iAmAttila has been in the affiliate marketing industry since 2008; he owns several companies thus far. An experienced affiliate marketer from Hungary told us how the introduction of the Google algorithm forced him to leave copywriting for affiliate marketing, how his Russian friend proved that ugly banners sometimes perform better than banners with premium design, and what niches and offers allow him to earn up to $900 000 a month.
Thank you for agreeing to answer our questions. Let’s come straight to the point: Why iAmAtilla?
I was seeking a domain name for my blog, juggled with terms – internet-marketer Attila, affiliate-marketer Attila, then considered abbreviations, such as IMAttila, AMAttila, and then, it came to me in a flash: Internet Affiliate Marketer Attila — it’s "I Am Attila", this is just right about me.
How many people are there in your affiliate team?
14
What is your income now from affiliate marketing?
Amounts are always different due to bans and many other factors. Last year, the highest monthly income was $900 000.
What niche do you work more with now?
For the most part, we work with lead generation in the finance niche; specifically, we work with Media500, in the e-commerce sector (except dropshipping), products from the Nutra niche.
How do you generate leads for finance affiliate offers?
One of the common mistakes of marketers is that they launch a campaign, invest $50, and hope to make a fortune. As for us, we run our campaigns over and over again. We know well that not all of them will yield the results but winning odds are higher if you believe in the chosen strategy and continue working.
There is no secret; the matter is in how we promote our offers, for example in the dating niche:
Step 1. Work out a plan, create landings.
Step 2. Tune in campaigns, select traffic sources, then — pixels and tracker settings.
Step 3. Get approved, generate traffic, and analyze your data. Having received a specific data volume, you begin optimizing.
Step 4. Then just scale up the things that work well and re-launch campaigns until the offer is drained out.
How did you find powerful affiliate marketers?
Experienced marketers are always in front of their computers testing new directions, paving new ways, and discussing new trends and topics. I always keep in touch with them and try to keep up with everything in the fast-changing affiliate marketing space.
How did you first get into affiliate marketing? What attracted you?
I began working with advertising when Google just released the Hummingbird algorithm. SEO specialists of smaller caliber literally lost their jobs overnight. I had a copywriting company and we lost 80% of our business. I realized that I had to move on as I didn’t want to compete for some crumbs; thus, I shifted from free to paid traffic and focused on affiliate marketing.
When did this happen? How many years have you been in affiliate marketing?
I have been in the advertising industry since 2013. I’ve been engaged in affiliate marketing since 2008 (SEO — 2008-2012, advertising — since 2013 until now).
What difficulties did you face while entering affiliate marketing? What were the first offers and how much were you spending?
I didn’t understand why banners that seemed awesome to me didn’t convert. I worked with dating offers on TrafficJunky and ExoClick platforms, and Toine kept reminding me, "It’s all about banners, dude!" I thought, "What the hell! My banners are great!" I had no clues, but once my Russian friend demonstrated how well ugly banners can perform.
What were your first offers and how much did you spend?
Cleanmaster, DU Speed Booster, PSafe Antivirus. Iconic offers that existed at the great days of mobile install times.
In one of your interviews, you said that it is almost impossible to enter affiliate marketing with a few thousand dollars. Why?
Because now in 99% of cases it is very difficult to discover winning variants – you need free money you are not worried about losing. You see, you have to risk looking for a winning option that might bring in 6- or 7-digit numbers.
I do not sell "guru courses" so I can speak undisguised: affiliate marketing is very difficult, only 1% of marketers are the gainers. These are people with a certain competitive advantage. Most beginners lack it.
What are the most profitable niches now, based on your experience?
Usually, evergreen niches are the most lucrative, они всегда остаются, and if you focus on them, you can master one or two niches and learn how to get the maximum ROI.
What niches exactly?
Lead generation in finance, Nutra, and dating niches.
Can you bring examples of offers with the highest ROI?
The highest ROI we had on the finance offer for the Tier 3 GEO from Media500. Most affiliates are oriented on the English-speaking traffic and European countries Tier 1. I prefer working with GEOs that require localization and language adaptation (we use Transey.com for translation).
What creatives to use for the higher conversion?
Real people, true stories. Stories that people trust, not stories that people will comment on as “nonsense”. There should be a reaction: "Oh, my God! It’s sad, but I heard that it happens". In other words, stories that people can see themselves into.
What are your functions?
Not to sleep at night, expose yourself to stress, look for solutions to problems, always think a few steps ahead, and expect new bans and difficulties from algorithms. I anticipate and solve problems – this is exactly what I do.
What are your most memorable affiliate failures?
This is a story of highs and lows. There have been suicide cases in the industry, and there will be more. Depression is real.
It happens, you succeed to earn $10 000 in a single day, and then you lose by several thousand a day for several weeks or months in a row in an attempt to discover the next gold mine. Even more, your investors or partners expect you to literally print money but no matter how well you set up everything, all your efforts can go down the drain.
Then, something works well — for two months your efforts pay off, and then — again, you have to begin from scratch. It is always the same: first, you fly high, and then, you swoop down.
What are your traffic sources?
Push, Email, SMS, Facebook, and Google. Few native ads.
Besides affiliate marketing, you have other projects. Will you tell us about them?
I have a company, Banners&Landers, specialized in design and copywriting services. Besides, I have a translation agency Transey, the copywriting service Anglesaurus, and last year we launched our best project so far — www.iAmAffiliate.com.
Are there any new projects that you are currently working on?
I am good at writing guides and case studies. I am lucky that many companies, such as Media500, have chosen me as their marketing partner to help them distribute educational content about their offers. These materials help other marketers learn how step-by-step to launch offers that bring millions to some affiliates.
How can an ordinary marketer scale up? What would you advise?
It is all about the right choice of partners who would create alluring titles, right landings, and creatives to convert a specific traffic type. These should be forward-thinking people, working for the future and not chasing short-term gain. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
How to join your team?
Become my friend, prove your skills, and work on mutually beneficial terms. Here is how.
You work a lot and earn a lot. What do you spend your money on?
Lamborghinis. Just kidding. Unlike other marketers, I save around 80% of my earnings and wait for new opportunities. But I spare no expense on traveling and the time I spend with my family.
