Nobody Cares How Much Money You Make
Totally freaking agree with this post! Also, it reminds me of the saying "careful of the toes you step on…
There’s something about winter that brings out the worst in many affiliate marketers. Maybe it’s the snobbery of being able to relax in the warmth while office-working ordinaries slip on the ice outside. Or maybe it’s the fact that Christmas ushers monetary pressure on to seemingly everybody except your fat cat self.
I guess you realize how lucky you are to be working at home, and you want the world to know about it, right? So to display your Alpha Male bread-winning capabilities, you pull on some slippers, log in to Wickedfire, and proceed to castrate the crowds for “only earning $100/day”. It’s so easy that you need to be cashing a new villa every month or you’re just not doing it right. Bah humbug to any fool who hasn’t carved a fortune from the Internet!
The reality is that nobody cares how much money you make. Bragging about it is one thing. Dismissing the efforts of those who only earn a small income online is bordering on the ridiculous. I read this post from Browie a few weeks ago and I thought…whaaaaat?
Of course, it doesn’t matter who you ridicule as long as they stack less money than you. You could be mocking a hard working doctor who spends a lifetime helping others and just wants to find a side income to boost his paltry salary. Or maybe a father of many who works bone to the ground and knows more about the value of a dollar bill than you’ll ever appreciate in your lifetime. Anybody and everybody is fair game for the demeaning prick who thinks his ability to make money online puts him in the elite tier of high society.
I received a snotty email from an affiliate this week suggesting I go in to a partnership with him because he’d earned X here, and another X there. In fact, he’d earned so much that I was left wondering why he’d want to venture in to a niche where the absolute best results would act as no more than loose change compared to his bounty campaigning elsewhere. My blog was proof – to him – that I’d be a suitable match for his big plans. His pitch was proof – to me – that his greatest asset was an ability not to feel stupid when he reads back what he types and pushes “Send”.
By the time I finished reading the email, I was so turned off from the sheer arrogance of telling me how rich he had become in the last year, that I didn’t even bother to reply telling him that his idea sucked. So if you’re reading this now, there you go. Nobody cares how much money you make. People only care what value you can give to them.
There are a lot of posers and pretenders in this industry. Affiliates inflate their earnings in the same way that a sixteen year old inflates his profile of sexual partners. We’d hate to fall for inadequacy, right? Let’s be realistic. Affiliate marketing may be a lucrative industry, but don’t go putting your balls on a pedestal. There are bigger fish out there. And in fact, nearly every successful affiliate I speak to has little interest in becoming a multimillionaire arbitrage marketer.
Most successful marketers are using affiliate campaigns as the launch pad to bigger and better projects. As they should be. Any other attitude is bordering on the retarded.
But let me tell you, it’s not always in your best interests to parade yourself as the guy with the deep pockets. I make an effort not to brag, or even talk about what I earn. Partly because in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that impressive – there’s always somebody earning more. And partly because it attracts freeloaders.
I can often tell when somebody is bullshitting about the money they’ve made. Simply because most people who’ve been in such lucrative positions are aware that bragging attracts only the kind of people who are interested in taking you for a ride. If you’re rich, you don’t go rubbing it in peoples’ faces. It’s not cool to be seen as a walking ATM. Unless you’ve got an ebook to sell, of course, in which case your Clickbank stats Jpeg also includes an unusual sidenote stating you wiped your arse with dollar bills for the month of November.
I sure as hell don’t walk down the street singing “Look at me! Hear my pockets jingle with the coins you’ll never have!” If this is how you portray yourself, then you probably need a personality transplant to go with your weeklies.
It’s the same kind of naivety I see on display in Bangkok’s red light district (in my imaginary head, because I obviously never go there). “Ooh, I’ll just wander down Prostitution Boulevard with my wallet out and act surprised when some beautiful Thai girl falls hopelessly in love with me. Hey, that girl just winked at me!”
There are some things your money cannot buy, and a sack of common sense is one of them.
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Feel free to add Finch to your Facebook. Yes, this is the right link. My real name is not actually Finch.
Also follow me on Twitter, where surprisingly, 1 times out of 10*, I actually have something meaningful to say.
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So Ryan Eagle is retarded?
No, Ryan Eagle is Chuck Norris.
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I agree you can’t hate on the little guys, you have no idea about their circumstances. I make very little affiliate marketing at the moment, but that’s because I’m busy juggling a retail job, helping my dad out with his shop and finding time to socialise – some guy in his mum’s basement is going to get a lot more time to play with facebook ads than me.
Sometimes I think it’s good to talk about your earnings however, I’m doing an SEO case study and I’m being blunt about how much I earn. I haven’t really started yet so it’s zero at the moment (ha) – but I think in cases like this it gives you a layer of transparency which readers often admire.
Shots fired! We see eye-to-eye on this, Finch.
Mark, nobody said Ryan is retarded. After all, he and all the other affiliates that walk around puffing out they’re chests are only making up for the areas in which they lack. Give ’em a break, man!
Damn, I’m envious of the guys making one – two figures per day. I’m losing money!
Oooh yeah, bring on the hate. 😉
haha, fucking fantastic post!
hahah great advice man!
Best line: “Look at me! Hear my pockets jingle with the coins you’ll never have!”
Lol I’m the guy who commented on Browie’s post. Finch you are a peasant as well. Moving to Thailand and paying $100/month rent is ballin’. Your Facebook dating campaigns are probably pulling in 10% ROI and you couldn’t pay your rent in the UK. As always, expecting you not to approve my comments because you never do. Go get some money instead of writing 2000 word essays. Thanks.
good post! the bragging of how much money one makes has always irked me in this industry.
Says the guy who is currently spending every waking tweet or blog telling the world how great life in Thailand is 😉
“While likability can often produce power, power and success invariably produce likability. People choose to be with successful people and organizations, and then make sense of their choices by deciding that they actually like and respect those they are associating with. ” – Jeffrey Pfeffer
@Jackass – I’ve always approved all comments, good or bad. Don’t be hating if the crap that comes out of your mouth can’t make it past a spam filter.
@Symon – You may have a point!
Also, a good addition would be tell people that money come and go. I’ve seen people blow their shit faster than they get it.
@Symon only 1 entry about Thailand on this blog, and who gives a shit about what’s on twitter, I may spend time saying how I fuck bitches in my area and getting free iPads…
I care about how much money you’re making Finch! Stop by my blog sometime and tell us all about those Thai girls and their pingpong shows.
Seriously, I wonder just how much those dating campaigns are pulling in and how well off you are 18 months out from the 9-5 grind. I want to know that shit. That’s my motivation, my friend, chasing the scaled affiliate earnings. I dislike people that flaunt wealth to make others feel inferior, but I love the bloggers that feed the fires of desire for the noobs. And I think Ryan Eagle’s attitude is a persona that serves him well.
Epic post Finch!
I feel sorry for the guys who have nothing but talk about the money they have or allegedly have.
What they don’t know, is when you die you can’t take the material wealth with you!
On another note, those who brag can be a source of inspiration to those who aspire to do the same, they give proof that their stuff actually works if you put the effort and use your smarts to get there. Role models…in terms of profits and not bragging, of course.
Wish I could earn enough to brag – but alas it isn’t happening for this dude.
Merry Christmas to all … !!!
Great post man , lol at this comment “By the time I finished reading the email, I was so turned off from the sheer arrogance of telling me how rich he had become in the last year, that I didn’t even bother to reply telling him that his idea sucked.” Sometimes people fly so high they dont realize how stupid they are.
There is a difference between bragging and being direct about numbers for informational purposes.
Every week since I started CPATank I have sent out a weekly newsletter sharing our revenue and growth with affiliates in a direct manner so they can track our growth and feel like they are part of the inside team.
I know part of our success as a network has been using our #s as motivation, as people here we are doing 6 and 7 figure payouts and want to know what they are missing out on. I believe the main reason we have so much credibility though is because we also posted when our payouts were only in the hundreds.
There is way too many BSers flexing their E-penises, unless you have been steadily posting your stats in an informative way, you better have a screen shot to back up that claim you’re making 6 figs a month!
Awesome stuff as usual. Can’t recommend it highly enough! Please keep the good posts coming, Finch 🙂
There are some things your money cannot buy this is the true thing never show attitude if you have money 🙂 show some decency to donate it 😛
Props on the post man.
Simply acknowledging the subject shows you actually care way more than you should, or is it that you have a hot topic that you know will attract readership from others that care more than they should?
Most people who brag about how much money they make are young and/or come from poor or middle class backgrounds. Once you gain some life experience you realize how stupid it is to boast about it and how relatively poor you are to the ultra-rich.
@Kirk – If I didn’t acknowledge any subjects, I wouldn’t be a very competent blogger, would I?
being able to walk along the beach whenever you want are the real “riches” as it were. and helping fellow human beings out.
IMHO, I believe a competent blogger acknowledges subjects that they are passionate about. I do believe that you are a competent blogger and you’re acknowledging a subject that you’re passionate about, which means you care.
I also think you have a great headline on this post that has captured considerable attention. Great job.
you left out secret #5: if you’re banking hard, keep your head down and stfu. else the people who get real interested in your biz are the IRS.
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There are some things your money cannot buy this is the true thing never show attitude if you have money 🙂 show some decency to donate it 😛
You know what Finch..
IF those people see this post, they love to think you are jealous XD
Totally freaking agree with this post! Also, it reminds me of the saying “careful of the toes you step on today, they could be attached to the butt you have to kiss tomorrow”