🌐 Justin's Blog

Affiliate Program Money

September 3, 2021

Affiliate programs can be a huge hassle, but the extra money is worth it in the end.

If you sell a product online, then you probably have toyed with the idea of having an affiliate program. That is, giving people a commission if they refer a new customer to you.

Affiliate programs have been around for a very long time. I made my first money online back in college when I joined an affiliate program (regrettable, of a pyramid scheme… don’t judge). The concept is simple enough: refer people to a product that you like, and you earn a little money if that person buys the product. It’s win-win. Well, at least that’s the idea.

Is having an affiliate program worth the hassle? Yes, and here’s why.

The reality for consumers is that if you Google the product, you’re bound to find an endless number of websites with biased “reviews”. The authors are just in it for the money. And in most cases, they don’t even have experience with the product that they recommend.

For product creators, parting ways with a percentage of revenue can be a tough sell. Why give up money if you don’t have to? Also, is it worth the time to deal with the fraudulent purchases and scammy affiliates that sign-up?

I have been on both sides of this debate. At one point I had an affiliate program, but then I got rid of it because people were abusing it. They were purchasing my product through their affiliate link, then arguing with me when I nullified their commission. But later down the line, I implemented it again, and it resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in extra income every month.

If you sell a product (or are thinking about selling a product), then you probably have some questions:

Should you have an affiliate program?
What are the benefits?
How much should you offer?
Where should you promote it?
What are the risks?
What software should you use?

I want you to feel confident in your decision, so let's tackle each of these. I’ll answer them to the best of my ability. Remember, this is based 100% on my experience. Spoiler alert: the affiliate program that I implemented for LearnDash is a net-positive (in more ways than just cash).

Should you have an affiliate program?

Yes.

Don't question this.

I've done a ton of research. I've tested having one versus not having one. It was better for business to have one.

When you don’t have one, you’ll get people asking you if you do, anyway. It’s better to say “yes”. Some people just want to tell their friend about your product, and they want a little kick-back for doing so. If you don’t have an affiliate program, they may recommend something else (and there goes your customer).

What are the benefits of having an affiliate program?

There are a few, but mainly you get customers that you perhaps wouldn't otherwise because folks will want to promote it.

But another really nice benefit is that you'll form partnerships with influencers (big and small) because you have one. I've blindly reached out to influencers before and used the affiliate program as a carrot by sharing the conversion rates and what that means from a dollar standpoint.

This strategy ultimately led to some popular websites and YouTube channels promoting the product.

What is the best commission for your affiliates?

If the product is over $100, then 35%. Only on the first purchase, not on automatic renewals (if your product has those). If the product is under $100, then you can still do 35%, but it's less enticing. Personally, I’d probably go with 50%.

I did 35% when LearnDash was priced under $100. The program wasn’t super popular. Things got interesting when the price went up.

On a related note: raise the price of your product to reflect the value that it gives someone (I will talk more about this at a later date).

Where should you promote your affiliate program?

Don't let the affiliate program deter you from your main business priorities – it can easily be a distraction. Include an “Affiliate Program” link in the footer on your website. Also include a visible link to it on your customer dashboard, and mention it in your onboarding emails. That's it. As you build an audience for your product, people will naturally ask about the program.

What are the risks of an affiliate program?

The main risk is people will become an affiliate and then purchase your product. This happens a lot and was the reason why I killed the program in the early years (I just didn't want to deal with it).

When this happens, just delete the commission and remove the affiliate as it's a violation of your terms. By the way, make sure that you have specific affiliate terms and conditions, and ensure that affiliates agree to these terms before they sign up.

The other risk is someone creating an affiliate account and using stolen credit cards to make purchases.

This sounds like a far-shot, but it happens. Unfortunately, I have had to deal with this, and it was a bit of a headache as it resulted in a boatload of credit card disputes (naturally) as people saw purchases that they did not recognize. Disputes nuke your reputation with credit card companies, and if you get a bad reputation, you can no longer accept credit cards. Yeah. It’s kind of a big deal.

In this case, I found out what was going on the early side. I refunded the remaining commissions to the stolen cards, deleted the affiliate, then contacted the payment gateway processor (Stripe) to inform them what happened. It was all resolved in the end, but it was stressful at the time.

While this scenario is far rarer than dealing with people purchasing through their personal affiliate link, it’s still a possibility to be aware of.

Which affiliate program software is best?

If you're using WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads for your shopping cart, then use AffiliateWP.

If not, consider using Shareasale (this will cost you more, but less managing of the risks I mentioned above). Their UI is absolutely terrible, though. It’s honestly one of the worst I have ever seen, so searching an alternative to Shareasale might be worthwhile.

If you have a shopping cart with its built-in affiliate tools (like SamCart or Thrivecart), then use that. I have the most experience with iDevAffiliate. It's not great, so I wouldn't recommend it. I had to use it because the shopping cart in the business was Zoho Subscriptions, and it was the only one that would really work for our use case.

Don’t overthink the affiliate program, just do it!

I’ll admit that I wasted a lot of time debating implementing an affiliate program, and then how I wanted it to look once it was implemented. Just put one into place and move on with your core business.

In the end, it’s better to have one than not to have one. You will need to spend a little more time managing it, but it will make you money.

#entrepreneurship

Weightloss “Cheat Code”

August 31, 2021

I'm about to share you with you a cheat code for losing weight.

If you exercise a little already and want to lose a minimum of five more pounds without doing anything different in your exercise routine, then you're in luck.

Ready?

Stop drinking alcohol.

I did this a couple of years ago and without changing anything else, I ended up losing weight. Same thing with my brother. Same with my best friend.

If you stop drinking empty calories, then you're in the clear to lose weight fast, at least five pounds (but because people usually people eat like crap when they drink, they often lose more than that).

You can do it! But if you need some help - this book is my #1 recommended resource.

#health

Back to America

August 30, 2021

Seven weeks later and our stay in Mexico is coming to an end.

Lorena and I came to Mexico City for the first time together. For her, it was her first time back home since the pandemic began. And for me, it was my first time ever in Mexico City!

I loved it, and cannot wait to come back!

Mexico is incredibly full of life and culture, far beyond what I ever knew. The food, the people, and the history make for a lively experience that I find hard to match in the United States.

We were able to do quite a bit during our stay, but we also didn’t pack our schedule. First, COVID is still an issue, so we wanted to be safe. But we also just wanted to spend time with family. To live like locals. Even still, we managed to get out to see some sites, such as:

Castillo de Chapultepec
Museo de Antropología
San Miguel de Allende
Teotihuacán pyramids
La Roma, La Condesa, Polanco, Coyoacán, San Angel, Sante Fe, and more of Mexico City’s most popular areas

In addition, I got to work on my Spanish (and it definitely needs work).

When we return, I plan to start up my lessons again. My level as of now is around high B1. My goal is to be a strong B2, and that will take a lot more work on my part. Nonetheless, the trip was great for additional practice! My listening comprehension certainly improved, and I picked up local vocabulary.

But now the trip comes to an end, only with a slight detour. Our original plan was to go back to Austin, but I recently received word that my grandmother is gravely ill. As such, Lorena and I will be flying back to Michigan first – a sobering reminder that life waits for no one.

I look forward to returning to Mexico to discover more and to immerse myself into the culture again. As of now, that looks like the new year, but it will depend on the global situation with COVID (which has gotten worse since our time here).

#personal

Stick To Your Strengths

August 27, 2021

Don't waste your time trying to acquire a new skill. Just amplify what is currently working.

Growing up I was always told that if you're not good at something, and you want to become good at that thing, then you should practice it.

I can't argue with that logic. Makes sense.

It wasn't until I was an early adult that someone told me not to waste time on the things I am not good at, and instead focus on amplifying the areas where I already have skill.

For whatever reason, that resonated with me.

Maybe it's because as a child, you're still developing all kinds of skill-sets, so you have to essentially practice everything.

When entering adulthood, you already have an affinity towards some disciplines, and you get more ROI by putting your energy into those areas.

Focusing on what makes you money and enhancing those skills is far more efficient.

I don't know how to write code.

As someone who has started a software company, you would think that learning how to write some code would be beneficial.

But quite the opposite.

It would be an enormous waste of time. I am good at other things, and my time is best spent on those areas. Things like marketing, competing, networking, researching opportunities, and analyzing market trends.

If I spent $1,000 on a coding course, it'd be a waste of money.

But if I spent $1,000 on a marketing course, I could generate an ROI in a very short amount of time. I would turn that $1,000 into $10,000.

And then I could use some of that $10,000 to hire some developers.

See what I am getting at?

List the top three things that you are good at, and take the necessary steps to improve in those areas.

Whether you work at a company or are an entrepreneur running your own business, you are probably talented in at least three areas.

This is where your focus should be if you are interested in making more money. Zero-in your talent so that in a crowd you are known as the most talented compared to the other talented folks.

That's how you command a higher salary. That's how you make more money for your business.

Now, if you want to learn a new skill as a hobby, then there is no harm in that at all. Always be learning. Keep challenging your mind.

But when it comes to revenue generation, stay focused on strengthening the skills where you already rise above the rest, and keep on rising.

#entrepreneurship

WordCamp Prediction

July 28, 2021

WordCamps will eventually become a thing again. The clock is going to be re-set a few years.Remember when WordCamps were a thing?

It seems like so long ago when people would pack up for a long weekend to attend talks and cruise sponsorship tables.

The idea of a WordCamp now sounds pretty nice. Especially because every conference since COVID has been a virtual event. People are burnt out of those. Virtual events are flat-out boring.

But you know what? Before COVID, I remember people getting burnt out from the WordCamp experience. The same old talks, same old swag, same old travel issues, same old tiredness due to staying out too late.

When we get through the worst of the pandemic, WordCamps will feel special again.

We were at a tipping point for WordCamps before 2020. Something needed to change.

Organizers were struggling to find ways to make their event special, always trying to “one-up” the previous year. Speaker & sponsor dinners, after parties, and free stuff were all starting to lose their appeal.

This is not to imply that they were poorly organized. The folks planning these events put in a lot of their free time and energy to make them happen. Some of my close friends in WordPress were organizers. They wore themselves out in an effort to make the event enjoyable for everyone.

The problem was that the organizers were almost too good. They all leveraged the same winning formula for the event experience and flow. It worked, but it was predictable after the third year.

As a result, WordCamps started to lose their uniqueness. The presentations themselves were going too broad instead of deep.

All that said, in (what looks like) 2022, that slate will be wiped clean!

If there is ever a time to be a WordCamp organizer, it will be in 2022-2023.

People are aching to be back to normal. They want to mingle with others, chat in hallways, attend talks, and network with handshakes (okay… elbow bumps) instead of Zoom. Sponsors will have dollars to spend as well!

The events will be a breath of fresh air! No need to try to “one-up” the previous year. Getting back to basics will be perfectly fine.

Sure, some new health and safety guidelines will be in place, but those will make the experience all that much more enjoyable.

And by 2025, we'll need to start thinking again about innovating the experience. How that looks, I don't know.

One option is to go smaller instead of going bigger. Stop trying to outdo the previous year. Get back to basics and focus on the content.

#WordPress

Profitable Mistakes (#2)

July 23, 2021

That time I forgot to use BCC and blasted an email to over 500 (very angry) people.

I'm going to share with you a story that no one knows.

It's embarrassing.

It has to do with a mistake that I made in the very early days of my business. I laugh about it now (because it was so stupid), and I'm sure you will too. But more importantly, I hope that you learn from my mistake! So, something that I always wanted to give customers of LearnDash was free integrations.

In other words, you buy LearnDash and get all the in-house integrations for free (no upcharge). The thing is, I wanted to avoid listing these free integrations on wordpress.org.

There are a variety of reasons, but mainly because I wanted to avoid having customer support spread out over multiple platforms. Plus, someone could nuke an add-on with a 1-star review and perspective customers may mistake that for a review of LearnDash itself.

In any event, I decided not to list them there. This meant that the add-ons did not have automatic updates.

Instead, when an update was made, I would email customers who downloaded that specific add-on (because there was no need to email all customers).

Well, one day in 2013 an update was made to the WooCommerce add-on for LearnDash. At that time, I was the one responsible for pushing out the updates when they were complete.

So, I did my usually steps of packaging up the download and notifying the individuals who downloaded this add-on. I then fired up regular email... and sent the update notice as I always did.

At the time, to about 500 people. Except I put every email in the “TO” section and not the “BCC”.

Yeah... that happened.

As you would expect, I got many replies. Some people were laughing at me, others were “letting me know” what happened, and of course others were pissed-off and wanted to know what I would do to fix this situation.

I was embarrassed, and angry at myself. Ultimately, the mess settled down. I can't recall exactly how I went about easing the tension, but I was responding to every message that was sent. In the end, it was an honest mistake by a young startup.

It ultimately was forgiven and forgotten (by everyone except me). After that incident, I linked all email to the email service provider I was using at the time (MailChimp) and eventually added auto-updates to add-ons.

I was determined to never make a mistake like that again, and I never did. If you make a mistake in your business, do what you have to do to own up to it and make sure you learn from your mistake. If you make it twice, then shame on you. Mistakes are the greatest teacher.

Oh, and get your privacy policy in order.

The above story highlights another important part of business that isn't talked about enough, and few people understand: privacy policies and terms & conditions.

When entrepreneurs first start out, they end up creating their own privacy policy and terms. This is fine for the experimental stage of a business.

However, once you start getting regular customers, then it's time to “level up” your legal game.

There is no cool trick to this. Hire a lawyer or law firm. Having a lawyer draft these up (or review your draft) won't cost you a fortune, but it won't be cheap. Regardless, it's worth your peace of mind.

#entrepreneurship

Time Under Tension

July 19, 2021

Time under tension builds character, but it can also be dangerous. Here is how I deal with stress.

If you have ever lifted weights, then you probably have heard about “time under tension”. The longer your muscles are under tension in an exercise, the more strength you can gain.

But I’m not talking about weight lifting… I’m talking about life. Similar to the gym, time under tension in our lives is good. Instead of muscle, it builds character and perseverance. We find out who we are when we are living out days under tension.

I usually thrive under pressure. That’s not to say that I like it. I don’t. I prefer things to be going smoothly in life, just like anyone. Yet, there are always stressful times and I seem to find a way to rise above it mentally to get things done – whatever that may be.

But sometimes I start to run out of energy. My mental fortitude weakens. The time under tension is too long. If you’re under tension for a long time, it starts to feel normal. But it’s not normal. It’s dangerous.

The Best Medicine

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get into a routine and don’t even realize it, and this includes existing in a stressful state.

I have found that the most effective self-care tactic is to exercise. For me, it’s Muay Thai.

There is something incredibly therapeutic about punching and kicking the crap out of a heavy bag. Maybe it’s the primal aspect of it… “Me angry! Me hit things!”

You don’t have to buy all kinds of fancy fighting gear or join a smelly boxing gym, either. There are some boutique fitness gyms that specialize in boxing and kickboxing. The energy is great, facilities clean, and the workout will leave you feeling better physically and mentally. TITLE Boxing, Kickboxing.com, and CKO Kickboxing come to mind, but your city may have others.

The body and mind are connected. If they aren’t in sync, then that’s when I start to spiral a bit.

Most of the time my mind is taking care of my body, but every so often my body has to take care of my mind to relieve that time under tension.

#mindfulness

6 Types of Tweets

July 14, 2021

The tweets that make it to my Twitter home screen can be categorized into these six areas.

I am on a plane right now and the internet is broken… so I need to fill my time. That is the real reason behind this post.

Anyway… 😅

So, I have been more active on Twitter for the past six to eight months. In that time, I have noticed a bit of a trend in tweets that I see, be it from people I follow or “viral” tweets.

My totally 💯 super scientific analysis concludes that my Twitter-sphere types 180-240 characters that fall into the following categories (in order of popularity):

Pontificating
Passive Aggressive Complaining
Marketing (self or company)
Aggressive Complaining
Humorous
Life Updates

1. Pontificating Someone knows something, and they are going to tell you what’s up. I’m guilty of writing these tweets and that bothers me. I feel like I want to share things I’ve learned as an entrepreneur, but when I go back to read them, I cringe a bit. I don't know it all, and what worked for me might not work for others.

2. Aggressive Complaining The tweets where someone is “tired of XYZ” and they call it out in a somewhat nonspecific manner. Politics to business, parenting to driving and everything in between. It’s all there. I think people tweet these to reaffirm their position on a subject. It’s nice to see you’re not alone on a worldview. Confirmation bias at its best.

3. Marketing (Self or Business) Thought leaders. You know what I mean. Men and women sharing their thoughts. Building that trust. Growing that personal brand. Rocking those FB pixels when you visit their articles. Eventually, trying to sell you stuff. Nothing inherently bad here. I even find the content enjoyable from time to time.

4. Aggressive Complaining Directly calling someone out. Using profanity at times, but not always. People type out platitudes at one another. Arguments ensue. I mute these if they come up too often from someone. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

5. Humorous Sort of rare now, which is a shame because they are my favorite. I’m a sucker for a perfectly timed meme or snarky remark. Like this one…

6. Life Updates What the FB status feature used to be. I like these too. They are inherently friendly. Sharing pieces of life makes me feel like I get to know someone on a different level. Unfortunately, these are often “humble brags” in disguise.

#personal

Mexico City

July 12, 2021

After over a year of trying to get to Mexico, Lorena and I are finally on our way and I cannot wait!

It has been a long time coming, but I am finally going to Mexico City!

This will be my first time visiting CDMX, and I have to say that I'm pretty excited. As one of the largest cities in the world, I cannot wait to learn more about its culture. It's also where Lorena grew up, so I am just as excited to learn about her childhood and to experience the areas she frequented before she moved to the U.S.

We have a few concrete plans, including seeing Lorena's friends to celebrate her birthday. We will also be taking some time to visit some other cities (a few hours from CDMX).

We'll be there for an extended amount of time, which is perfect because I want to jump right into the culture... not to mention refine my Spanish a bit!

Vamanos!

#personal

ROI on Google Ads

July 7, 2021

I get $10 for every $1 spent on Google Ads. Here is how I do it, and it's not as hard as you may think.

I see many similar questions come up about Google Ads, and the surrounding confusion with implementing them.

I've talked about this before in my old newsletter but figured it would be worthwhile to address it again in a more concise manner. Consider this your “cheat sheet”!

Getting a positive ROI on your Google Ads takes time and attention. You need to be constantly monitoring your ad performance, dropping the dead-weight and increasing ad spend on the winners.

Here are some beginner tips I followed to make Google Ads work for me:

Keep keyword groups small / narrow. Don't “bundle” related keywords to create massive groups. Instead, create many small groups that are more closely related so that you can better analyze the themes that are working.
Test each ad group for one or two weeks. Don't throw a bunch of money at the group right away. Keep daily limit modest before spending a lot. Once you have some winners, ramp up the ad spend.
Implement the Google suggestions. As you create ads, Google will suggest changes to your ads. Do them! Your ad optimization scores will go up. Oh, and just because you do this once doesn't mean you're done. Google will keep making suggestions.
Set up a conversion pixel. This is slightly technical, but I was capable of doing it, and all I did was use Google's help docs. Your ads don't mean anything if you can't track conversions (i.e. money made). This is also a great metric for determining which ad groups to drop and which to keep.
Revisit every week. Google likes to see activity in the account. This doesn't mean you have to change something every time. Monitor what is working, what is not, add some of Google's keyword suggestions (you'll get these as you have ads running). Adjust the times your ads show, configure dynamic ads, create the maximum number of ad variations for each keyword group.
Monitor competitors. Google makes this easy to do with a ton of useful graphs and charts. Use a tool like SpyFu to dig deeper into the specific ads your competition is running and for which keywords. You can't exist in a silo. You need to monitor the activity of other people in your market.
Landing page score must be minimum 7 out of 10. Your landing page score (Google gives you this for your specific URLs that you put for ads) needs to be 7 or above. You're wasting your time and money if it's lower than that. If you're going after competitive keywords, it better be a 9 or a 10 out of 10 for your ad to have a chance at being shown above the fold.

#entrepreneurship