Affiliate Advertising: Yes or No?

February 3, 2014 GDI Corporate 2 Comments

We have a few affiliates at GDI who swear by paid advertising as it works for them. But just because some people find success with advertising doesn’t mean it’s the only way to succeed. Before the internet gave us immediate access to everything we could ever want to know, advertising was one of the few ways a company, or individual could engage you. Thankfully, this is no longer true. Learn how and why you can grow your downline and income without advertising.

Invite, Don’t Interrupt

Advertisements tend to serve as a way or interrupting your current activity. Whether you’re distracted by a billboard while driving or your favorite show is broken up a by a noisy commercial, you’re being interrupted. As an affiliate marketer you should be working to invite people to your site, not interrupt them. Advertising’s style of interrupted is still very popular, but with the internet people can now get information about a business without being interrupted. They can simply search for it and you can invite these people to your site with the right content. This is beneficial because it attracts the right type of potential customer. When someone has the choice to see your message or not, the people who chose to see it are the ones you want to work with. Remember, content isn’t far removed from advertising, the difference is in the packaging. Content can be words, images, video, anything you use to get your message across. Now it is your job to ensure your content is inviting.

Lead with your Message

Content that is inviting is content that speaks for itself. This means that your content shouldn’t be an afterthought. Creating a website and then filling in content where it fits isn’t the best idea. Think of what you want your website to say, who you want to speak to, and what you want visitors to do. Then design your site around this. Remember that every little bit of text on your website is content. That includes your About Page, Contact Page, and more. Content should be short, to the point and honest. You should also keep in mind what people might be searching to find you. Do you want to attract people searching for “affiliate marketing work from home?” The use those words throughout your site in a well written way, don’t just put them anywhere you have space.

Affiliate, Q&A

Spotlight on an Affiliate III (Part Two)

January 31, 2014 GDI Corporate 2 Comments

Keith Bless, our Spotlight Affiliate, had so much to share that we split his interview into two parts. In part two you will learn a little bit more about Keith’s specific work with GDI and how he spends his time when he’s not building his business. Read on.

How much time to you devote to the GDI each week?

This is hard to say, as I make it a point to CONSISTENTLY be learning, growing, and in dialogue with my social media contacts and/or my email subscribers. Basically it is hard to tell sometimes when I’m “on the clock” or “off the clock,” if that makes sense.

Becoming a better person, marketer, and transparent leader has really become more of a lifestyle I’m learning, rather than just a list of tasks that I do. Therefore, it is tough for me to measure my “work” in time.

What is your favorite GDI Bonus?

This is a tough question. Certainly the Weekly Superstar bonus is the easiest to leverage into financial success. After all, GDI pays out $100 to bring in $50 of revenue? Can’t beat that! Rack up a few of those, and you can fund your business to be well on your way!

That said, the Team Bonus allows people to get partnered up outside of their lines of sponsorship, and that’s a powerful thing, especially for people who DON’T (unfortunately) have the great sponsor support I have. Still, my heart says that The Learning Bonus is my favorite. After all, GDI basically provides a checklist to “learn” your back office, and essentially rewards new affiliates for getting to know the tools, products, and services. I remember how hard it was to be new, and I appreciate that GDI has this tool in place.

Whenever somebody asks “where do I get started?” on the GDI corporate Facebook page, I always chime in with “Earn the Learning Bonus.”

What bonuses have you won?

Well, most of the current bonuses didn’t even exist when I got started, so I will mention this: About a year ago, I won a “Big Tippers” contest on the GDI Affiliate Blog. I took the $100 I won and invested it into a lifetime membership with advertising tool that I use to grow my email list and presence on the internet. (And I can also share it with my team.) If I had not won that contest, I probably wouldn’t have invested/risked $100 to purchase this tool that I NOW trust and plan to use for “forever.”
When you’re not promoting GDI, what do you like to do?

I coach high school golf and also help to teach a class of third to fifth grade boys at my church. I am married with four children, so I don’t have much time to spare! Like I said, earlier, though, I am always, always, looking for lessons learned and content to share with my social media contacts and email subscribers.

Affiliate, Q&A

GDI Spotlight on an Affiliate III

January 29, 2014 GDI Corporate 5 Comments

We love to “spotlight” our affiliates every now and then to give them a chance to show off and to share their experiences with all of you. Our newest Spotlight Affiliate is Keith Bless. You’ve no doubt seen Keith actively posting on out Facebook page, tweeting us and commenting on this blog. It’s this engagement that is one of the keys to his success. Read on to find out more about Keith and his time with GDI.

How long have you been with GDI?

By my best recollection, it was December of 2008, so a pretty long time ago. It was before you had the cool plug-ins like WordPress and the cool bonuses like the Learning Bonus and the Team Bonus.

What made you join GDI?

A big part of my story is that I lost a job I loved in March of 2007.

My workplace was sold to a new ownership, and I wasn’t moving over to work with the new owners. On my second-to-last day, a corporate employee came into my office (as I was packing it up) sort of brandishing a screwdriver. He apologized, but said that he had to remove the hard drive from the computer I had used for years. He removed the hard drive, boxed it up and shipped it away.

At that point I thought “Never again. I am never going to just hand over my thoughts, work, and content to a company, just so they can keep it (or throw it away) as THEIR intellectual property. I am going to value what I do, and be more protective of it.”

So in comes the appeal of the internet and especially beginner-friendly GDI. After all, now I can create, use, and leverage content in any number of ways and I enjoy a much greater level of security and control. If I do things right I can even monetize it.

What is your relationship like with your sponsor?

My sponsor is a great friend and mentor who really, really helped me get started as soon as I started my free trial. He was patient with me when I knew nothing, pointed me in the right direction when I needed real education and insight, and he celebrated every little milestone with me.

I still remember the cold winter day that he called me to welcome me to the team and we have had a relationship ever since. I live in Pennsylvania and he lives in Colorado, but we actually got to meet in person in April of 2013. It was a great time. Thanks to Google hangouts we even stay in touch through the internet!

Now that I think about it. He actually isn’t my direct sponsor, but he IS in my upline. Let that show the value of reaching out to your ENTIRE upline and ENTIRE downline. You never know what powerful relationships are waiting to happen!

What was your friends’ and family’s reaction when you told them you were joining GDI?

I mostly use the internet to grow my business so I don’t really know. It’s not like I approach friends and family all that much. Maybe I should! After all, sometimes I’ll share a success or a project I’m excited about and they give me this strange look like they have no idea what I’m talking about. All they know is that I do stuff on the internet and I absolutely love doing it. Beyond that, I don’t think they know much.

What is/was your profession?

I am actually a PGA Professional “by trade” and have worked in various aspects of the golf industry. I have worked at private country clubs, upscale daily fee facilities and golf retail environments. I currently coach a high school golf team here in Pennsylvania, and teach golf privately as well. I don’t consider myself a “playing” professional by any means, but I do enjoy passing on my knowledge and investing it in other people with a passion for the game. Actually, I think my background in teaching and coaching has helped me to grow as a sponsor as well.

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