Interview: Logan Thompson
Logan Thompson (www.loganthompson.me) is a full time affiliate marketer and entrepreneur. He worked as a web designer starting in 1999 and transitioned into affiliate marketing by firing his design clients in 2008 to pursue marketing, as well as buying and selling websites.
Tell us a little background info about yourself. Where are you from? How old are you? How long have you been working in this industry?
I grew up and currently live in Vancouver, WA which is a suburb of Portland, OR. I’ve lived here most of my life with the exception of college where I lived in a different part of the state, and then 2 years after college where I got married and moved to Denver. I’m 28 years old, have a beautiful wife and daughter who was just born April 3rd, 2010. I’ve been running affiliate offers since around 2001, and have been full time in the industry since 2008.
What accomplishments so far are you the most proud of?
Being able to work when I want and not have to worry about money. Debt is all paid off.
How did you come to learn about this industry? Why did you choose this career? When did you first realize the full potential in affiliate marketing? When did you first “hit the big time?”
I started building sites in high school around 96-97 or so. For awhile I was just doing it for fun and came across LinkShare and threw up a banner on a website I was running about the inconsistencies in the show Saved By The Bell. They sent me my first check for 72 cents in 2001 and I was hooked since then. It wasn’t until 2008 when I “hit the big time” and was able to fire my web design clients and focus completely on affiliate marketing. I fell in love with the industry and love the affiliate game. It feels more like playing all day instead of work. That’s what a career should be.
What do you think it takes to be successful as an affiliate?
A willingness to try and not give up. So many people give up after their first few failures, and that’s what separates those who succeed. I’ve failed on so many campaigns and projects and lost lots of money, but that is what taught me how to be successful. Not every campaign is going to be a success, you just have to stick with it and keep trying new things.
What have been your biggest failures and frustrations?
My biggest failure was putting so much time and effort into learning one traffic source so well. I know the ins and outs of Google AdWords, and was really successful at it. 80% of my business was built around it and then I got slapped. I fixed things and was super strict on what I advertised with them to make sure I was in compliance. A few days after my daughter was born I went to check on my stats and they banned my account without notice. Overnight 80% of my income stopped, and with a new daughter taking up a lot of my time, I was extremely frustrated. I put too many eggs in the Google basket.
What is the single toughest problem you’ve had to face, and how did you get through it?
Getting banned by Google Adwords. First of all I have really focused on diversifying to new traffic sources I wasn’t utilizing before. I also had my wife setup an Adwords account and have put up a few new campaigns under that account.
Is there anything that you don’t like to do, that you just hate working on?
I hate doing my bookkeeping. I tend to wait until the last minute and really don’t like doing it. I also am not a huge fan of writing content, that’s why I pretty much outsource all of it now.
If it’s possible for you to share, are there any particular niches that you currently favor? Or that you aren’t necessarily in right now but that you would recommend?
I love finding smaller niches that don’t have a ton of competition, especially in health and beauty related niches. My suggestion is find a small health related niche and own it. Find a problem or health problem people have and become the expert at it.
What niche has worked best for you?
Health niches
Which methods of promotion do you favor?
PPC and Social
How have you made those promotion methods successful?
Through lots of trial and error. I try everything, even when others say it shouldn’t work. My best campaign is one that goes against all the rules of what most people in the industry say is how you should market on social media.
Do you think anything particular in your past prepared you for this industry? Your education? Jobs you’ve held before?
Well my bachelors degree is in business/marketing and my past jobs have all been web design or sales related. All of my past experience has definitely prepared me.
What are your greatest strengths?
My design and coding skills have been a great strength. I got started as a web designer and that has been great for building sites, landing pages, ads, and scripts needed as an affiliate.
What are your greatest weaknesses?
My design and coding skills are almost my biggest weakness. I am such a perfectionist when it comes to design that I spend hours tweaking things to make them perfect when most likely it doesn’t matter. I’ve tried outsourcing a lot of my design but I can never find someone that can do things the way I do, so I end up doing it myself.
What motivates you?
Helping people motivates me a lot. Seeing people succeed either in business or in their personal life gets me motivated. I love seeing positive permanent change in people because of something I’ve helped them with.
What is the best advice you’ve been given and try to apply to your life?
It is probably a quote from Jesus in Luke 12:15 when he says “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
You have to put money in perspective. When we die, it doesn’t matter how much we have but how much we have loved. I try to live my life with a focus on helping others instead of acquiring stuff.
Who has impacted you most in your career, and how?
I have had a ton of people influence me in this career in some way. There isn’t just one person that stands out, but one of the greatest things about this industry is there are tons of people around to help you. I’ve made a lot of great friends who I can go to when I have questions about anything related to this business that have helped me grow from a newbie to a successful affiliate.
What kinds of people do you have difficulties working with?
People that are completely money focused. To an extent it is ok, but when people care more about money than they do about you and others, I can’t stand it. For one I can’t trust them, and generally they are just annoying to be around because they view you as a tool instead of a friend.
If money was no object, what would you be doing?
I’d probably be travelling around the world, checking out different countries, visiting breweries, and helping people as best I could.
Where do you want to be ten years from now?
Honestly I want to own my own brewery. I love affiliate marketing, but my real love is craft beers and homebrewing. I don’t think I can spend the rest of my life sitting behind a computer when there is quality beer to be made.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I love to spend time with my wife and daughter as much as I can. Besides that I spend a ton of my time volunteering with middle school kids with my wife. On top of that I do enjoy spending my time playing on my drums or brewing some beer.
What does work-life balance mean to you?
I am not your typical money hungry affiliate that works 16 hour days. Although there may be a few days now and then I put in long hours, my family is way more important to me. I’m learning to work smarter and outsource as much as I can so I can enjoy life and the people I love.
If you could go back to being 18, what different career choices would you make?
I don’t think I would change much. The only thing I wish I could have changed was to get into the affiliate industry full time sooner than I did.
What is your greatest achievement outside of work?
By far it is becoming a dad. Not sure if that counts as an achievement, but it has completely changed my life. My daughter is only 2 months, but I am so incredibly proud to be her dad. I love to show her off.
What are some of your unfulfilled dreams?
Opening a brewery is one. The other is I want to run a marathon. I’ve been talking about it for years and have got injured every time I’ve started training.
