How did we get here?

I am a planner.  Sometimes (okay, a LOT of times), I am an overplanner.  I had a boss tell me once that I have a tendency to let perfection get in the way of progress, and she was right.  This magical affiliate marketing adventure has been rolling around in my head for two years, and I couldn’t figure out how to give it wings.  I am a director of marketing, so I know marketing.  I am a professor of digital marketing, so I know how to teach marketing.  I am curious and inquisitive and will immerse myself in the abyss of the unknown to figure something out – so why was I having so much trouble figuring out how to position my thirst for understanding the world of affiliate marketing?  What was the foundation, how would I learn it, how could I enlist the help of those who have traveled the road before me, how could I transfer my knowledge to others and we could support one another?  And then, it hit me (in the shower one day… I do some of my best thinking in the shower).  The unknown IS the platform.

I teach my students to find their niche, determine their target market, play to their strengths, do what they love, share their knowledge and expertise with others, and they will find joy.  I needed to follow my own advice.  I love marketing – I eat, sleep, breathe, and thirst for marketing in everything I encounter.  I am passionate about teaching – we all have our gifts, and I know this is mine.  I have started and grown four companies and am an entrepreneur at heart, and I know the 9-5 grind is not for me – I want to work and live on my terms.  I believe in empowering others with knowledge and strength to push outside of their comfort zone because only there is where growth really begins.

And there it is. If I can stand before 40-50 students twice a week and teach digital marketing, then I can share my knowledge with the world. If I teach the importance of affiliate and influence marketing as a digital marketing channel, then to truly understand the impact and importance, I will need to learn the ‘how’ and not just the ‘why.’

Each one of us is an influence marketer. Every time we tell others about our favorite cup from Target or the incredible cookie butter from Trader Joe’s, we are influence marketing. When we write or read a Google review, we participate in influence marketing. Since I’m an advocate of influence and affiliate marketing from the organizational marketing side, the side benefitting from the user-generated content, my plan was to master it from the other side – the one doing the influencing.

So, what is my big idea? I want to figure out affiliate marketing. I want to learn the earning potential from the marketer side (I already know the impact on the organizational side). I want your help, your thoughts, your ideas, and your expertise. Linking arms is how things get done. I want to share my knowledge without gatekeeping. I’ll do the work, and I’ll pull you up with me. I want to share this journey together, and I want you to come along with me. Are you ready?