Low.
High.
Low.
High.
That’s how I’d describe 2021.
From an online marketing point of view, anyway.
I began the year with no real direction.
Weighing up my options…
After I stopped promoting the affiliate program I’d been involved with since the back end of 2020.
No replacements appealed…
So I decided to overhaul the Walker Way organic marketing program I developed two years ago.
First, I recreated the content module.
Then that expanded into updating several others.
Then I decided to rewrite the sales page completely from scratch.
Then I thought it’d be a good idea to open it to affiliates…
And it soon became a program which paid out on two levels.
Even though I simply launched via a live video on this platform…
With no JV partners or fanfare…
The program was an instant hit.
Sales started to roll in…
And affiliates were making them too.
I thought a $34,000 month was just the start…
Unfortunately, it was the end.
Affiliates treated the program like a short-term product launch…
Rather than a long-term build.
Support ended almost overnight…
And I wasn’t able to regain momentum.
It may have been the biggest month I’d had online in years…
But that $34k felt like failure.
It was a one-off…
And I didn’t have the energy to start over again.
Deflated and with summer almost over, I needed a change.
I’d toyed with the idea of creating a podcast over the past year or so…
But the usual culprits talked me out of it:
You don’t have the time…
Nobody will listen to it…
Etc.
With nothing to lose, I decided to give it a shot.
I embarked on a crash-course of learning…
And began recording episodes.
Ironically, the microphone attached to my desk is the “Rode Podcaster”.
It only took me 11 years of ownership to use it for that purpose.
I enjoyed podcasting more than I thought.
I’d love to do it “full time”.
At the moment, though, that’s just a pipe dream.
An unexpected side benefit to podcasting has been a renewed appetite to get on calls with other marketers.
Which, is a good thing…
Because a new coaching I’ve recently joined is all about the sales call as an end goal.
My “post engagement” may have bombed compared to what it was 12 months ago…
But my content is more intentional and direct.
A simple, subtle change of approach means I’m getting more incoming enquiries from eager leads than ever.
More calls…
More offers.
Heading into 2022 I’ll be working with a small number of marketers on a one-to-one basis who want to:
Create less content but generate more inbound leads
Have a Messenger conversation where you are the authority, are not “reverse pitched” and are able to set up a sales call.
Confidently present your offer so the sale seems the only logical option.
How about you?
If you’re an affiliate marketer who isn’t making sales…
Producing reams of ineffective content which has you on the brink of burnout…
Shoot me a DM and we can chat about making this whole “organic marketing” thing work for you.
P.S. I’m hosting a festive “Beer Banter” live here on Thursday – raise a glass if you’re joining me!