Beverley Writes

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well and enjoying the weather wherever you are. The thing that fascinates me about blogging (well, one of the things) is that a blog can travel all over the world, reaching people in places I only dream of. So whatever the weather is doing where you are… I hope you are finding joy in it.

Here in South Australia, it is rainy one day and hot the next. Typical spring weather actually.

The week in general:

Most of the usual activities around here are sending out invites for their Christmas parties. It can get quite hectic keeping up with everything but it’s also lots of fun. Many organisations close for a few weeks starting around Christmas and opening again somewhere around the middle of January. It’s usually very hot (midsummer) so it’s a good time to slow down.

This used to be the time that I sent out Christmas cards but that seems to be a tradition that is dying out, mores the pity. Most people these days send virtual cards via email if they bother at all. Now I only send a few to people who I know appreciate them, nothing like the dozens that I used to send and receive.

Covid has raised its ugly head again here and the arguments about the effectiveness of vaccinations are big topics of conversation once again. Personally I ensure both Peter and I are up to date with vacs as I have no desire to get full blown Covid. Neither Peter nor I have had any ill effects from being vaccinated so it’s not a very big deal to me.

The garden is looking absolutely glorious right now. So much rain, weather not yet too hot, so Nature is really grabbing the opportunity to bloom, bloom, bloom! So much so that after our mammoth weeding a couple of weeks back, the plants have really spread out and are actually stifling the weeds. I can get used to this!

The animal family:

Chrissi is a funny little ball of fluff. She’s a Ragdoll cat I adopted when her owner could no longer look after her. She was five years old when she came and is now seven.

When she first came to us she spent about a week sitting in a corner of the bathroom just staring at the corner. I never saw her eat or drink, only found her dishes empty in the morning. She was totally unresponsive to everything around her, just sat in her corner all day.

After about a week she crept in under my bed and stayed there a few days. Then, very slowly she started creeping around the house, exploring, but would hurry back under the bed if anyone tried to say hello. Certainly no patting was permitted!

Two years later? I think she’s in charge. No fussing, no quarrels, just an assumption that what Chrissi wants Chrissi gets. There is a corner on the sofa which gets all the cool air on hot days and the best of the heat from the fire when it’s cold. That’s Chrissi’s Corner. Connor also likes that spot but she doesn’t get to stay there very long. If Connor is curled up there (and she can curl up in a very tight ball for a full-grown Irish Setter) Chrissi just sits on the arm of the sofa and stares at the dog. Connor can be sound asleep but before long she starts shuffling and wriggling then sighs and jumps down. Chrissi’s “eye of Sauron” has won again!

Remember I said I was going to try a 6-egg pavlova to use up some of the overflow of eggs? Well it was successful but huge! Took us a while to eat it though. I’ll have to think up something else to deal with the eggs as I don’t think I can face another huge pavlova for a while.

My book:

“The Other Side of the Ocean” continues to sell.

If you are interested in buying a copy the publishers are Booktrails Agency.  You can contact them at https://www.booktrail-agency.com/

I also have a number of copies for sale if you’d like to purchase one from me. I am selling them for $30 a copy which includes postage. Just drop me a message in the comments for further details.

My business:

You’ll notice the title of this blog asks is affiliate marketing easy?

As a beginner in this industry my answer would be: Simple? Yes. Easy? No.

Simple because it is not hard to complete an affiliate marketing course, apply to become an affiliate of a number of producers, then choose a strategy to present those products. Then collect the commissions.

Easy? Not so much.

There is just so much overload on all aspects of affiliate marketing that it is hard to decide where to start.

Firstly: choosing a course.

I looked at a few and eventually decided on Internet Profits mainly because I liked their focus on providing value while remaining ethical and honest. I was not prepared to get involved in anything dodgy. To date I can honestly say it was a right decision for me, more good luck than good management as I really knew nothing at all.

All the courses I looked at cost money of course, roughly what you’d expect to pay for a 12-month TAFE course which seems fair enough to me.

Secondly: applying to become an affiliate to a number of producers:

A lucky break for me here because Internet Profits first trained me in how to market their own products. I knew what I was about because I had already benefitted from them so I could honestly promote them from personal experience starting with The Iceberg Effect which you can check out here.

Then in a burst of misplaced confidence I approached other producers. Long story short, one was charging ridiculous prices for a blogging course that was simply a series of advertisements and nothing else. Another had a system whereby you signed up for one product then found yourself committed to a monthly subscription of hundreds of dollars with no mention of that little add- on in the original. Glad I escaped both of those sharks.

Recently Internet Profits supplied me with a group of good producers I can apply to, and I’ve started working through those. So far so good-I’ll let you know how it goes. I haven’t personally tried all the products but I have a lot of trust in Internet Profits-their level of honesty and their level of experience.   

Thirdly, choosing a strategy.

So how do you let people know what you are offering? Advertising. There are so many choices that again, this is not easy. Some advertising can be really expensive and some can cost no money. But the “no money” options cost a lot of time. My choices are blogging and Facebook lead ads which target people who have shown an interest in affiliate  marketing,(Scary how much FB knows about us!)

This is what affiliate marketing is all about. This is where the income lies. This is where I am at. No results yet but as I’ve said earlier -this is my year of sowing. Learning the ropes, dodging the pitfalls and working towards creating a viable business.

Affiliate marketing requires an initial investment, as with any business, and also just like any other business, you have to wait to reap the benefits. It costs little money to manage as an ongoing concern, but it does cost time. I’m glad I’m not still working full time; I honestly don’t know how I would have managed. But I love what I am doing and love the new learning and the support.

Wrapping up the week:

Well November is already halfway over and Christmas is looming. I enjoy the bustle, the tinny carols and plastic fake decorations. Christmas kind of anchors the year for me. What do you think?

I would love to see some of your comments and questions. If anyone has any suggestions or comments I would love to hear from you.

Take care everyone

Bev