Former IT Executive/Newspaperman Hits Grand Slam Leaving The Rat Race Behind

Let's face it corporate downsizing is on the rise. People are scared about job security and the grim reality that a pink slip maybe lurking around the corner. Instead of jumping from one pink slip to the next in a downward economy many would be entrepreneurs are striking it out on their own and discovering a world of home based business income opportunities. With little or no start up costs they can leave the rat race behind and find financial freedom and learn the meaning of a balanced lifestyle; where there's time for work and play and the end of the day is what ever time they want it to be.

Sounds like a dream doesn't it? Well it's not. There are viable business opportunities where you can earn a living on your own time instead of spending the best part of your day working in a sea of cubicles.

When a newspaperman spots an opportunity like this, it's worth looking into. These folks by trade are used to viewing things skeptically, trying to find the inside scoop. That's what they're trained to do.

Got Dot.com profiles Frank S. Klassen who for more than 20 years worked in the newspaper business as a reporter, editor, publisher and most recently as a consultant in the information technology industry, before finding publishing income opportunities on the Internet, ushering in a whole new career.

In 1991, after helping a dozen newspapers successfully transition fully to desktop publishing, Frank became a full-time technology consultant to the publishing industry. Five years later, it was an easy step to go to Apple Computer as a Market Development Executive, working with publishers and broadcasters, traveling across the country and spending long hours on the road in a fast-track corporate career.

By the time Frank left Apple Computer he wanted a change in lifestyle, like many people at a crossroads, he wasn't sure of the next step. A good friend, Bruno Hoffman, who also came out of the information technology field called him one day about an idea to make money on the Internet with affiliate marketing.

At first Frank was skeptical. Bruno told him, "Worse case scenario, we'll try it for six months." By six months it proved to be a viable business with sizable checks.

Got Dot: What first drew you to affiliate marketing?

An innate fascination with the Internet and technology combined with an understanding about how the two could intertwine and increase business profit margins made it logical for Bruno and Frank to form an affiliate marketing partnership.As Frank says, "The Internet bubble burst because too many people thought the world-wide web was going to replace everything -- watching TV, reading books, even going shopping. With my understanding of publishing and technology, I knew in reality that no new medium was ever going to do all that. Instead, after all the hype subsided, it was quickly apparent the Internet is just doing exactly what it is best suited to do ... enabling niche material to be published in a global way that's never been done before. As a result, millions of people every day are searching for reliable information that will help them buy specific products and services. Helping drive this high volume customer traffic to online merchants is what affiliate marketing is all about."

Background on Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is booming. According to the Affiliate Summit held in early November 2003 in New York City, affiliate marketing is a $14 billion industry. (Source: Marketing Sherpa) This industry is expected to grow to approximately $230 billion by 2008. (Source: Forrester Research, August 2003)

Affiliate programs are a feasible way for website owners to earn money by referring customers to other web sites. In this business relationship one web site owner (the merchant) agrees to pay another web site owner (the affiliate) a commission for all referring customers. Affiliate programs are ideal for website owners with traffic who are looking to monetize their websites. Website owners can start their own affiliate programs by adding specialized tracking software to their websites to monitor sales or they can join a commission network such as: Commission Junction, LinkShare or any one of dozens of affiliate networks, which provide the tracking and infrastructure.

Got Dot: What is it like getting started?

Frank says, "It's about experimenting. Like in baseball, you need to be ready to go to bat. If you hit a single or a double you're confirming that affiliate marketing works. If you're lucky you may hit a home run getting a $1000 a month. The key is learning how to bat, to do that you'll make mistakes a long the way."

Frank's early web sites earned a few hundred dollars a month. One web site promoted Internet protection software. Unfortunately, everyone wanted software for free. On the plus side the site reached number one on the search engines by promoting a free virus program. It confirmed an important lesson with affiliate marketing, that it's possible to win a category on a search engine and drive web traffic.

Another early site focused on exotic meats. This site proved how important it is to not only have web traffic to drive sales, but to have a quality pool of affiliate merchants to structure your site around.

The next step would be to take a winning search engine position and convert the high number of visitors into customers buying products. In the words of Frank, "That's when you hit a grand slam."

Got Dot: How did you begin hitting the grand slams?

Frank says, "I found Affiliate Marketing 101," referring to the James Martell Affiliate Marketer Handbook's strategies for building websites.

Four months after launching the financial services site Canadian Credit Center.com the site brought in $200.00/month. Now it grosses $20,000 a month, bringing in 50,000 unique visitors a month.

This grand slam site follows the same methods for web site construction developed by James Martell. Frank has incorporated these principals into more than 50 specialty shopping sites featuring the Best in Credit Cards, Best in Credit Reports, and Best in Loans.

Got Dot: What's it like working with a partner?

Frank says, "By teaming up with Bruno we pool our efforts, brainstorm, and collaborate to achieve greater success than we could individually."

Frank and Bruno's ten business rules:

1. Make money while you sleep
2. No employees
3. Never talk to customers
4. No business cards
5. No more than five business rules

Got Dot: How has your lifestyle changed being an affiliate marketer?

In the 1990s, Frank traveled extensively for business, spending limited time with his family. Long days on the corporate career track grew even longer with a two hour commute. Spending that much time on the road, Frank became an assertive driver, always looking for the quickest way to get from point A to B.

Now that he's no longer on the road jostling commuters for precious asphalt Frank's much more relaxed and less tense. There is time for the family and reading. It's a simplified, less harried lifestyle. One of the things Frank loves the most is, he can work when he wants to, whether it's at 3AM or 11 AM.

As Frank says, "It's very liberating being on your own terms, not the company's schedule. The lack of deadlines is an amazing thing. Now it's a matter of goal setting and creating a self-imposed work schedule. There's no more running against the corporate clock."

Got Dot: What are some tips you recommend for someone just starting out in affiliate marketing?

1. Read James' Affiliate Marketers Handbook. As Frank says, "When we strayed away from James' book the web sites didn't go as well, but when we follow what the book says we're the most successful."
2. Pick a category based on your own analysis and interests.
3. Don't go overboard with key words. In the Affiliate Handbook, James talks about keywords representing roughly 3-7% of web page content. Frank learned how true that concept is. With the Canadian site at one time they went overboard with key words. It was an arduous job to clean it up, but Frank learned from the mistake and now makes sure to approach key words within the parameters outlined in James' book.
4. Don't spend money. If you type the word affiliate marketing, it's easy to spend $50 buck here, $100 buck there. If you have James' book don't get sidetracked by other offers. His book is all you need. As Frank says, "It really is Affiliate 101."
5. Use WordTracker: This is one of the tools James talks about in his book. It let's you know what key words and phrases are being used and how often it's being used on the search engines. For instance, it will tell you whether a key word is being searched 100 times or three times a day.
6. Follow the winning formula: Qualified traffic + converting merchants = homerun revenue.

As Frank says, "Affiliate marketing is a viable way to leave the rat race behind and hit a home run. The future is a grand slam."