning $1 each and I had my first affiliate income stream.

Q) At the point of going fulltime online, what income streams did you have in place? Did it feel like a risk at the time or just a natural progression?

A) The main reason I started working for myself was because of the mlm business and my wife and I were flipping houses when the real estate market was way up, but everyone knows what happened to that. I also parted ways with the mlm company because they didn’t like what I was doing on the web and didn’t want me using their material to promote my business. That’s why I no longer would recommend getting into mlm, you don’t really own your own business.

Fortunately, our first real estate deal gave us a fairly large cushion and I had my travel site that was producing leads and had just stared to use Adsense on that site and a couple of others I was messing around with. In my second full month using Adsense I earned about $650 and was pretty impressed with where that might go.

Q) And have you ever regretted the timing of your decision? Looking back, would you rather have made that choice earlier or later in time?

A) I can’t say that I’ve regretted the decision, but there were days when money was very tight. When real estate went south we ended up getting stuck with a house for 2 years and I was only making $1,500 to $2,000 per month online, so it was pretty tough.

Looking back on the whole thing, it may have been a good choice to wait and see where the real estate market was going, but I just couldn’t handle working in a cubicle any longer. Things were very tough for a year or more, but I had my freedom.

Q) Looking at your latest income report, it seems you had a great month and managed to top $3,000 online. How much work does it take each week for you to generate that figure?

A) That’s a good question, because my wife thinks I never stop working. You could probably earn this kind of income in 30 to 40 hours worth of work per week, but I’m always looking at new opportunities and reading about what other people are doing and that takes a considerable amount of time. Now that I have a lot of things in place however, I’m hoping to drop my affiliate marketing hours to around 20 per week and spend some time helping my wife transform our yard into a mini farm.

Q) How many different websites do you have online contributing to that sum? You mention on your blog that a sufficient amount of income is generated from just 1 travel site of yours what sort of percentage of the overall is that?

A) I just put my 40th money making site online a few days ago and I earn a little income from every one, however, I make about 25% of my total income from just that one travel site.

Q) I also notice a reasonable amount of Clickbank sales in your breakdown which is something plenty of other affiliates are interested in. Any tips for success with Clickbank?

A) There’s a lot of stuff on Clickbank that’s hardly worth it if you could get it for free. I try to stay away from overly hyped products and look for stuff that will genuinely help people do something worthwhile, such as make more money with Build A Niche Store, lose weight with proper exercise and nutrition, garden more efficiently and so forth. Just ask yourself if you would buy the product you are promoting and you probably have your answer to how to succeed with Clickbank.

Q) Would it be right to say that the majority of your online income comes from content sites? Ever try PPC, site flipping, domain speculating or any of the other myriad of business models out there? If not, why not? If so, what happened?

A) Yes, good content sites are really the way to go for the long term because the major search engines (Google) are getting better at weeding out things that don’t add real value to the web. I have tried PPC and have had some minor success, but if you aren’t careful, you can lose a lot of money very quickly.

Learn from the experts in PPC and read, read, read what they do before you start throwing money at this model. I’ve been studying PPC quite a bit lately because it’s something I need to add to my business on a regular basis. If done right, you can make good money buying traffic.

I also have a few domains that I’m holding for possible future sale, but that’s not something I’ve really looked at too closely. I’ve probably stayed away from speculating in this area because it seems like you need more money to get going than what I’ve felt comfortable risking at this point.

Q) So what are the main methods you use to generate traffic to your sites?

A) Good content based around keywords in your niche is the foundation for eventually getting traffic to your site. Once your pages are ranked you will get a nice stream of traffic for a long time to come. I’ve also written hundreds of articles and submitted them to directories over the years to get incoming links.

Your articles can get picked up and used by others on their site, giving you even more links. Participating in forums related to your niche also helps you brand your site and bring targeted traffic, just don’t go slapping your sig on forum posts everywhere without adding value. We call those people sig pimps. Don’t be one.

Q) Build A Niche Store has been a big feature on your site for some time when you posted that fantastic series on how to make the most of the software. When did you first start using it, and how many sites do you have to generate the $900 or so bucks that those sites pulled last month?

A) I’ve been using Build A Niche Store for a little over a year now and I have 12 BANS stores online right now of which 10 have earned me some income.

Q) So if someone was new to online marketing but wanted to earn a fulltime income as quickly as possible, realistically, and based on your own experience, what do you think would be the quickest route to success?

A) I can say enough good about the eBay affiliate program. You can start earning money fairly quickly with eBay because they cover nearly every niche imaginable with all the products sold on the site. So almost any kind of site you have is a good fit for something on eBay. And when you add BANS to the mix, the potential with eBay is incredible.

In saying all that, if I were to start over today from scratch, I’d start a few BANS stores and a couple of travel sites where I could use Adsense. In my book, that’s probably the quickest way to earn a good income online.

Q) Virtually now there Alan! But bearing in mind the subject of this blog, can you tell me how working for yourself online has affected your lifestyle?

A) It’s funny you ask that because just this morning before sitting down to answer these questions I was telling my wife I didn’t feel all that well, but I don’t have to worry about calling the boss and letting them know I’m not coming in. I also went out of town this past weekend with my wife and we left early on Friday. We can make decisions like that and not have to base them around a job. It really is nice being your own boss.

Q) OK, Alan, then pretty much ties everything up. I’d really like to thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future. I’ll still be popping over to your blog on a regular basis so keep up all the good work there. You can check out Alans blog at Affiliate Confession. Just before we go though Alan, any final words of wisdom for anyone looking to get to where you are now?

A) Intelligent, hard work is the key to being successful online. There really aren’t any shortcuts because you have to put in your time to see what works and doesn’t work for you. Of course you can shorten that time by reading my blog and others like it, but to put the puzzle together, you have to take the time to locate all the pieces and do the work.

The no-follow attribute stops the search engines from indexing the destination of those links or from passing any page rank from the blog to the site it links to.

However some bloggers choose to change those links to do-follow links where links from such blogs will help the sites linked to when it comes to search engine rankings.

So who is right, and what should you do?

Well firstly let’s look at the rationale behind these two differing trains of thought so we can tease apart whether these policies help or hinder your blog.

Quite early on blog commenting became a top spam method. Software was created that would allow you to submit thousands of junk comments (often simply saying things like “Great post!” followed by a link to your site) and spammers used these to generate vast numbers of links to junk sites. For a short while it worked and these spammers prospered but soon enough bloggers realised they were being taken for a ride and blog readers got sick of spam sites.

So to try and protect themselves from comment spammers, many chose to add the no-follow tag. This meant that even if a spammer *did* add a junk comment and link to their website, they wouldn’t gain anything as Google would ignore that link. While this does cut down on spam to a certain degree there are plenty of amateurs who don’t understand these concepts and so still continue to add junk comments.

The flipside of the problem is that some legitimate commenters started to post less. They were part of the community and took the time to add their own, high quality comments for two reasons. Sure, they wanted to contribute to the community, but they were also able to get something back (page rank) for their efforts.

When the page rank stopped flowing, many people stopped commenting and as a result a variety of blogs started to stagnate with only the blog owner adding content to the site.

And so it was that a small band of bloggers decided to bring back the do-follow comments to encourage back the legitimate commenters and instead use antispam plugins to fight against junk comments.

And on the whole this new system *does* work - though of course you are making a compromise. By using do-follow links you are building community around your site but losing pagerank as a result. It’s something of a gamble.

So what should you do at your site? Well my own suggestion would be to use do-follow links if your site is a blog focusing on blogging or making money online. These folks know about such things and your efforts will be duly rewarded with interesting comments.

However outside of these niches, I would continue to use no-follow links to keep away the spammers. Also, most non-internet marketing individuals don’t know the difference between the two types of links so therefore shouldn’t reduce their posting of comments at your blog. This means you get the best of all worlds - good pagerank (with no leak), plenty of comments, minimal spam and happy readers.

I have completed another goal of having my first flight in a helicopter - and it was amazing! I’ve flown in a glider before but this was out of this world!

If you’ve ever considered it but not done it, it’s well worth a try

There are three reasons really.

Firstly, I managed to win a Nintendo Wii from Market Leverage which has been providing me with plenty of entertainment.

Secondly I am in the process of setting up a brand new “bricks and mortar” business which has been keeping me very busy indeed. I expect to be able to open that in the next week or two at which point my workload will really go up for a while.

Finally, I have been putting quite a bit of time into a new online business model that has been bringing in substantial revenues for limited amounts of work. Infact, we’re talking hundreds of dollars of profit for just a few days work.

Even better, I plan on telling you all about it in the near future so play keep your eyes peeled over the next week or so. Previous customers of mine will be the first to hear about the offer I have for you (including an actual case study) but if you want a quick start and you’re not a customer of mine, please take the time to subscribe to the RSS feed using the link at the top right corner of this page. Then as soon as more details are added, you’ll be the first to know…

However even in this context I have discovered a considerable amount about succeeding at Elance because as mentioned in the last article, the getting started can be quite difficult. You see, Elance, like so many other sites, gives you a profile that you can fill in. Then when you place a bid on a job, your potential client can check out your profile. It lists, among other things, what jobs you have done recently and any feedback that previous clients have given you. Of course when you start out you have neither and so it is hard for a potential client to know whether you are reliable, capable or hardworking.

The initial legwork therefore involves building up this reputation, whereupon things become much easier. With a few projects under your belt and some positive feedback, clients understandably and rightly take more interest in your bids and you will be able to garner far more work for the same amount of effort.

In this article, though, I’d like to carefully examine my entire list of tips that I have built up to give you a fast-track on Elance. Please note that the aim here is not to “con” your way into jobs that you are not suitable for but rather to help you play the game and win jobs are *are* suitable for.

1) Select A Niche

If you have been inline for a period of time you no doubt havea wide variety of skills. I can write articles, ebooks and sales letters. I can build basic websites. I have work with Joomla and Wordpress. I can set up PPC campaigns, affiliate programs and merchant accounts. I can carry out market research or drive traffic from the search engines and social media. But to succeed as a freelancer you need to focus your attentions.

Select just one, or at the most two, elements that you think are your greatest strengths and market only those. You need to be a Wordpress theme designer or a customer service professional or video editing expert. Just like creating a powerful resume, your profile can then be focused around proving you are the “goto guy” when it comes to your chosen niche, and by applying for only jobs in that niche you will greatly increase the results you see. You will spend less time bidding on jobs and more time actually doing the jobs.

2) Add A Picture

Make people feel they can trust you. Add a picture or even a video of yourself to your profile so people can visualize who they are doing business with.

3) Use Examples

You need to add as much evidence as possible to your profile that you know what you are talking about. Submit examples of previous work tat you may have done for yourself. If you don’t have any evidence - make some. Build a few Wordpress themes or create some viral videos. You need to have a portfolio that potential clients of yours can look through and be impressed at. Many decisions will be made on your portfolio so make sure that it is not only fine work but is also a standard you can achieve again for future clients.

4) Pass The Test

Elance lets you take tests at their site to prove your skills. Take the time and do the study so you can pass a few of these. These “verified skills” show up when you bid and once again help you stand out as an experienced professional rather than a fly-by-night amateur.

5) Over Deliver

Always aim to do more than is required. Under promise and over deliver. If you honestly feel you can finish a project in 10 days, say it will take 2 weeks. It prevents you feeling under pressure and if you get it finished early your client will get more than they expected. If they want 10 articles written, consider writing them 2 bonus articles. Aim to do whatever it takes to create a “wow” factor and make you stand out from the crowd. This should result in repeat work and positive feedback for you.

6) Request Feedback

At the end of each project, if you feel it has gone well and your client expressed satisfaction at the final result then feel free to ask for feedback on your profile. The more positive feedback you can get, the easier it will be to win jobs in the future.

7) Choose Your Projects Carefully

Read through each potential job to get an idea of what is expected, and also what the client is like. It is unfortunate that the odd client will never be happy, no matter what but you can often tell they are that sort of person by the project description. Pay attention to the language they use and select only jobs which carefully match your themed profile.

You can also reduce the chances of disappointment by looking at how many previous jobs that specific provider has placed on Elance and how many actually got done. Many clients will place adverts on the site and then never award projects because their expectations are unrealistic.

Personally, if less than 80% of previous projects have actually been awared, I move on to the next potential job. Remember - you pay for every bid you make, so don’t waste your time or money on bidding on projects tendered by people who never actually award them.

Target Your Bid

When you place a bid, you can add a short note to it. Think of your profile as your resume, and this note as your cover letter. Take the time to write a special, custom note to your potential client covering the points they mention in their desciption and how these relate to your strengths and previous experience.

9) Use Your Workspace

Whether you win a project or not, you can go into your workspace in your Elance area and see both the highest bid, the lowest and the average. If the project has been awarded you will also be able to see what the winning bid was. By taking the time to examine this historical data from time to time you will be able to get a better feel of what people are willing to pay for certain jobs making your own bids more accurate and competitive.

10) No Emailing

Lastly, try to avoid project descriptions that aren’t clear. You will see some that might just say “I need someone to build a website for me”. Great, but how many pages? What sort of style do you like? What do you want the website to do? Etc. etc. It is virtually impossible to place an accurate bid on a project like this and unfortunately if you send an email to the buyer to ask for more information you will rarely get a response. And don’t forget that you pay to send these emails too. Personally I suggest you avoid any project description that isn’t totally clear because you will waste time and money on such projects.