Note To Myself

Television is only good for news, infomercials, and the occasional footie.

Other than that, keep focused!

ps, this only applies to me and in no way am I advocating a no-TV stance.

Determination Has Taken Over Me

I'm determined to make this work.

I will see the success that I've been working for.

I don't care about my sore eyes, my painful back, my trembling limbs.

I just want to see the results soon.

A Small Reward

I received another cheque today worth US$260 :)

It's not much, but it will do. I am grateful for whatever comes my way. Let's hope the US dollar will continue to rise ey?

It shouldn't be this hard to be successful in Affiliate Marketing, but I'm putting in extra hours and sacrificing sleep just to accelerate my progress. I don't want to be stuck in this rut any longer.

The job has been incredibly stupid. So it would be a nice reward to finally kick it to the boss and depend on just my hard work to justify my rewards.

I will get there. I know I will. I'll meet you there.

I Believe In Miracles

It's now close to a year since my dad was first admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with coronary artery disease. He's since been admitted in and out of hospital for 4 times, gone under the knife for a coronary artery bypass surgery, and now painfully recovering at home.

It's now close to a year since I started bearing a doubled financial responsibility. With my dad not working, my brother and myself took up the shared responsibility to put food on the table and light up the home.

It's now close to a year since I have managed to somehow miraculously have enough money to both pay off my own bills and debts, and also provide money for food and our monthly house loan.

I don't know how I did it. I didn't get any pay raise in my job. I don't even have a high paying job to start with. I did not borrow money from anybody, except for that one loan I took from the bank. I didn't have any surplus savings in my bank when this whole episode started.

And that is why I believe in miracles. And I am very proud of myself. I am my own hero.

I believe that my family and I do not have to suffer. I always believed there will be abundant wealth enough for us. I knew we will make it through.

And we have done so. True to my belief, we have done so.

I thank God for the miracles blessed upon us. I know my eventual destination, and I know I will get there too.

A Dagger To The Back

How does it feel like to have someone use your name to create bad, and subsequently portray his good facade to cover the shit that has my name all over it? In other words, saving his reputation at the expense of the good of mine.

It's happened to me too many times, particularly in this job. I can't even describe the breed of humans that make up the management team. Do they even exist outside of this office?

How do you deal with such creatures? Do you stab them from the back too - literally, maybe?

I don't do that. Such cowardly actions are only for bastards, or their breed.

My name is a sacred valuable asset in my life. If someone else tarnishes it with his bucket of soil, that someone will have to pay for it.

I'll have to start with clearing my name for now.

Bastards, the whole lot of them.

Bummer.

Work sucks, period.

A Short History Lesson For Today

Hugh Jackman was born in 1968.

The Greek tanker Spyros exploded in Jurong Shipyard in 1978.

In 1492 Christopher Columbus reached America.

In 1810 the Bavarian royal family invite the citizens of Munich to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Louis to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, this initiating the first Oktoberfest in Germany.

Luciano Pavarotti was born in 1935.

30 years ago, I was born in a Serangoon Gardens nursing home :)

I'm filled with gratitude for what's been given to me all this while. So I'm gonna sleep now, and wake up to a much brighter and splendid day tomorrow - one of only an infinite many to come.

A Sweet Start To The Day

Thank you. Yes, YOU! :)

You started my day nicely. You should know your smile never fails to make me feel good. And even though it was just a few minutes worth, it was enough to fill me with goodness for the whole day.

So thank you again for your smiles. It's certainly priceless.

Take care at work Gladys! :)

Come Along With Me And Imagine...

Let's take a moment out of our busy daily schedule and imagine what it would be like living a life of our dreams. Visualize us living that lifestyle. Believe in yourself that you are already having that lifestyle.

Sounds kiddish? To most, yeah. But this is what I practice everyday. Yea I get ridiculous looks, I get laughed at, and to some extent, thought to be cuckoo.

The power of imagination combined with belief is a very, very powerful tool in life. Not only do they help you feel better throughout, but if done without any doubt, is just like a wish that will ultimately come true.

Small miracles have been occurring in my life recently. One being while waiting for the bus, my friend was going "it's going to be a long wait". I put my imagination to work and visualized the bus heading our way, believed it is happening, and told my friend "our bus will be next".

True enough, it was.

On another instance, we were again waiting for the bus and he was again complaining it was going to be a long wait. I told him the bus will come after I go to the store and got myself a can of soda.

True enough, the bus came after I finished my drink.

Coincidence? Probably. But it did make me feel extremely good (and slightly powerful).

I'm taking this power on a bigger scale. Imagining a successful life with my Internet Marketing business. Imagine that.. having the freedom to work on your own, and reaping in the big cash rewards. Here is what I imagine and belief:

1) I am working from home very comfortably and happily
2) I am earning an average of $10k a month
3) I drive a white Audi A4
4) I have a Sentosa Cove apartment

Go ahead and call me delusional, but it won't change my principal in life. This is how I plan my future and make it come true.

I have 2 vision boards in my room today. One just above my monitor where I do my work, and another just beside my bed. What are vision boards?

I bought 2 cork notice boards from Daiso and pin pictures or symbols of the things I want in life. For example, I have pictures of the Audi A4 on it. I even have a cheque that I wrote for myself worth $10k.

So every time I do my work or am about to go to sleep, I will stare at the vision board - part of me reminding myself these are what I am working for, and part of me saying I believe I own them already.

For the moment in time, this is what I am living for. This is the only thing I have in mind :)

The great James Ingram says in his song:

Don't be afraid,
I can meet you halfway,
We can't always know where the road ends up,
But with some luck I know we can go,
Wherever we imagine.

An Argument: Being Employed vs Working On Your Own

I was just sitting and discussing with a friend of mine about work, the fragile economy, and life as a whole. It got interesting when we started about work, because unlike me (well, the present me), this friend here is self-employed.

He started off telling me he was finishing his work soon, and heading home in a few. So I asked him "So John, what do you do after work?", and he says "Spend time with my whole family, meet up with neighbours and friends, walk around and shop around.".

That's a beautiful life, I told him. It's always pleasant to have enough time to enjoy life. And unlike most of us, he doesn't have to ask for permission to leave earlier, or come later for work. He IS his own dictator. That's what I feel is the ideal way of life.

It is of no use having a good job title, earning a high salary, and being the darling of the office if you have to sacrifice your good life - and by that I mean losing your time to enjoy life, lacking time to enjoy the company of your friends and family, and not having the time to even enjoy the high salary that you earn from the hours you spend in the office.

To me, working life is the same as selling yourself for a price. The price being the salary that is being paid to you. And once you are paid the price, you are automatically under the company's ownership.

I have always found the debate on working for a company versus being self-employed interesting. On one side, people assume the stability of being employed by others is what makes a day job ideal. On the other half (of which I have always been on), I find the chance to enjoy a better quality life is far more precious than whatever price you are paid for your salary.

Now, I'm not saying I don't want to work hard. But think about this - if you are given a chance to get both a relatively good income PLUS the ability to enjoy it, would you think twice? And here's another notion - stability in a job? You must be living in the pre-2k era if you think so. These days, employees can switch from being an asset to becoming a liability in just a flash.

So if you are employed now, earning a high salary, but are not happy with the quality of your life, don't you think it's time you reassess your life plan? The new year is just 2 months away. It is time we make our move towards a better life :)

Let's Go Ahead And Dream..Then Go Get It!

Here's my next car:


A white Audi A4 2.0. Such a pretty picture isn't it? The beauty of the car set against a dark gloomy background. It could well represent the beauty of my dream at the center of my life amidst the dark surrounding me.

I know I can do this. Because I know believing is a powerful tool to achieving.

..when you doubt your success, you're as good as having failed.

So what do you want in life? And more importantly, have you believed in it?

Your Goals, And The Wonders Of Multiplication

It's 1am, but I felt inspired to write to you regarding a subject that may be dear to you. It's about all of the dreams you have, the goals you wish to achieve. But let's take it a step further. How about we talk about your dreams that WILL come true, and the goals you WILL achieve.

Don't get into that apprehensive state of mind. It's all too easy to think of the obstacles you may face in the pursuit of your wants. It's too easy to say to yourself "Nah, I won't be able to achieve that." What you may not know, is when you do that, you've effectively denied yourself a destiny which involves whatever you dream of having.

Are you still with me here? I know you have your dreams which you may be shy of revealing to others. You may be keeping it in your little black box in your heart. But a brilliant idea is but a nonsense thought if you do not express it. Don't be afraid - shout out to yourself what you really want. Out loud. Then repeat a few times, everyday.

Let's take a look at a scenario, of me targeting sales each month. I just had the thought of achieving a $9,000 pay cheque each month. Sounds huge doesn't it? Unachievable? Far-fetched? Yea.. I know all those comments will ring around me. Of course that amount looks big if you look at it from a single point of view. Let us widen the horizon this way:

Step 1: To achieve $9,000 a month, I will create 3 separate sales campaigns. Split that $9k, and I am looking at a $3,000 a month target per sales campaign.

Step 2: To achieve $3,000 in a 30-day month, it effectively means targeting $100 a day. Not necessarily consistently, but on average a zone between $70-$140.

Step 3: How do I get the $100 a day? Commissions can run high in Internet Marketing. Promoting products with a sales commission of $35 means 3 sales to getting a $100 day.

3 sales a day.. Reasonable ain't it? :)

Do you see the magic of multiplication at work there? From a hugely optimistic goal, we dissect it and mince up the work into smaller goals. They will then automatically multiply into the original huge goal we have.

I urge you to go back to your dreams and goals, and visualize how you will get there AND how you WILL BE when you are there. The latter is important in that it is the key to the former :)

Alright, I'm sorry if I sound a little preachy at this hour, but I truly hope this has been some substance for you in your course of life.

Right now, I have a cheque for $10,000 which I will stare at, visualize how I will get and use it, right till the moment I fall asleep.

Done With Race Day. On With My Personal Race.

And so the Singapore GP has ended. 3 tiring but extremely exciting nights. It was a first experience for me, and coupled with the fact that I bought the tickets from my sales proceeds, it was daaaammmnnnn rewarding.

And yes! Renault and Alonso won! For the first time this year, and in front of my own eyes!! Not many were supporting them. I didn't have my Renault shirt, but dressed in yellow for the qualifiers and the race, I distinguished myself as a loyal fan haha. A triumphant fan.

2 more days to go till festivities. Spring cleaning is the order for the day, followed by some last minute groceries. Not shopping.. groceries. I'm advocating a minimalist celebration this year to my family.

I've just heard from a childhood buddy of mine that his business is booming. He's just gone full-time with his wedding photography business, and boy is he over the moon with his monthly sales. Much better than when he's working.

Many people fear the insecurities of working on their own. Many people still depend on others to give them jobs and pay them monthly. This is how it should be, anyway. I'm not saying everyone should stop working their jobs and work on their own - the world will just not turn that way.

But if you want more than what you are getting now, don't simply be contented. If you want your dreams and goals to appear before you, work towards your one moment in time and you'll eventually get there.

The Fast And The Furiously Deafening

It was deafening. It was heart pounding. It went past me like a blizzard. It was funtastically exciting!

The past 2 nights of watching the F1 night street races have left me anticipating for more action tonight - the race day! There has not been any tremendous accidents, but the qualifying action last night really was an experience.

I've always watched the qualifying stage on tv, and cheering on my favorite Renault team silently on my own. But watching it live.. you can hear the cheers, the whistles, the jeers, the disappointments. I was mostly disappointed with my Renault team but hey, the rest of the action made up for it.

People of different countries are there. I saw a Finnish guy walking around with a huge Finland flag (until another guy shouted "Hey! I'm Finnished with you!"). They really are passionate about the sport.

The cars zoomed past loudly and quickly. Fauzi who was at Cathay told me he could hear the roar of the F1 engines. Heh, he should have been at Marina.

My camera couldn't catch a proper picture of the cars. So I waited for the post-race track invasion and took pictures of the surrounding scenery and the track itself using my Sony Ericsson K810i camera.

Enjoy!

The Esplanade

The Fullerton Hotel

Esplanade Bridge

The Corner Leading To Esplanade Bridge

Corner From Anderson Bridge

Busy Weekend Ahead!

The busy weekend is here! A combo of festive preparations and 3 nights at the tracks. Good thing I applied leave from tomorrow to festive eve.

Yes! Yes! I'm going to the races this weekend, starting from tonight. It's one way of rewarding myself for the work I've put in my Internet Marketing biz. Yes, the money came from the biz, not from my day job.

I bought the cheapest walkabout tickets ($168 though) for this year. Maybe I'll be better off next year. Maybe watch it from the grandstand or hotel. Maybe.

I'll be posting pictures from the races using my crappy camera (a better one will come my way soon). But for now, bear with me.

As for the festivities, I'll be keeping it mellow. No outlandish decorations, no splurging on clothes, no soul food cooking. That's my Hari Raya for 2008. It's not been such a healthy year for the family, so we'll just keep it simple at that.

And oh yeah, my dad is back from hospital after spending more than a month there. At least that's some consolation :)

Take care guys!

Resignation Plans

It's very clear that I hate my job - more so my company. And I'm making my plans to resign. Not so soon, but I have set the date as the last day of June 2009.

If I hate the job so much, why do I have to delay my resignation? Well.. I don't plan on looking for another job. I can jump over to another company right now, but that is not what I want. So you can say that my planned resignation next year is somewhat a semi-retirement for me.

I'm looking forward to leaving next year. And I'm putting aside any other commitments for now, and putting my focus on building my business. You can say that I'm slowly leading an anti-social life these days.

Right now, all I'm working towards are:

1) Working on my business from home;
2) Taking care of my dear parents;
3) Building my wealth and realizing my dream lifestyle.

I know if I pray and work hard enough, and prepare to receive the rewards, I will win.

I'll Walk In Sunshine Again

Is that the best that you can do?
Do you think that I won't make it through?
You don't know where I come from
You don't know what I'm made of

And you won't haunt me anymore
I stand proud and I stand tall
And there will come a day my friend
I'll walk in sunshine...again

So come on bring on all your rain
It's only water it won't stain
You turn to ashes on the ground
My sun burns through your black cloud

And you won't haunt me anymore
I stand proud and I stand tall
And there will come a day my friend
I'll walk in sunshine again

Look What He's Done Again

And so my boss played his funny game on me again. And it isn't a pleasant one. Here's the story:

My company is planning a restructuring which puts me into a 9-6 lifekilling job. I hate that. Not eversince I started working on shifts that gave me ample time and freedom during weekdays.

So the deal is this: move up to the 9-6 job, get more responsibilities and headaches with no additional pay. OR.. stick with my shift job and take a $150 cut from my pay. (link)

A few months back when I was still working on shift hours, the office persuaded me to work on office hours instead. I didn't want to. I wanted the extra off days so I could do whatever I want, including minding my business. But the boss came up with all sorts of reasons WHY I should be doing office hours instead.

He told me, if I remain in shift work, I will lose my $150 transport allowance. And I specifically asked him "does that mean if I work office hours I will get $150 for working on Saturdays AND still get my transport allowance?" He said YES. Fine, I did some thinking and decided I needed the $150 each month to survive.

To date he hasn't paid my Saturday allowance. So I voiced out, and guess what he said. He will backpay the Saturday allowance that he owes me, but I shouldn't be getting the $150 transport allowance since I do not use the car for work. What? Let me get this straight.

Does he mean I could have stayed doing shift work and my pay would remain the same? When I told him that he promised me otherwise, he denied it. How convenient.

It's illogical isn't it? Why would I have moved from working shift (which I loved) to office hours if the pay is the same? Someone should throw a shoe at him.. seriously.

What goes around comes around. We'll see what happens next year. I'm just as cunning and witty as he is.

Hit Below The Belt, But I'm Still Standing

It's been a while since I wrote, and here's why. My dad was admitted to hospital again for his heart. This time, he had to go under the knife, and has been in hospital for the past few weeks. He's currently recuperating from a heart bypass surgery, and he's doing great so far.

Thanks to all who wished well for me and my family. I wish the same to you.

It appears to me that life has a lot of challenges in store for me. While dealing with the trauma of seeing your loved dad suffering in hospital, my online business got hit too...presumably by some low-life no-future-in-mind cheap hacker.

See, my website got hacked by some mutant. And because I was busy dealing with my family situation, I didn't realize it until today. God knows how long it has been, and how many potential sales I lost. Good job, my mutant friend.

So what did I do? Simple. Just upload a copy of my website. No point brooding over the lost anyway. As for the irresponsible prick? He'll get his share of life's surprises :)

Anyway, I wanted to show you a few pics of my latest earnings. Bear in mind, this all happened before my dad got into hospital, and I was looking forward to repeat or even improve this achievement. Take a look..



That's US$549.52 for half a month of sales. Not bad huh? :) I got excited and decided to reward myself with these...



A 3-day ticket package for the local F1 race to be held later this year. That's the joy of working online.

This may sound like an endorsement or advertisement, but take a look at Wealthy Affiliate. That's where I learned to make all this happen. So if you're interested, come join the "school" :)

Remember to take care of your health guys. Talk to you soon.

Hold Your Head Up High, Herwin

I'm tired physically and mentally. I have been laughed at, scorned, insulted, rejected, disappointed, ignored, scratched, left behind, outcast. But you know what?

I don't care.

I still hold my head up high when I walk. I bear a smile every possible minute. And I won't let a small failure bring me crashing down.

You can call me boastful or full of hot air. But I live by one mantra: To be successful, you must first feel successful.

Envision success, imagine yourself successful. Look at the sky when you do so, and smile quietly. Enjoy that single moment when you feel successful. Then repeat it every minute you are awake.

It's no secret that being positive brings about a powerful aura that attracts all the good things in life. And that includes success.

So hold your head up high, just like me. And your moment in time will naturally come to you.

Have You Given Up?

What I am about to say here does not solely pertain to the Internet Marketing business. But it applies to whatever you are pursuing today. Have you given up in what you are chasing after?

In the past few weeks, my marketing success has seen its share of lull periods. I suffered days and weeks of no sales at all. And I nearly gave up there and then. The funny thing is, this period of no sales resulted from me giving up.

I made the single common mistake that newbie Internet Marketers make - I mixed in emotions with my business. I started to see a few refunds from my customers, and that affected my morale. My emotions swirled and I began to think this does not work. I stopped working on my business - stopped writing articles, stopped testing and tweaking my website, stopped learning how to build my business.

All the above resulted in weeks of no sales. And I grew even more despondent.

It took me a while to gather my courage and picked myself up. I can't say I did that without any help from a few friends, and listening to Brian McKnight's Win. I realised this business means a lot to me. There was too much at stake - my family's life depends on it. My destiny depends on it!

So I fought back my emotions, worked on my articles once more, tweaked and tested my website again and again. And today, I'm back to seeing profits.

And if the current sales pattern continues, I can't wait to share my happYness with you by showing my next pay cheque.

I hope it will be sweet then :)

So don't give up in what you love to do. I added the "love to" part, because if you are trying hard to succeed in what you don't love, you will not win. And even if you do, it won't be as sweet as succeeding in what, or who, you love.

Let's Put It In "D" Gear Once Again

It seems like ages since I updated you on my Affiliate Marketing progress. And I can justify my absence. That's what it was about - absence.

I took myself off Affiliate Marketing somehow, because I was bogged down by many interruptions in life. Work, national service, and other affairs really drained me off energy and determination to pursue my "career".

This is why it's very important to have a friend or a group of friends working together with you on this project. By reading about others progress and success and taking it positively, one can really start to motivate himself again. I did just that, thanks to my Wealthy Affiliate buddy Ronn.

See, even though Ronn and I are marketing in the same niche (that makes us competitors so to speak), we share our knowledge and tips with each other. But most importantly, we drive each other further and faster towards our goals.

As I said early this year, I aim to earn as much as or more than what I earn in my day job. And quit the latter. Probably not end of this year, but mid next year.

It's not a long-shot, now that I've realized the potential earnings from Affiliate Marketing. And learning what it takes to make it work, I just have to double or triple that effort. Plain copy and paste.

I hope to deter myself from being interrupted again. But at some points in our lives, we have to temporarily put matters of the heart to the forefront, as long as we don't let it linger.

Of course it would be a bonus if I succeed in my Pursuit Of HappYness with that someone beside me cheering me on. Sweet.

Beautiful While It Lasts

And just like that, the highlight of my day is over. Just 45 minutes or so.

Oh well, there's always tomorrow morning, I suppose.

How To Make Your Pages Findable On The Internet

Hey all, anything poppin' yet? :)

It's kinda late now, but I'm taking some time to write to you guys regarding a major, major element in our Affiliate Marketing business. This section will ultimately be the most important factor on how much traffic will go to your articles/sites.

Are you ready? Got your notepad and pen/cil ready?

It's your KEYWORD. Keywords are like what carrots are to make donkeys work. They are the ones that will get people around the world finding your articles/squidoo/websites through Google or Yahoo.

Now I know when I mention keywords, many of you will be sprouting out single-words that would describe the field you are focusing on. I know, because I did that too once before. Let me tell you, never ever use a single-word keyword in your business.

Let's classify keywords into 2 types: Broad, and Long-Tail. Broad keywords are like what I mentioned above - single words that vaguely describe what you are talking about in your articles/squidoo/websites. Want to know why they're not good? Try searching on Google for "health" and see how many results you get. Millions yea? So how would you expect your articles/squidoo/websites to be found by people??

In our business, we need to narrow down our market as deep as we can. We need to think and be like the searcher - what would you type in Google to find an answer to your particular problem?

Ok let's use the broad keyword Car in this instance. Can we narrow down Car further? By sure we can, maybe by the make. I'll put this process down in steps for better illustration:

Car *narrow further by make
Mazda Car *narrow further by model
Mazda RX-8 Car *narrow further by color
Red Mazda RX-8 Car *narrow further by more details
Red Mazda RX-8 Car Spoiler

You catch the drift?

That is what we want. We want our keyword to be as detailed as possible. We want to get the right searcher to come to our pages, find what they are looking for, and be in the right mindset to proceed with buying the product.

So how do you know what keywords to use? Be the searcher! Ask yourself why do people want the solution you are offering (ie the product you're promoting). Once you get the list of answers, just add in the common prefix-es of "how", "why", "when". Let me use an example:

Say you're offering a software to make websites. Be the searcher, and think why would they want the software? To create websites easily, perhaps. Now, be smart and add in the prefix. What do you get?

How To Create Websites Easily

Wasn't that fun? That's what we call a long-tail keyword. Of course you can go more into detail on that keyword, just remember to think like the searcher.

Now you may ask what is the long-tail keyword for, and how do you incorporate it into your Affiliate Marketing campaign. Long-tail keywords are used in your articles and Squidoo lenses because these are the pages that you want your searchers to find on Google and Yahoo.

For now, do your market and people research. Go search for forums and through Yahoo Answers to find the people whom your product is going to help. Find out what are the common problems they face, and the words/phrases they use to describe their problems.

If you can, come back to me with the product that you are trying to promote, and a decent list of long-tail keywords that you have come up with from your short research. I'll assess them and advise you accordingly.

I'm sorry I can't chat long with you. There is still so much that I want to pass on to you, but I can't do it in one go. You'll be drowning in info overload.

So let me know your progress so that I can adjust and tweak my (so-called) training program with you.

Take care, and hope to hear from you soon.

Herwin
http://mdherwin.blogspot.com

ps, I have this idea - once you have decided on a niche market that you are going into, I'll spare some time to write an article for you just so you will get a rough idea of how an optimized article looks like :)

Answering A Common Question: What Should I Promote?

I'm starting a series of emails to help some of you guys launch your Affiliate Marketing adventure together with me. These emails will be included in my blog from now on for you guys to easily refer to in the future :)

Hey all, how's your weekend been so far?

The weather is hot everytime I'm at home - I hate that. I always prefer a gloomy or windy afternoons so I can feel more comfortable working on my PC/laptop.

Ok, let's do a progress check here. Some of you have done good, signing up for accounts with Squidoo, EzineArticles, and Clickbank. Some have even gone a step further by exploring how to create their virgin Squidoo lens. Kudos!

I like it when you take action :)

For those who have not done so, I know it's a weekend and you'd want to spend your time in leisure. But take just a few minutes to sign up first.

Now, some of you posted some questions and the most common one being "What should I promote?"

Clickbank, as you may already know, only holds products that are digital in format. Software, eBooks, subscriptions. So what if you are looking to promote physical products?

One other popular affiliate marketplace would be Commission Junction at www.cj.com. You'll see the major players with affiliate programs ready for your use. If you can't find what you are looking for, do this on Google:

Search for the product you want to promote, and add this to the back of the search phrase: +affiliate program

Eg, if you're searching for affiliate programs for weight loss formula, search for weight loss formula +affiliate program.

Right, now on to the next part. Remember I told you to do something you are comfortable with? I need to add on something - find something that people are looking for too. Not everything will sell just like that. People have varying degrees of needs and wants, and this will affect the urgency of them buying the products through you.

Take some time to think about it. Read up the newspapers and look at the current issues facing Man. Off the top of my head, I can think of 3 groups of people:

People with a serious life problems:
These include people with life-threatening diseases, serious credit problems, divorce issues, etc. They will tend to look for more professional help than getting one through the net.

People facing some sort of discomfort/concern:
Examples include those who are vain about their skin beauty, keeping their health on check, taking care of their beloved family or pets, etc. Most from this group will do a search for solutions from the net. This is your most profitable group of people.

People with a need for luxury:
People who are looking for products that would enhance their lives, like buying a new LCD tv, or clothes. They are not ready to spend their cash.

Feel free to discuss with me what you have elected to work on as your Affiliate Marketing campaign. I'll be happy to advise however well I can :)

Hurrah, My First $100 Day

What a wonderful surprise I got just now! I just had to rush and post it on my blog!

This morning when I was getting ready for work, I did a quick check on my Clickbank account and saw that I made a sale yesterday - which was on Friday 13th.

I just did another quick check on my Clickbank account and woohoo, I suddenly see $100+ credited on the same day (Friday 13th)!

Talk about superstitions and bad luck!

Here's a screenshot of my Clickbank account so far:

















You can see I did not get any sales in early June because I was taking a break and did not do any marketing up to 10 June. But I still made a sale on Sunday from a website that I had long abandoned :)

I hope to have more such Friday 13th, and I should be well on my way towards reaching my financial targets for 2008.

C'mon guys, you can achieve what I have too.. or even greater than me!

I'm rooting for you :)

Oil Prices Are Going Nuts!

And the sheikhs are getting richer, aren't they?

Don't you sometimes wish you live above an underground reservoir of oil..

Got My First Cheque

Hey, how's everyone hangin'?

I got a pleasant surprise in my mailbox tonite. My first Clickbank cheque has arrived. Here are some photos to show you:







There are a few items that I purposely black out from the pictures, due to security reasons.

The amount you see is for the first half of May. Clickbank cuts $2.50 for postage handling, and 10% of the earning as reserve in case of product refunds.

So $203.22 is quite OK for me for half a month. See, this proves Affiliate Marketing works.

You can start earning passively too. You just need the commitment, will, dedication, and belief that you can achieve.

I can't wait for my next cheque which should be mailed out in a few days or weeks time.

Remember, if you want to learn more about Affiliate Marketing, you can write your comments and I'll try to help you get started :)

Closing Account for May 2008

Hey hey hey,

So the month of May has just ended a few hours ago (I go by US time). I just did a quick check on my Clickbank account, and here's how my Affiliate Marketing venture stands:

My earnings just fell short of 400 bucks for May. Not that great, but hey not too bad either. That's S$540 based on current exchange rates. Damn the weak dollar.. could've been more :P

June is here, and I'm gonna press on further. I've been taking a short breather the last few days, and that should do me good. Gotta take care not to burn out too, you see.

I'll keep posting from now on. I'm hoping to see an uphill trend on my online earnings for the next months.

If you are interested to know how to earn too, let me know. I'm happy to share what I know :)

Take care all,

Herwin

Another One Comes In

I just checked my Clickbank account, and yet another sale.

This is awesome.

Inching Closer To My Target

Hey there,

How's everyone doing?

It's been a rollercoaster ride for me and my affiliate marketing adventure (was going to coin it my Affventure, but that's the nickname of my fellow Wealthy Affiliate member heh).

But hey hey, I'm slowly but surely reaching my target for this month. It's a wonderful feeling when you suddenly see that Clickbank bar growing - it means another kind person has bought a product through my advice.

All these moments usually happen out of the blue.. when I'm just nonchalantly playing Winning Eleven on my PC, or just surfing YouTube for some nostalgic music videos. Can you imagine the feeling? Earning money while doing the above?

No doubt it's been a rough start. But like me, once you've got the right thing going on, you just go with the flow and never stop. It gets easier.

I'm still perfecting my methods, and more importantly my discipline.

If only I can cut down on my TV watching and games playing, I could be generating more leads to my website and increasing the conversion rate of my sales link.

I need someone to watch over me. Maybe with a whip. Ok, forget the whip. Just someone to remind me to just reserve 1 hour every evening to write more articles (more leads to my website).

Think about it. I've only 5 articles and 4 squidoo lens pointing to my website now. If only I could churn out at least 1 article a day, that'll be 30 articles by month's end. That means, more visitors to my website and a higher conversion rate possibly.

And I'm only promoting a single niche (or product). I'm already having ideas of what other products I'm gonna work on next month on.

At this rate, I'm feeling closer to realizing my ambition to quit my job by year end.

Pleasant Is The Word

It's been a pleasant week. Umm.. my mind can't think of much to say now. Yeap, pleasant is the right word to use. Moderate and enough.

It was just so pleasant.

Work has been hectic - physically and mentally hectic.

But it has been a pleasant week though. I can't help smiling every time I look back.

This seldom happens to me.

Here I go again, smiling to myself. I look so loony, I should get out of your view. It's embarrassing!

I'll just be with myself this long weekend, and let the pleasant-ness linger.

A Glimmer Of Hope

Things have been looking slightly brighter over the weekend. I guess good things come to those who are patient enough to persevere.

I'm known to be someone who jinxes himself, so I won't go into detail as to what's my success rate like yet. All I can say is my subscription for my Wealthy Affiliate membership has been paid for :)

I'll keep you guys updated.

ps, it's a matter of survival, so come on cheer me on! :P

I'm Gonna Win

Times are tough for me. Since my dad's been unhealthy and out of job, I'm working to put food on my table now while my salary has been cut.

But like always, I rely on my faith to pull through. I'm gonna win.

Take care all,

Herwin

I Hate Changes

I hate changes that are against me.

My company is planning a restructuring which puts me into a 9-6 lifekilling job. I hate that. Not eversince I started working on shifts that gave me ample time and freedom during weekdays.

So the deal is this: move up to the 9-6 job, get more responsibilities and headaches with no additional pay. OR.. stick with my shift job and take a $150 cut from my pay.

Now I have till Monday to decide. So what do you figure guys? I love my shift job, and if I were to ever get a new job (not that I'm looking towards that), it'll still be a shift job.

Shift job allows me to:
1) Have more time with my family and myself,
2) Get the precious time to work on affiliate marketing,
3) Be flexible with appointments and such,
4) Do more overtimes whenever I'm free.

Hmm... Number 4 = do more overtimes whenever I'm free.

So if I do take a $150 cut, does it mean I can easily cover it back by doing a few days of overtime job? Probably, but not certain.

Another point is, is my freedom equivalent to the $150 cut? Absolutely not, it's worth way more than that.

I guess I've had my mind made up pretty much. It just goes to the final minute where I have to speak up to the bosses on Monday.

A Small Success, A Huge Relief

I told you my next post will be from a delighted me. Although I have yet to reach my March goal, I have achieved a tiny success that brought a smile to my face.

I made my first sale, from a website I made that I thought was not good enough. In fact, I was in the process of doing up a new website (of the same market/niche). Then I got tired and frustrated, so I went to check on my Clickbank account and got a small surprise - my first sale!

Thank you to the kind gentleman who followed my advice and bought through me :) You've made my wallet $45 thicker, all while I'm not at work.

Alright now, back to work, and hopefully even a wider smile!

Just A Quick Note

Wow, it's been more than a month since I last updated my blog. And for a reason too. I hate to distract myself from my already sardine packed schedule. But I feel I have to drop by here to say a big "hullooooo", to do justice to my blog.

It's been stressful, it's been hectic, it's been tiring. My brain has been in cramps for the most of the past month, overloaded with the huge amount of new information I'm fed with. It's looking good though. I'm seeing some progress and should be able to hit my target month of March.

I may not be posting as often as the start, but on my next post, I'm sure you'll hear from a delighted me.

Take care all!

Chasing My Destiny

Let me share you a story that I will always keep with me. Something that I would tell my kids when they are growing up and finding their direction.

It's called Chasing My Destiny.

I've always loved marine vehicles since young. Be it ships, boats, liners, ferries. But what I've always secretly admired is the power, luxury, and styles of modern yachts.

I guess it's got to do with part of my upbringing. My dad worked in a ship company, with an office by a pier. Every now and then, they'd have these clients with nice yachts stopping by. We got to go onboard and explore the luxury within. Man, were they classy.

I even got myself a temporary placement (as a clerk) with a shipping company whilst waiting to enter polytechnic. There was me, Kamrul, and Amin. And one particular event that year is the etched memory that I will save a lifetime.

There was the yearly boat show where companies showcase their portfolio of boats that they sell to those who can afford. We tried going onboard as many boats as we can, pretending we could OWN one of them. Then there was this particular gentleman of a salesguy who, although knew we were still kids, entertained our questions. And what he said.. I still remember that moment and the exact words said to me..

"You have the look of a millionaire someday"

You may say it was just a passing comment, something to make a kid's day. But why shouldn't I use it as a form of motivation? And that's exactly what I did, and still am doing. I made it my destiny, and I'm chasing it. It is there, it's not superficial. I just need to get there.

In Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith told his son:

"Hey. Don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something. Not even me."

"You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it."

"If you want something, go get it. Period."

How true.

A Day In My Day

Airplanes. Tourists. Samsonites. Tickets. Souvenirs.

I see them everyday. At work. But I'm no where close to taking part in all the action. I wish I could just make acquaintance with any of them travelers and tag along with any of them to wherever they may head to.

I've been working my arse off and managing my finance properly, but I haven't got the time and cash to enjoy a holiday.

My monthly salary (plus my overtime pay which is necessary to meet my monthly budget - read this Boss!) is barely enough to cover for my expenses. No, not expenses. My necessities. Car loan (I can't get rid of the car due to loans issues), car maintenance, bills, bills, insurance.

Did I put bills twice there? Yep. I had to over-emphasize the bills part. Wouldn't it be nice if we could live a life free of debts, and effortlessly see our bills paid for every month?

Wealthy Affiliate is a great resource where I study the art of marketing online. There are some great people on board who either have succeeded well enough or who like me are finding our rhythm. Every single time I start my work on my campaigns, I never fail to drop by the General Success thread, and let me share with you what I've seen:

- someone who didn't earn anything for 5 months, started bucking up, then on the 6th month earns an average of $700 a day
- someone who started from $0 and now easily earns $10,000 a month at least
- someone who chronicles his journey from nothing to a nice $15,000 a month

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying Affiliate Marketing is an easy money job. It's hard work that's being put in. We spend hours a day doing research and writing up articles. But compared to our day job, the rewards are meaningful.

I wish I could show you what goes in the Wealthy Affiliate forum. To show you that Affiliate Marketing is not impossible. You could be a Wealthy Affiliate if you want to.

In the meantime, I'll just use this blog as a form of testimony that Affiliate Marketing does work.

We'll Meet Halfway. Then Walk Together.

Time for a boost of motivational juice:



This... This song here.. is my all time favourite motivational song. It's not meant to be one. But I find the lyrics all too suiting for the situation I'm in now, and where I aim to be next.

-when i've got the future on my mind, know that you'll be the only one
-meet me halfway across the sky, out where the world belongs to only you and I
-meet me halfway across the sky, make this a new beginning of another life

To that someone there, we may be living separate lives now. We're committed to our own cause, but we'll meet again. Halfway. When we've achieved what's supposed to be achieved.

It's a tiring morning. Been working on a research on a particular gadget I may consider into one of my campaign. Tough, as I'm not as techie as a geek should be.

What's the gadget?

Watch out, Listen up, and Keep in Touch. It's Game on.

What Lies Ahead in 2008

Happy new year to all! And a warm welcome to the year 2008.

It has been a very colorful albeit faded year in 2007. Tired and jaded, I have to shrug off the dust from my shoulder and soldier on. And I'm glad to see myself here today in the new year.

As with any others, a new year brings new resolutions for me. Although I don't really want to refer to them as resolutions. Resolutions never seem to make an impact on people, it's too cliche. Let's use the word schedule. A schedule of what I will do and achieve in 2008.

So what is my schedule?

I am a member of Wealthy Affiliate where I am diligently studying and being coached to succeed in the Affiliate Marketing field. It's a wonderful prospect, suits my lifestyle, and really is the future in careers.

My schedule would be to gain the adequate knowledge by March, to be able to achieve profits that would be sufficient to pay off my immense bills. This should not be a problem as long as I keep mentally focused on my goals and follow the guidance given from Wealthy Affiliate.

By June this year, I would have been more adept in building my business and earning enough to more than double my normal salary. Even better, if I would be able to resign by then, but I would keep the latter in KIV for now.

The end of 2008 would see me doing Affiliate Marketing as a full time career, being able to travel at least once a month, and guiding others who would want to emulate my achievement.

Long shot you may say, but this are my plans. My aspirations. My schedule.

With this blog, I will keep a journal of my progress through the days. This would be my own Pursuit of Happyness.

So here I go! It's the 1st day of my action-packed schedule, not a day to lose. I'll be back to pepper this blog in a bit, so keep your browsers tuned here.