By JB McKee
Death of an Affiliate Network As of August 2009, exactly nine years after launching and powering a peak of over 600 affiliate programs at one time, the FusionQuest affiliate network is closing its doors and the domain will be absorbed by ShareASale.
Stay True to Yourself You have the vision. You have the idea. You know how you want to reach your goal. You want to share your idea with others.
Yes, it is a sad day. I had a lot of great plans that may be delayed a bit.
Unfortunately, this is the usual response: “Hey, great idea! But, you know, what you really need to do is blah, blah, blah.”
However, in the spirit of making lemonade from lemons, is there anything that has been learned from all of this?
If they were so smart, why didn’t they think up the idea themselves? Believe in yourself and don’t let others confuse you.
Well, yes. Quite a lot actually. And I would like to share what I have learned with others in the hope that it may help them to avoid similar mistakes.
Use Money Wisely If you have start-up capital, please, hang on to it. Repeat this mantra: “Every penny counts!” Seriously consider every single expenditure, whatever the size.
Stay Focused If you start out with a plan, stick to that plan. Stay focused on your core project and don’t let short term enticements distract you from concentrated development on your long-term plan. If you are not starting out with a longterm plan, get a plan. This issue is most pronounced when starting up. Someone offers you involvement in a project that pays a fair amount of money. You may be tempted to do it to get the fast cash. Don’t.
And, if your best friend or relative is working for you for pay and it isn’t really adding value to your project, let them go. Now. Affiliates Rule If you are a network, or run an affiliate program, your number one asset you need to protect and develop is your affiliates. They are the foundation. Affiliate marketing does not exist without affiliates. There is always a lot of talk about how
affiliates defraud merchants. However, from what I have seen, it is the affiliates that really need the protection. They get ripped off more than the merchants do. Stay Active in the Community Give. Freely. And lots. Participate in the community. Contribute everywhere possible. Encourage discussion. Get involved in any and all forums and movements. Keep At It Above all, keep moving forward. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t give up. Develop the mindset that you have already achieved your success. What the future holds… FusionQuest as an entity may be dead. But, by no means am I. The time and money I invested into FusionQuest is time and money I invested into myself, my education, my personal development. I intend to use it. Bring on the next!
JB McKee is a passionate veteran of affiliate marketing and web application development who is game for the next big thing and can be reached at jb@ informdorm.com.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2009 | 25