Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

The Real Secret to Internet Marketing Success…

Posted: 19 Apr 2011 08:14 AM PDT

This is a guest post from last January’s Affiliate Summit West contest winner – Vinay Patankar. Vinnay not only won an all expense paid trip but also took home $4,000.00 in our blackjack contest AND a trip to the Epic PlayBoy Mansion party in July. I asked him if he would do a guest post about it and he agreed.

Many people come into the online world with pipe dreams of waking up in their underwear, working for a couple of hours then spending the rest of the day beating little kids in COD or defeating the Lychee King in WOW. Chuck in a high class escort every now and then as the only form of human interaction and life is good, no?

The truth however is far from the above twisted fantasy. Not only is this a sad and lonely existence but it's also not conducive to making any real money.

The real secret, the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything… Well at least success in business, is people. We've all heard it before, "it's not what you know, it's who you know" and the reason we've all heard it before is because it's true.

That's why I pushed so hard and did everything in my power to win Shoemoney's Crazy Affiliate Summit West Contest! It wasn't because I wanted a free flight or money to bet on blackjack, it was because of the people I knew I would meet.

I remember a discussion I had with Jeremy during the conference, he was so surprised at the lack of effort that people had put into the contest, with some people submitting single paragraph, thrown together entries… Not only did I spend a good 6 hours on my entry post, 3 days of nonstop bugging people for votes plus other questionable tactics, but I also got a frikin tattoo!

I did all of this because I understood the value of the prize, and not the upfront value, but the residual value.

Before heading to Affiliate Summit, I didn't know many people in the industry. I had a small operation of my own going on, but the fact that I wasn't based in the US and am in a perpetual state of travel meant it was hard for me to meet any of the big players in the industry.

After winning Shoemoney's contest, I instantly had a connection with everyone I told my story too. This gave me a huge edge over the general attendee as I was able to strike up conversations with many people I otherwise wouldn't have been able to hang with.

The Result from my Trip to Affiliate Summit?

A partnership with an affiliate marketing business – Direct Inbound, run by Adolfo Salazar and B.C. Smith.
A new quasi home in Tempe, AZ (one of craziest places in the US if not the world) where I made some of the best friends of my life.
Free access to Leads Con in Vegas where I got to hang with Shoemoney again
A trip to Spring Break in Lake Havasu and Ultra Music Festival in Miami
Loads of new friends and connections in the industry
And most importantly, the connections, funding and resources to scale my business to a completely new level.

Oh and don't forget that I got to go to Affiliate Summit for free in the first place, and Iwon $4k cash and I still get to go to a Playboy Mansion party…

Not a bad deal huh?

Now do you think any of this would have been possible if I had just continued to work my few hours a day on my own? Sure my life was a little better then video games and hookers as I was travelling and got to see the world, but I wouldn't have had the opportunities I now have if I didn't get off my ass and focus on networking.

So for all those who are looking to get into internet marketing or having trouble scaling their operations and don't know why, my advice to you is get out there. Go and meet as many people as you can. Learn how to network and practice every day. Read books, get drunk, add value, be stupid, whatever it takes just do it.

Conferences are not an expense, they are an investment and if used correctly can be the most valuable investment you ever make.

So now you know the secret of life, all that's lefts is acting on it! See you at the conferences!