Interview: Murray Newlands

Murray Newlands is an online marketer, affiliate marketing blogger, and ebook author. Having only started his affiliate blog this year he has just been short listed as one of the Best Bloggers for the Pinnacle Awards Finalists at Affiliate Summit West 2010.

Tell us a little background info about yourself. How long have you been working in this industry?
My name is Murray Newlands and my marketing blog can be found at MurrayNewlands.com. I became a lawyer 15 years ago and soon realized that it was not for me. I was dating a graphic designer and the time and we setup a design business which included website development, and well someone had to learn how to do website development, things have just kind of gone from there. I started working affiliate marketing a long time ago.

What accomplishments so far are you the most pleased with?
The thing I like best is that I work in an industry with people I now know as friends. Yes you have to be good at what you do and to know how to run a business to make money but long term you will succeed by building connections with other people in the industry. Traffic driving trends and campaigns come and go it is the people that you work with that keep you at the edge. The people you work with are also what makes it fun and keeps you sane.

When did you first realize the full potential in affiliate marketing? When
did you first "hit the big time?"
When I went to Adtech Chicago, my first Adtech and my first international show. Seeing the Global size of the industry and the money people were making doing it. I also had a great time.

What have been your biggest failures and frustrations?
I have worked with some great people others have turned out to be crooks most of who could develop good businesses if they stopped trying to rip people off. The double frustration is my lost of time / money and the fact that those idiots do not understand the possibilities that lay ahead if they work positively.

What is the single toughest problem you've had to face, and how did you get through it?
Affiliate Marketing is a people business, you make money finding the best offers and the best payouts you learn that from people. Knowing who to trust is the biggest challenge, you get that through working with people.

Is there anything that you don't like to do, that you just hate working on?
I hate admin, I am working on it but I am not the world's most organized person, tax returns and invoicing are not my favorite activities.

What's the best advice you could give to someone starting out in Internet marketing? Any pro tips you feel like disclosing?
It you want to play the piano you get a piano teacher. If you want to blog get a teacher / coach / consultant. If you want to do PPC get some help. Yes you can read books but get some help from someone who knows what they are doing. Get to know and work with others who can help and support you. You may be thinking this sounds a little smug but I only learned it late and it really is that makes the difference.

What is the future of marketing?
Social Media but not as we know it. Everyone is piling in, whether it is Facebook ads, sponsored tweets, blogging or email with refer a friend. Large brands are trying to get to grips with how they market to consumer, what is said about them and how to communicate. Where affiliates fit in all this we shall see.

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?
Diet products and health products are taking a bashing being banned from lots of social media and the FTC cracking down on recommendations. There is a huge demand from product suppliers, finding innovative ways to work with that arena is a great opportunity.

You also now do blog outreach?
Yes, I'm now doing blog outreach for a number of clients. One of them is a Urbanstone.co.uk, a shopping deals site featuring products such as freezers. They want more buzz about their site as well as line development. I did not even know what blogging outreach was when I started in this but it is something that has grown out of my success in blogging. I think as a marketer, diversification is a strength and I am looking to extend this in 2010.

What are your greatest strengths?
I love innovating and developing new ideas with other people.

What are your greatest weaknesses?
Probably lack of organization.

What is the best advice you've been given and try to apply to your life?
Keep going and believe in yourself.

What are some of your long-term goals? How much is enough? If money was no object, what would you be doing?
Money is not enough I want the world. I want to get married and have kids. Settle in a little house in the country by a beach.

What are your typical hours like? When do you just chill back? Do you have a usual day off?
I usually getup at 8 am and often work till midnight. Having said that I do take time out in the day and step away from my computer.

How do you like to spend your free time? What doe work-life balance mean to you?
I like to travel and go to lots of affiliate marketing, blogging and social media events. I am lucky I have met lots of great friends through work all over the world and I get to meet them when I travel. I like people and meeting people so I get involved in local events and meet up groups.

If you could go back to being 18, what different career choices would you make?
When I was 18 I started studying law and became a lawyer, I did not really know what I was getting into and wished I have been able to get more of an inside into the world of work when I was at an earlier age. I would have been able to spend more time doing the things I like.

If your Kindergarten teacher saw you now, what would surprise him/her about how you turned out?
Well I am becoming known as a blogger, my English teacher would have been very surprised by my success as a writer.

What is your greatest achievement outside of work? What are some of your unfulfilled dreams?
Just to help more people.