When I think of how I got started in Internet Marketing or Affiliate Marketing I have to go back in time about 35 to 40 years. To the time when I got my first "real" job in a clothing store. The store was called "The Model" and I was the youngest salesperson there. This was the time and place that I learned that it didn't matter what my judgment was, this is good or bad, but that my opinion was important. In marketing and especially Affiliate marketing it is up to the customer to determine if it is good or bad (make a judgment) but it is up to me to offer as unbiased opinion as possible. There were many times working at "The Model" that my judgment said that this is the most horrible outfit I could possibly imagine, it was bad period. I determined that no one should buy the outfit and I would not recommend it. As you can imagine some items ended up on the sale rack unnecessarily and over time the owner learned what I was doing. Don't get me wrong I was the top seller and that surprised the owner but she had to give me my first lesson in marketing: Find out what the customer needs or wants. I suppose that at that time I was young enough to think I knew it all. I know now that I do not.
As I moved on in life I became a model. During this phase in my life I learned lesson number two about Internet and Affiliate marketing: Listen to the customer. As a model everyday I was told what to wear and how to wear it. I had to deliver an emotion on command and capture an idea from the art director, the photographer and the client. Of course these ideas rarely agreed. If I had the guts to state my opinion I would be sent to the metaphorical dunce chair and never booked by the client again. I simply didn't know that ethereal, out of this world and innocent were synonyms or in Internet and Affiliate marketing terms keywords.
Also, during this time of my life I sent myself to finishing school. Yes the place where you learn how to sit, walk, talk, eat, dress, introduce yourself and many other helpful social skills. I knew I was unlearned or raw and that if I didn't do something about it I would never achieve most of my career goals in life. This is were I learned Internet and Affiliate marketing lesson number three: Be kind and considerate to your customers, treat them well. When I started finishing school, as I said, I was raw. I had good intentions and truly desired to be polite and kind. To feel comfortable around important people and to know when it was OK to put yourself forward. I grew up in a poor family and we were not able to afford extra "lessons". I thought that because I was poor and uneducated that I was less important. Throughout my time in finishing school the knowledge that a truly skilled, socially adept person was not always in the front of the camera was driven home. I have become comfortable with being the first to introduce myself, with sending thank you notes and volunteering what is new in my life. In Internet and Affiliate marketing this comfort level leads you to use email campaigns successfully.
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