Elijah, Author at The At Home Couple

5 Ways To Keep Her Happy

Most men know, whether young or old, that one of the most important elements to a healthy relationship is happiness. I’m a firm believer in the saying “behind every king is his queen” and as long as your queen is happy, you will thrive and your kingdom will flourish. Being raised predominantly by women I’ve grown to build a sense of security knowing that the women in my life are taken care of. We all know that if your wife or girlfriend is unhappy things can be hellish, so take some time out each day and make sure she knows how special she truly is.

For the last 4 years Veronica and I have faced some serious hurdles, and since moving in together a whole new set of obstacles have threatened our relationship at one time or another. What amazes me is that after all this time (which isn’t much compared to some) we are happier than ever, and continue to build our status towards being the ultimate power couple. If you haven’t the faintest idea of what I’m saying, and believe that the way to keep your woman happy is making sure she always has a sink full of dishes to come home to, please read the following points carefully. 🙂

Women love surprises – This does not mean you should scrape ends to buy her a new purse or the latest $160 LuLuLemon hoodie twice a month, but simply keep your eyes and ears open when you’re out together as she will constantly give little hints to what she wants, or needs. Coming home after work with a little surprise every now and then really helps to keep the smiles abundant.
Cook for her – If you’re incapable of a simple stir-fry or ricotta-stuffed manicotti, you better get learning! They say the way to a man’s heart is his stomach, well I believe that the way to a woman’s smile is Mexican food or any chocolate based dessert. If you cook for your woman on a regular basis she will boast and brag about you to all her girlfriends at the office, and your reputation will become impenetrable.
Do more than apologize – The last thing any women of character wants to hear is the you were right, I was wrong line. Let her know why you were wrong, and what you will do in the future to prevent the same occurrence from happening. She wants to feel secure knowing that you actually took the time to think about your actions and will make an effort to change for the better. If you’re apologizing for sleeping with the nanny you have an entirely different problem.
Get to know her friends – It took me a while to realize the importance of becoming acquainted with Veronica’s friends, but I’m glad that I did – some of them are now good friends of mine as well. Before I came galloping along on my white horse, reeking of scotch and cotton candy, her friends were the people who kept her happy. Spending time with her friends truly opened my eyes to a whole different side of her which I loved, and in turn making me want to spend time more time with them – killing two birds with one stone.
You can never give too many hugs and kisses – I know it sounds kind of corny, or obvious, but it’s true. When life sinks its fangs into your timetable it can be difficult to find the quality time to accomplish any of the points I listed above. In the extreme situation, not having the time or energy to be intimate can also put a serious damper on the happiness meter – this is where hugs and kisses are important. After being with someone for any substantial amount of time, people naturally become comfortable and take the small things for granted. This can turn a once beautiful partnership into a vile dance of bickering and frustration. Hugs and kisses on a regular basis – especially hugs – can really keep things somewhat balanced when the crap of life hits the fan, and you’ve run out of Mr. Clean Magic Wipes. :p

One of our goals before this year is over is to have both of us working online, and from home. If we are unable to keep each other happy, this goal will never be accomplished. Being a young couple in our late 20’s makes it that much more important to know what keeps us excited and laughing – for the many years to come.

Cheers,

Elijah

Commission Junction Deactivation

About a week and a half ago I received this wonderful email from my friends over at Commission Junction – saying a little something like this:

Dear Elijah Vieau,

You are receiving this email because we are concerned that your Commission Junction publisher account has not generated any valid commissions (from payable transactions) recently. We encourage you to begin earning commissions as quickly as possible. Otherwise, your publisher account is at risk of deactivation due to dormancy. Please see the Commission Junction Publisher Service Agreement for further explanation…

My first reaction was not very pleasing, but as I took a step back I realized that I’ve barely done anything with my Commission Junction account since I signed up several months back – aside from a few niche mini-blogs that I set up and left for Adsense income. My CJ account got lost in the shuffle of my other affiliate programs and CPA networks. I can’t let this happen again! They did clearly state in the email that if my account were to be deactivated I would have the opportunity to apply again when I’m “ready”. I think we all know what “ready” means.

What I would like to know is if anyone else has experienced this at one time, or another?

When I first discovered the truth behind affiliate marketing secrets, and the tools needed to succeed, I immediately went on a rampage and signed up for every major affiliate network on the planet – Commission Junction being one of the first. As time passed and mistakes were made (still being made), I began to narrow down the networks and primarily build sites around advertisers I liked. The problem with this scenario is that accounts become dormant and networks can’t afford to have inactive publishers laying around taking up room in their databases. Networks like Commission Junction or Neverblueads aquire advertisers strictly based on reputation and the performance quality of their publishers. If affiliates are unable to produce the results needed to meet the agreement between the network and their advertisers – then the network must trim the unproductive and focus in on their top affiliates to bring the heat back into the kitchen. This is sort of along the lines of Pareto’s Law – or the 80/20 rule as some refer to it as. I’ll get more into that at another time.

Sign up for one network at a time. Take time to test out the products, tracking, and payment structure before you move on and add another resource of products, user names, and passwords to your empire. The ability to manage multiple accounts and campaigns comes with experience, and until you are able to push out 4-5 campaigns in a single week you really shouldn’t be an active member with too many affiliate networks. Remember: slow and steady wins the race!

Cheers,

Elijah

Top 3 Affiliate Program Directories

When I first began my journey into the word of online business and affiliate marketing, I found it very challenging to decipher through all the crap online and actually find what I was looking for. Whether it was relevant information on building Adsense ready mini sites, or a real step-by-step guide to making money online with Clickbank products – I know how hard it can be to get the ball rolling. So I figured in the spirit of giving I would provide my top 3 affiliate program directories to help you guys cut down on the fat, and get right to the meat.

I cannot guarantee that the sites I’m about to list are 100 % up to date, but I can tell you that since January and I have found some great affiliate programs and information to help me with various campaigns.

AssociatePrograms.com – If you have not yet heard of Associate Programs and Allan Gardyne, please take 5 minutes to make yourself familiar with this site. Allan has been making a living online and from home since 1998 and continues to be a key figure in the world of internet marketing. Don’t believe me? Type his name in Google and you will get over 20,000 results! AssociatePrograms contains extensive information on everything related to affiliate marketing – Allan provides a Forum, Knowledgebase, Affiliate Program Directory, Affiliate Marketing Articles and an amazing Newsletter which I have been subscribed to for as long as I can remember. If you have never visited his site I would suggest starting with his Advice Articles section on the left side bar of the main page, where you can browse based on your level of experience.
AffiliateScout.com – The only reason I didn’t put AffiliateScout.com as the number 1 choice is simply because their database is so massive! When I was first starting out I could remember spending countless hours sifting through a single niche, let alone the entire directory. You will find programs separated by niche which will help manage time when researching for your latest money making project. But be warned, the site is gigantic! If you are not focused and merely wandering you will find that time has passed and the only conclusion you’ve reached is “Elijah was right”. Great site for the experienced marketer, but know what you are looking for ahead of time.
AffiliateGuide.com – This site is a tad flashy but nevertheless the directory is huge. You will find affiliate programs broken down by niche categories e.g. travel, auto, computers – as well as being categorized by country. Under the left side bar you is an Affiliate Resources section with a Forum, Merchant Resources, Affiliate Videos, and even an Affiliate Events section where you can keep up to date with conferences and gatherings amongst the elite in the affiliate marketing industry. The site manager, Graeme Eastman, has put everything you need at your fingertips.

So there you have it – my top 3 affiliate program directories. I’m sure every online guru or intermediate marketer will have different resources, but as long as I’ve saved you some time rather than Googling “Affiliate Program Directories” for 30 minutes aimlessly, then my job here is done. Feel free to share any resources you might have stumbled upon or any thoughts on the directories I have listed above. I’m still far from being a guru or able to quit my job, so it’s important to hear what my fellow inspired money makers are using. As long as we stick together, we will make it together.

Cheers,

Elijah

Relationship Compatibility Or Relationship Reassurance?

Call me old fashion, but I was never taught that they key to a successful relationship was a free relationship compatibility chart or quiz in Chatelaine Magazine. I was doing keyword research in Wordtracker for a possible niche site idea and stumbled upon some surprising information – people are constantly searching for reassurance on the compatibility of their relationships with others. The terms “Relationship Quizzes” and “Relationship Compatibility” are in the number 2 and 3 spots for most searches containing the word “Relationship”. In the 4 years that Veronica and I have been together I can recall one time where she made me sit down with her and do some quiz in a magazine – and it was all wrong! It scares me to think that there are people who actually look to these methods for confirmation on their spousal choices.

I know that a good majority of people (mainly women) consider these charts and quizzes to be nothing more than a time killer while at work, and that is fine, but whatever happen to feelings and trusting your intuition? If you were not meant to be in a particular relationship, wouldn’t you know by the way you feel inside? I guess it’s not that easy for some.

As humans we tend to sabotage good things by seeking out the bad. We subconsciously need to reassure the “I knew he wasn’t right for me” or the “I told you it wouldn’t work out” thoughts that are primarily caused by our own insecurities within. Maybe it isn’t that we don’t always trust our intuition and soul to guide us through – but more so that we don’t trust ourselves as individuals to make correct decisions.

As long as I keep finding things wrong with the relationships I’m, I will never have to become vulnerable and face the possible failure that could arise. Right? Wrong. Failure will catch up with you eventually and the more you try to avoid it by outsourcing intuition to chain letters, talk shows and love quizzes the harder you will fall when it finally does knock at your door. Trust your soul, your family, and your closest friends to be the judge of whether John Doe is right for you or not – because the only person that can fool your soul is you, and the only way to accomplish that is by not listening!

Cheers,

Elijah

Teaching A Crackhead Affiliate Marketing

Teaching A Crackhead Affiliate Marketing I know you’re probably thinking “what the f*** kind of heading is that?”, but bare with me for a few minutes here. I was laying in bed last night (more like 5 a.m. this morning) pondering on different topics to write about that would make my future readers think, have a few laughs, and walk away with some useful content, and then it hit me – what if I took a crackhead off the streets of downtown Toronto and gave them some kind of incentive (food and crack) to work towards while incorporating an affiliate campaign into the mix?

It’s practically genius, I know.

After several side-splitting scenarios played back in my head, I finally managed to calm down and focus in on what would be an absolute eye opener to anyone brave enough to stop by or bookmark this post. Think of it this way – a crackhead is desperate, driven, and ruthless when it comes to getting their fix. Crackheads will do anything necessary to reach their end goal; a big, smoking hot rock of crack-cocaine. In my experience, crackheads can be very persuasive and often resort to selling their story to the passer-by’s in order to obtain loose change or cigarettes. They are the salesmen of the streets! I can’t count the amount of times I’ve heard hey man, I just got robbed by two cops and they took my bus fare. Can you spare some change? I really need to get back to the Neverland Ranch because Bubbles needs his medication, and Michael specifically sent me to retrieve it. Can you help me out?

If I took 3-5 crackheads off the streets and set them up with a desk and a laptop computer and told them whoever got the most traffic and clicks to these particular links would get a hot meal, a shower, and 50 percent of the combined earnings, what do you think would happen? I would have a kick ass campaign going! Why? Because their ultimate objective would probably be the cash – because cash equals crack. If it’s been a few days since the last time they smoked up they’d be fairly desperate to get a hot pipe to their lips, and this would be the perfect time for me to step in with a solution. Pretty twisted right? But I’m sure you are getting my point.

Most people who enter the world of affiliate marketing have nothing to loose. They are fed up with the nine to five, or have lost their day job and hit rock bottom – like myself a 6 months back. They are scared but determined to find a better life for themselves and their loved ones, by any means necessary. A common crackhead shares these feelings as well. They have lost everything and therefor have nothing to lose. They are determined to find a better high for themselves, which in a completely delusional manner will solve all their problems. If you knew there was a way out, whether a business opportunity or drugs, wouldn’t you do whatever it took to make it happen?

Very few people who enter the world of affiliate marketing break the $1000/month threshold. Is it because they don’t have what it takes? Or simply that they aren’t desperate enough, and expect things to happen with little or no effort. Whatever the case may be, I would suggest taking the time to evaluate what your goals are before you get started. Buy a whiteboard and start to lay down your game plan ahead of time. Whenever you have an idea, write it down and don’t be afraid to follow through.

To be successful at anything in life you have to know why you’re doing it, and what you expect to get out of the experience. There must be some form of inspiration behind your actions in order for results to be produced. If you lost your job today, the job that you absolutely despise, what path would you take?

You could immediately take a position at a competitor and resume your 50 hour workweek down the path of insecurity and denial.
You could completely give up, and go head first into self destruction and despair – sharing a dumpster with your local crackhead.
Or you could begin your new life. Take the leap with confidence knowing that no matter what happens, it could be worse. Make a list of things that make you happy, and do whatever it takes accomplish every point on that list. Do things which excite you and don’t ask for permission, because it is much easier to ask for forgiveness later.

Please understand that my topic or post was not meant in anyway to glorify the use of hard drugs. I’m sure we all know somebody who has fallen down that hole, and may or may not have reached the surface. I simply wanted to make a point regarding the level of desperation we reach as humans, and if we are focused enough we CAN accomplish anything we put our minds to.

If I did have crackheads for employees though, I would name my company CrackWeb LLC. 🙂

Cheers,

Elijah

Internet Marketing And Magic Buttons

I really hate to be the one to break it to you – there is absolutely no magic button, or secret system that will make you rich overnight on the internet. None. Zero. Zip. There, I said it. I know a lot of newcomers are probably thinking “well then how come there are all these guru’s claiming to have discovered the answer to all of my problems?” Because that is how they make their money. 🙂

It took me several months to sift through the hype and focus in on the actual core values and elements involved with starting an online business. This may seem shocking, but the truth of the matter is that starting a business on the internet is no different from growing as an entrepreneur in the real world. There are specific “tools of the trade” required to become an online success and the best part of all is that the initial investment, compared to the real world, is very minimal. If you are looking to get cracking immediately, feel free to use the list below as a starting point to building your collection of magic buttons:

Web Hosting and Domain Name – No matter what any guru tells you, it is essential to learn the ropes and become familiar with using an FTP as well as configuring domain re-directs, at the very least. It is very possible to produced income without owning a domain or having a web host package, but you will be skipping a very important developmental stage in your e-business career. Learning the ropes from the ground up will ensure you have a strong foundation for the future.
Autoresponder – “The money is in the list”. I know this for a fact but from a different end of the spectrum. Being in music production and artist development over the last 8 years, when it comes time to promote a new album, upcoming shows, contests etc.. the first thing I would do is send a blast out to my mailing list. Having a program like Aweber or GetResponse will give you the ability to manager subscribers, tweak the opt-in process, seperate your contacts and leads into groups, and even set up autoresponders for different purposes i.e. you have one autoresponder set up to send thanks and confirmation for your vinyl records niche site subscription, and a second set up to blast out your weekly 5 part e-course to the list of subscribers from your real estate niche site. This is one of the TRUE secrets for real. Not much of a secret now, is it?
Content Management System – Whether you are able to design your own websites or not, you still need a CMS or sitebuilder program of some sort to help you compile your sites, and make sure they are optimized for the search engines and floods of traffic from Mr. Guru’s Affiliate Flood Tactics $97 e-book that you just purchased. Personally, when I first started with internet marketing and affiliate networks I went with the Build A Niche Store script. If you are semi-computer saavy, and have the time to properly research your niche and make each and every category and sub-category unique using your keyphrases and meta information, the BANs script is a great place to start. I have also been hearing some funky fresh things about X-Site Pro. At first glance it looks very powerful and versatile. If you know a little bit of HTML and CSS, then you can’t go wrong with WordPress as your CMS. It is what we use for this site, and the learning curve is not bad at all!

So there you have it. After searching long and hard for these buttons and switches you keep hearing about on Jimmy Cracks affiliate marketing blog, I’ve saved you some time and given you a head start. Nothing will ever be free. No matter what anybody says you have to put in money to make money. If this was the real world you would be looking at an initial investment of around $25,000-$30,000 to get a business started. To start making money on the internet, you need about $200-$500. Since most products like web hosting or autoresponder services provide a price plan for an entire year, your only expenses after the intial drop is grabbing domain names for your campaigns. If you google “godaddy coupons” you will find tons of promo codes that will get you domains for dirt cheap – never pay full price if you don’t have to!

Let me know what you guys think, and good luck to those of you just getting started.

Cheers,

Elijah