I’ve been in this business for some time now, and I trust I know more about how ClickBank works than many new ClickBank affiliates. Not that I’m a guru or something, it’s just accumulated experience, mixed and matched with some great guidance from people that really know what they’re doing.
So if I had to start all over again with ClickBank, I would do far less work than most people do.
Not because I’m not so serious about it, but simply because I now understand much better the things that cause the failure loop.
People tend to build everything at once. Choose offer, build a funnel, jump between tools and traffic methods… They often end up with lots of activity but no real asset.
The one habit I would try to get rid of
Every one of the ClickBank affiliates I had the opportunity to talk to mentioned this one. And I definitely find myself among them.
Buying shiny objects.
We are all on someone’s list. Mamy of them, possibly. So we’re getting emails about hot offers that promise all the wealth in the world with little or even no work at all, you just have to pay $17 (or whatever) and you’re good.
I cannot say that there are no good offers among all these. But most are not.
Most offers will show you one step, completely omiting the other three you need to succeed. And since we all want success immediately, once it shows it’s not working as we expected, we turn to another offer – another $17 for a “completely new approach that leads to gold”.
This is an expensive hobby. If you do it often enough, you’ll keep yourself busy and believe you are doing everything in your power, so failure becomes someone else’s guilt. Other than that, the only thing you’ll achieve is an empty credit card.
I’ve been doing this for years, and only after spending over $7k (and earning $2k as a return) I started realizing that something is wrong.
Here’s what I’d do instead
(1) I would pick one clear outcome
One clear goal. Not three, not ten, just one, defined as clearly as possible.
It would most certainly not sound like “make money online”. Way too broad and of no use to most ClickBank affiliates.
The outcome should be to build a working system that grows an asset – your email list – and follow up automatically, white it earns.
(2) I would stop treating the offer as a business
The offer is not the business. It’s an offer.
The machine behind it is the business.
The funnel, the list, the follow up and the habit to send the traffic consistently is what makes it into a business. Once you have that, you can easily switch offers without having to start over every time.
(3) I would commit to a very simple build order
This is the point where most ClickBank affiliates struggle. I was too (I still am sometimes…), before I’ve learned the truth.
People build a page, then start changing it because it doesn’t feel just right.
People write an email, then rewrite it ten times before sending it.
They watch a video, then more videos, and another one after that, instead of finishing the sequence.
All this guides people directly into something called a failure loop – because it’s a repeating process of achieving nothing.
Instead, I would follow a phased approach, doing the right job at the right time. And just this one job, not all at once. This minimizes the chance of overwhelm and maximizes the chance of actually achieving a result – earning commissions, for instance.
This is exactly why I’ve joined The ClickBank Profit Club when I first got invited by John Thornhill. I know him and I know he knows the subject well. And I knew The ClickBank Profit Club would give me a structure I could follow without guessing what to do next.
(4) I’d build a habit before chasing volume
When people start with affiliate marketing as ClickBank affiliates, they usually want to see results fast. The same day is quite acceptable. Then, they try to scale up before their basics are even stable. Now combine that with what I’ve said about a failure loop…
I would definitely focus on a simple routine I can keep, even on busy days. Like sharing something on my social profiles, or writing a post about my subject every second day.
The truth is simple: small daily progress beats occasional bursts.
(5) I would work to put myself in a good position early
I’ve joined The ClickBank Profit Club as a Founder member almost the moment I’ve heard about it. Why? Because I could get in early, while the system is being rolled out. In Phase 2 (the current phase which ends on April 13th) all Fouder members can promote The ClickBank Profit Club and earn 75% commissions. Of course, this is not the only reason to join, but it surely adds some juice for ClickBank affiliates.
Personally, I’m much more interested in learning how to build a system that will consistently work for me. And yes, if I can get paid to do that, even better.
If you want to see how it works, check this replay as soon as possible.
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