New Premium Posts, Plans for 2015 and Good Reads

Christmas is coming.

I can tell because the seasonal fatty in me aches for Gingerbread latte and industrial-sized buckets of mulled wine.

Now is a great time to be an affiliate marketer.

Mainly because it’s a bad time to be anybody else.

Take the rest of the workforce, for example:

Wake in the darkness, spaz at the cold, wrap in seven layers, power-walk through the black ice to an overheated tube where the chances of catching a nice, hearty flu increase fivefold with every station passed.

Rinse and repeat, Monday to Friday.

The thrill of watching it all unfold from my office window is the pinnacle of working from home.

And if anybody disagrees, trust me — their priorities are all wrong.

I’m only half-joking.

I enjoy London in the winter.

But I’m still excited to get out of here.

My Plans for 2015

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll be aware that I am perennially on the edge of moving somewhere that isn’t London.

I have a success rate of about 20%.

Well, something will have to go seriously wrong for that not to change.

My girlfriend and I are moving to Thailand in March.

We’ll be based in Bangkok, which already feels like a second home.

It’s difficult to explain, but South East Asia has a magnetic pull. Once you get a taste for the food, beaches, pools and blistering heat, you start to ask why you wouldn’t live there if you could choose.

I’ve been three times in the last year. Every time I leave, it’s through gritted teeth and a death trail of mango sticky rice.

The expat community in Thailand is, of course, well known. It’s getting younger and younger thanks to flexible working arrangements and the smaller world that we live in.

I know more British affiliates based in Thailand than I do in London.

Jesus, I need to get out more.

Bangkok, besides being a balls-to-the-walls awesome city, is a great base to explore the rest of South East Asia and beyond.

I’m stoked to see some countries that I’ve never been to before: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Vietnam and more. Suggestions welcomed.

It should be an exciting year!

New Premium Posts Next Month

In other news…

It’s 18 months since I released the last volume in my Premium Post series.

I had a new release ready to go in the summer. Unfortunately business got in the way of writing, and by the time I returned to finish it up, I wasn’t happy with the content.

So on to the scrap heap it went.

One complete rewrite later, and the next volume is almost ready to be unleashed.

It will cover a huge amount of ground: from adult dating, to mobile campaigns, the current Facebook and Google landscapes, to new areas like pay per call, Teespring and several ‘unfashionable’ sources of traffic that can blow up your earnings biggie style.

This is going to be a mammoth release. The chapter covering adult dating alone is bigger than the entire Volume X (which was dedicated to it).

I think you’re going to struggle to find a more definitive pillaging of the affiliate marketing industry as it stands today.

Stand by for a lot of brain farts when it goes live on December 17th.

In the meantime, here is something every affiliate should read at least once. Maybe even twice.

How to Build The Future…

I read a lot of business books. Sometimes mindlessly.

When you’ve chowed your way through the entire Amazon bestsellers, you become familiar with the arcing topics that every writer and his dog likes to bark about. There’s only so many times I can relive the story of Maslow, Kitty Genovese or a room full of marshmallows.

The mind doth start to play with its balls.

Zero to One, by Peter Thiel, is the rare type of business book that stops you dead in your tracks.

Zero to One Review

“Notes on Startups, or How to Build The Future” sounds like a bold strapline. If anything, it undersells.

Thiel outlines the concepts that can make or break a startup, without resorting to magic bullet steps to pique interest. He talks innovation, technology, team-building and — most effectively — how to stand apart from your competition.

The book is a page-turner that demands to be put down. A rare thing.

It opened my eyes, my mind and my notepad.

It forced me to digest its concepts slowly, chapter by chapter.

Any book that begs to be placed aside while you question the wisdom of your current beliefs deserves the highest praise, especially when it’s so much easier to publish the opposite.

Thiel is a legend of the tech sphere. He didn’t need to write a book.

Likewise, when you have Mark Zuckerberg (“This book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to create value in the world.”) and Elon Musk (“Peter Thiel has built multiple breakthrough companies, and Zero to One shows how.”) singing your praises, you don’t need lowly blogs like this to sell a book for you.

But I enjoyed the read so much that I have to recommend it.

Probably the best business book I’ve read this year.

Surprise, Surprise. Penguin Goes Viral

Finally, did you see the John Lewis Christmas advert?

If you’re outside the UK, then probably not.

Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iccscUFY860

I’m no brand advertiser, but I’ll tip my hat where it’s due.

That is some proper next-level Mad Men shit.

There’s a fine line between ‘going viral’ for the sake of sapping bandwidth, and going viral in a way that showcases a brand with goodwill that turns in to sales.

John Lewis are one of the best at getting it right.

Alas, this ice-cold fart will be shitting penguins — I repeat, SHITTING PENGUINS — before he goes anywhere near John Lewis at Christmas.

About the author

Finch
Finch

A 29 year old high school dropout (slash academic failure) who sold his soul to make money from the Internet. This blog follows the successes, fuck-ups and ball gags of my career in affiliate marketing.

20 Comments

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  • I know what you mean about the pull of Asia. I’ve not been back there in three years as I’ve been in South America; but I’d love to go back to Thailand for a while. As you note, it’s a great base to go to other places in Asia.

    Count yourself lucky though. It’s a lot colder up here in Scotland πŸ™‚

    In saying that, I may be going back to South America soon, so hopefully I’ll avoid the worst of the Winter.

    Are you planning on getting a long term visa for Thailand?

    Kevin

  • Great choice! Thailand has a strong magnetic power – once you come here, there is no way back πŸ™‚ If you need some tips with visa, drop me a message.

    Also cannot wait for the new premium post, the content looks promising!

    Take care.

  • awesome finch, I myself moved to bangkok 2 months ago, a great decision. We could hang out when you show up and I’ll hook you up with the local affiliate community (and other cool peeps)

  • South America has quite an appeal too. Heard great things about Buenos Aires in particular!

    And yep, one year visa.

  • How are you finding it? I remember the excitement of the first few weeks/months out there. It’s like entering a new world. Are you on Sukhumvit?

    Since this post went live I’ve been contacted by a ton of affiliates in Thailand. Seems there’s a great community out there. Can’t wait to get back!

  • I really love BKK, but I more prefer a more relaxed place – I’m based on Koh Samui island right now, but have some IM friend(s) in BKK as well, there are a lot of them as far as I know.

  • Ah, the true laptop on a beach lifestyle then?

    I liked Koh Samui. It was pretty busy around where I stayed (The Library hotel), but when you get away from the tourist boom boxes… paradise!

  • Not really, IMHO that’s an utopia of all these digital nomads hype folks πŸ™‚

    I stay close to beach, but nowadays I not visit it so much as when I moved here (2 years ago). However it is always great to be close to it and have a reset when needed.

  • Buenos Aires is a beautiful city. And very cool too.

    Though it’s also one of the most expensive cities in South America. Brazil is generally more expensive; however your budget would allow a better lifestyle in other countries.

    My girlfriend is Colombian so I have spent a lot of time there. Though Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, are significantly cheaper.

    Kevin

  • Hi Finch

    I am planning to move to Bangkok myself, is there a particular area that you like that is close to amenities, I have only been there once and stayed at the grand hyatt. Regarding the 1 year visa, is it the business visa?

  • I would recommend pretty much anywhere along Sukhumvit (except Nana). My preference is the Phrom Phong area.

    Most people rely on back-to-back tourist visas or the education visa. You can take Thai language lessons and qualify for an EDU visa.

  • That’s pretty cool. What are your thoughts on Costa Rica? I know it’s further central, but quite a few affiliates speak highly of it.

  • I haven’t been as yet. I’ve been to most countries in South America but not ventured anywhere north of Colombia. Hoping to visit Central America at one point – even if I have to do in individual trips rather than one long journey.

  • Maybe I’m a little twisted but I could totally see myself finding a way to adapt that penguin concept for a Thai mail order bride service.

    Instead of the 40-ish dude having a little penguin buddy he’d have some cute 40-ish girl he’d put himself in the friend zone with and it starts with showing them doing a bunch of friend activities together – trampolines, walks along the river, museums, etc.

    Then it progresses to her finding a dude and him languishing as a third wheel in similar activities because the woman insists on being a good friend. Then it evolves to a scene where his girl friend surprises him by hooking him up with a Thai bride.

    Then the guy wakes from his crazy day dream and takes himself to his computer and types in “ThaiBridesForYou” or “ZeroToaHundredRealQuick” or whatever the site is and a page full of sultry Thai women looking for love shows up.

    And the tag line would be – “Stop hoping, wishing, and dreaming. Give yourself the greatest gift anyone has ever given you.”

    I might be crazy but I think I’d have a winner here by standing on the shoulders of a penguin. πŸ™‚

  • Looking forward to your premium posts and seems every affiliate is moving to Thailand . I am planning for summer holidays in Thailand πŸ™‚

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