Internet Babel

I managed to get self proclaimed Super Affiliate Zac Johnson for an interview. Enjoy…

Zac, why do you believe you’re a super affiliate and what do you believe makes someone a super affiliate?
Zac: I would consider myself a super affiliate because I have been doing this for over 10 years and started at the age of 15. I never had a job outside of making money online and have been able to bring in earnings of seven figures a year, while still being a one man company. Many people define “super affiliate” differently. From a company/business stand point, I would consider anyone doing the majority of business for a company, to be their super affiliate. As an individual, I would say anyone producing seven figures a year on their own can also claim the title.

How long did it take before your dreams turned into cold hard cash?
Zac: During my first few years of making money online, it was really exciting. When I think back on it now, it seems like it all went so fast, but I’m sure it wasn’t. I made my first dollar by making 468×60 graphics for people in the AOL WebDiner. I then learned about affiliate marketing and things just kept getting bigger from there on. Since I was only 15-16 when I started to make some good money, it was all appreciated and exciting to me. I started out with zero advertising dollars and turned it into what I have today.

I’m not all that experienced with affiliate marketing but know it can be a big earner. Do you think it’s as good as direct advertising?
Zac: I’ve focused mainly on affiliate marketing over the years, and a bit of direct advertising now. I think direct advertising has a lot more branding power associated to it, while you can start up in affiliate marketing with almost nothing, or a brand new web site. My recent success in blogging has done well with direct/private advertising. It’s great to experience both sides and be able to share my knowledge in the process.

In what niche have you had most success?
Zac: In the beginning I had a ton of success in the freebie/contest niche area. I must have spent 3-4 years in this area and it was really great. This was during 1999-2002, so the market was so unsaturated and there wasn’t a ton of the same offers floating around. I’ve also had great success in the social networking area. I wouldn’t have done as well in the social networking area, if I didn’t have such a great background in the freebie/contest area first.

Personally, I feel a lot more people than they think can make money not only online but by themselves in general. They just don’t because they think it won’t work for them. Do you believe anyone can make money online with enough practice?
Zac: In most cases, anyone can do anything if they have a passion for it and put the work forth. I believe that you are born with entrepreneurship, and it can be taught or learned… but some people are just born with it. Other people want to make lots of money, but have no interest or passion at all to make money online. When people see others making money online, they think we sit around and do nothing and just make money. I’ve been seeing and hearing that for 10 years now. If it was so easy… everyone would be doing it.

Now, we all know. Your blog isn’t your biggest source of income… would you be willing to share a few of your other sites, that really put the cash in your back pocket?
Zac: As mentioned on my blog in the past, I did well in the social networking area. MySpaceNow.com was one of my best performing sites, pulling in $800k profit within a four month period. I also have a network of entertainment and shopping/information sites I’ve compiled over the years.

Shoemoney or John Chow?
Zac: I’m good friends with both… how about ChowMoney. In all seriousness… both of these guys are great and have really fueled the blogging and make money niches online.

What’s the biggest way of building subscribers to a blog, in your opinion?
Zac: Quality content. You can advertise as much as you want, but people won’t come back or subscribe. Or, you can write quality posts that others write about, which will greatly expand the knowledge of your blog.

More and more Internet marketing blogs are being churned out day by day, minute by minute. Everybody pretty much seems to be saying the same stuff, it’s only the small few that say it in a different way that make it out alive. How long do you think it’ll take before the whole niche just gets sick of itself and dies on it’s ass?
Zac: It’s already happening and the good are already being weeded out from the bad. This can be related to TV. There are already so many shows on TV, but how many are actually hits, that the majority are watching. If no one is watching, the next season will be canceled. The same can be said for a blog or web site… readers will stay in it for the quality. If the quality isn’t there, neither will the readers.

What do you feel that you do differently, that other bloggers and Internet marketers don’t do?
Zac: I’ve been making money online for over 10 years now… so I have a vast experience and knowledge about affiliate, Internet marketing and what it takes to succeed. While sharing my information, I’m also telling it like it is and doing it for free. So many other bloggers and marketers out there are trying to sell ebooks, stuff with the same garbage everyone has been recycling for years. I’m trying to do things a bit different, and I get emails everyday thanking me for it.

Thanks again to Zac Johnson for this detailed little interview!