Insider insights: Aloha's journey to affiliate marketing success

Q: Hi Aloha! Can you introduce yourself with your real name?

A: Sure, you can call me Rafał.

Q: Tell us something about yourself. What do you do in life?

A: My name is Rafał, I'm 24 years old. I've primarily worked in various call centers or customer service offices, which allowed me to develop in the sales industry. It also allowed me to understand the psychology of marketing, customer approach, and many other aspects, which now also translates into a better understanding of affiliate marketing.

Q: Why did you decide on affiliate marketing? When did it all start? How old were you?

A: First of all, I went for it because of the many possibilities in terms of advertising and the freedom to choose campaigns. At MyLead, for example, there are about 5000 campaigns available, which gives a lot of opportunities to choose the industry we want to promote. As for the beginning, when I was 14 years old, I was already interested in creating websites. While my peers were playing computer games, I was creating websites, reading books, or guides. And then, at the age of 15/16, I started earning on MyLead. I registered there in 2015 and with the help of my mentor Wojo, I started gaining my first leads, for which I really want to thank him because it got me to where I am now.

Q: What was the biggest challenge at the beginning of your affiliate marketing journey?

A: Primarily, it was dealing with competition. In this industry, we have to deal with a lot of people working in it, so various profile submissions on social media or website submissions are already standard. You just have to prepare for it, arm yourself, primarily with patience. Also, you have to reach the customer. 

I often see new people who start with affiliate marketing spamming in the comments, writing to their friends to register. But that's not the way because you have to create such an ad so that the customer, right from the start when they see the ad, is determined to buy or use the service.

Q: Did competition in the industry motivate you, or did it seem daunting?

A: Competition certainly needs to be prepared for. It exists in every industry, in every environment, to a greater or lesser extent. Yes, it won't interfere so much with what we do. However, in affiliate marketing, this competition is very much needed. A large number of publishers are needed because companies will then decide to use affiliate marketing. Thanks to this, we gain advertisers. 

You can already see how big companies, and even banks or loan companies, decide to focus on affiliate marketing. They give up using social media marketing companies, don't invest money in advertising since publishers can do it for them. Then they get one invoice, for which they pay for the final customer received, who used the service or product. And they are happy because they don't have to pay various companies, scale ads, so competition is definitely needed and it affects the fact that we have a lot of offers to promote. Thanks to that we have higher rates, so it's definitely a plus.

Q: Did you receive support from mentors or the affiliate community?

A: Yeah, at the beginning, I was getting help from mentor Wojo. That was around 2016/17. I was using the premium payment program back then. But then there was a break because those premium payment programs started getting really popular. The earnings dropped in 2017. That's when I took up a full-time job. But in 2021, I remember my wife mentioning to me that I used to earn with MyLead, but now things are tougher for us because we were struggling with mortgage payments, rent, and the money just wasn't enough. We were left with just a few hundred złotys for living expenses. So, I checked and found this guy named mentor Czaq. I reached out to him, asked him how things were now, because I used to earn with Wojo and I wanted to get back to earning online. He described everything to me, showed me how it worked. And thanks to that, I started earning with him. That's been going on until now. 

I've already quit my job because I'm actually earning triple of what I used to earn then. I've integrated with the mentoring community, especially with mentor Czaq, and I also received support on the MyLead Discord and even from MyLead support. And currently, with my plans for the future, I'm developing mentoring.net.pl with mentor Czaq. In the future, I might say more. I don't want to comment on that right now because we're still working on it. But getting back to your question - mainly, mentor Czaq has helped me a lot since 2022, and thanks to him, I can now earn as much as I do.

Q: Can you share your initial earnings on MyLead?

A: Those were the premium payment programs back in those days. They're not available anymore. As for earnings... Well, for someone who was 16 years old back then, let's be honest, the earnings were around 200, sometimes 300 złotys per day. There were breaks, of course. I don't remember what the minimum wage was back in 2016, but it was around 2000 złotys, maybe less. So, I was earning somewhere around 2,500 złotys. My payouts were around 3000 złotys, so it was really quite a lot.

Q: How did you balance affiliate marketing with school when you were younger?

A: Yes, I was still in school back then. That was the transition period, probably from middle school to IT technical school, which I finished a long time ago. The IT technical school... mainly in technical classes, we focused on computers, building computers, so it all connected somehow because I was creating websites, dealing with online positioning, or internet marketing. Meanwhile, since it was an IT technical school, they allowed us to, for example, do homework in Word and send it to teachers via email, so it all really easily connected, especially in the case of an IT technical school. 

As for middle school, mainly I'd come back home. First, I'd focus on studying, then when I had free time, I'd sit down and work on MyLead. I was the type of person who gave up playing computer games. I was also more of a reserved person back then, so I gave up on hanging out with friends, for example, and dedicated myself to earning online. I don't regret that now because I have friends. I can really spend quality time with them, and the earnings are really substantial, so I'm happy with where I am.

Q: What did your daily routine look like then, and how does it compare to now?

A: Back then, when I was still a student, I lived with my grandmother. I had classes at seven or eight. School was ten minutes away, but I had to get up and be ready by five. I got up at five in the morning, went to get the bread, and some additional things like cheese for sandwiches, etc. I had breakfast, got ready, and was basically set for school. I had an extra hour for preparation and free time, so that's when I checked my earnings for the day. I prepared some light promotions, for example, paid ads, which I didn't invest much in because I was 16 or 17, so it was like 20-40 złotys a day for ad expenses. But I scaled them, prepared them to run throughout the day, and went to school. I'd come back from school, focus on studying, do homework, etc. Then, I'd sit down at the computer, check how the ads were doing. I'd scale them further and also focus on organic traffic. 

As for my current routine, it's similar. I've gotten used to getting up at five in the morning. I get up at five, but now I live with my wife, I have a child, so I prepare breakfast for them. After I see them off - my wife to work, my child to school - I sit down at the computer and work on affiliate marketing full-time from eight to three. Alongside that, I help people on the mentoring Discord, so everyone can also count on my help if they need it. I scale the ads, but that's done on the fly. After three, I go pick up my child, come back home, and have lunch. Then, for another hour or two, I sit down at the computer, but it's more relaxed. I just check how everything's going. My wife comes back from work, and then, you know, we relax.

Q: Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise, right?

A: Exactly, exactly. I think there's a lot in it because I've gotten used to it and I really appreciate it. When I wake up early, I also have time for myself. People are asleep. It's five in the morning. I take my dog for a walk, for example. It's quiet, I can relax, take a breather, so I really like those mornings.

Q: Can you share your record earning, if you want to share?

A: Sure. It was during the early days of my collaboration with mentor Czaq. I remember when he informed me about the best niche then, because I told him what I used to do, what I'm capable of. He tailored the niche and the promotion method to me. And it went like this: I was still working a full-time job, albeit by the end of 2022, I reached out to him, it was around March, from what I remember. During that time, I earned 10,000 złotys in a single day. I remember my phone going crazy with notifications. I checked what was happening because I was waiting in line to see the doctor for my blood donation appointment. And I looked, and it was around 4000 złotys at that time. There was a huge surge in traffic for that program, and ultimately, it ended up being 10,000 złotys and around 300 złotys.

Q: What are your plans for this year?

A: As for this year - first and foremost, I'll continue with my affiliate marketing. Currently, I mainly rely on organic traffic or paid ads, which require 100% of my attention because if something goes wrong, say in a paid ad, I need to intervene immediately, so I really need to be on standby all the time. Many people earn from what we call autopilots in this industry. We have a website or blog that we position, and when it grabs the right positions in search engines, it allows us to earn a steady income. 

Actually, after that, without any intervention from our side, maybe just making a few links weekly, so that's what I mainly want to invest my time in currently, so that by 2025, I'll have a steady income from this autopilot. Apart from that, I want to focus on mentoring with mentor Czaq. But as I mentioned earlier, that's for the future because we're still discussing all the topics, and I hope something great will come out of it.

Q: Have you ever explored media buying in affiliate marketing?

A: My brother-in-law also started with MyLead and he was interested in this before. So I know that he watched a lot of people on YouTube who were involved in this at the beginning and explained how they started earning really large sums. He primarily told me about a person who started cooperating with various companies, signing contracts with them for promotion on social media, and managing their budget. 

Well, it's important to realize that when you work directly with an advertiser, they will expect something from you. This isn't the case with affiliate marketing. We have our publisher account, we choose a campaign, and then we promote it. If someone signs up, we get a lead. Of course, if we go directly with the offer from, for example, the advertiser, the profits may be higher, but there will also be commitments that not everyone likes to deal with. I think affiliate marketing is better in that regard because we don't have those commitments.

Q: One piece of advice for beginner publishers?

A: First of all, don't give up when you encounter an obstacle. That's what I did. Unfortunately, in 2018, when programs with increased premium payments stopped being so popular, I went back to a full-time job. I only returned in 2020, where if I hadn't done that and instead continued to focus on earning with the knowledge I had then, well, I could be making really large sums on that autopilot I mentioned earlier and probably wouldn't have lost four years working full-time. Did I lose? That's also a stretch because I wouldn't be where I am now if I hadn't gone through those things. 

What I'm trying to say is, don't give up, even if it seems that the sky is falling and everything is falling apart because there are people who are willing to help you. As I mentioned earlier, Wojo helped me at the beginning, and Czaq is helping me now. These are people who were once in your place, maybe they even gave up, and now they're earning a lot, so they want to help you. So don't give up because there are people who will help you.

Q: That's all. Thank you.

A: Thank you very much. I would also like to greet mentor Czaq, thanks to whom I started earning, as well as my wife Karolina, thanks to whom I returned to making money online and currently am where I am.

Aloha shares his inspiring journey into affiliate marketing. From starting at a young age to overcoming challenges and finding success, his story is a testament to the possibilities within the industry. With dedication and mentorship, Aloha has achieved significant earnings, demonstrating that with the right guidance, anyone can thrive in affiliate marketing. If you're looking to embark on your own journey to financial freedom, consider joining MyLead and tapping into a wealth of opportunities. Just like Aloha, you too can find success with the support of mentors and the diverse range of campaigns available on MyLead.