Building Arks And Losing At Scrabble
Long gaps between posts usually mean one of two times, both good. I’m either on holiday or I’m busy with other things. This is only my fourth blog of the year and it’s because I’ve been busy with other things.
Top priority for me at the moment is to finish writing my book, Get Out Why You Can. Unbelievably, I started it in 2003 and have had it half finished for four or five years now.
My belief is that there is something fundamentally flawed with a system based on working 40 plus hours a week for the best part of your life in exchange for two weeks in the sun every year and a bus pass when you retire. That much I’ve understood since I was a teenager and three years at University, where I studied Economics and Psychology among other things, only served to reinforce that belief. 20 or so years later nothing’s happened to make me believe otherwise so the first part of the book was very easy for me to write.
To borrow a phrase from Warren Buffet though, it’s one thing telling people that it’s raining, quite another to tell them how to build an ark. And for me the second part of the book has always been about building that ark. I couldn’t finish the book four years ago because the way forward just hadn’t crystalised in my mind, but that’s all changed over the past 12 months and at last I have a blueprint to share. My Plan B.
It’s just a case now of pulling threads together and making sure that the book’s as good as it can be.
I’ve also been working on websites, old and new. I’m really pleased by both the quantity and quality of work I’ve done so far this year and know that it will really pay off in months to come. I’ve also started working with two other affiliate networks, Webgains and Linkshare, and this month made my first sales with both of them. Hopefully there will be plenty more where they came from in the months to come too. Both have some excellent programs so if you haven’t ventured over to see what’s on offer follow those links sooner rather than later.
Another pleasing thing is that as my involvement in affiliate marketing has increased, I’ve started to make contacts at affiliate networks, agencies and with merchants.
At times it’s very easy to see affiliate marketing as an us (affiliates) and them (networks, merchants, etc) game, but the reality is that there are a lot of people on the other side of the fence who really want to help you succeed. And who can help you succeed too.
I’m so used to ploughing my own furrow that I usually keep me head down and keep on moving, but this year I’ve been trying harder to make mutually beneficial contacts and am quickly discovering it’s well worth the effort.
On the domain name front, yes I’m still averaging one or two new ones a day. The last one I registered was wedding-fairs.co.uk on Valentine’s Day which I thought was quite appropriate. I’ve also bought two four figure domains so far this year, but have also sold a couple of two four figure domains too so am not as out of pocket as I might have been.
And I’ve also become addicted to Scrabble, playing two or three games a day despite not being very good. Indeed – much to my own surprise and no doubt yours too – I hardly ever win. You’d think all those dictionary word domain name lists I trawl through would come in handy for something like Scrabble, but obviously not.
