Interview: Sam Rusani

Sam was born and raised in Sweden, and moved to Los Angeles permanently in 2005 to expand his business on an international level. He co-founded his first company in 2001, and focused on creating pre-MySpace online entertainment portals, starting an online community that was “the fastest growing online community in Scandinavia” according to the press. During this time, he also developed a marketing/management company in the music business, which gave him the opportunity to go out as a tour manager with several bands, traveling both Europe and U.S. many times. He’s been doing online marketing since 1998, focusing on music in the beginning, but he has become a popular consultant and speaker since expanding outside of the entertainment business.

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 was born in Sweden, and I moved to Los Angeles permanently about 6 years ago. I started using the web to market music artists, and got involved in developing and marketing social media platforms in the late 90’s, when all this was new.

What accomplishments so far are you the most proud of?
I’m glad I am where I am, and that I didn’t listen to all the negative comments I got from people, about how I was wrong (in the 90’s) when I said the internet was going to be THE next big thing, and that I focused on online marketing efforts from that early point. Never listen to people who aren’t successful.

Also, building and developing one of the fastest growing online communities, and this was before MySpace and Facebook. Unfortunately, since it was in Swedish, we didn’t get it to any international level, and I eventually sold it.

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 stumbled upon it when I was working with promoting both my own band and other artists in the 90’s, and then I started with affiliate/online marketing in 2001. My focus was on music, so I’d say I went more “hardcore” affiliate marketing in maybe 2004-2005, expanding into other verticals.

I realized the full potential early, because I put the bands I was managing on MySpace in the early stages, and I could negotiate some ridiculous deals for unsigned bands because they were so successful on MySpace. I also built websites for them, so when companies, labels and people visited them, it looked like the band was the next big thing, even if they were just some shitty little garage band. Marketing and sales is about presentation, you have to make it look good.

I think I hit a good “big time” when I started learning how to outsource, delegate, and automate, because that gave me time to focus on being out on the field and bringing in larger clients, and consulting. Automated revenue streams and consulting is a great combination! I love the people interaction part, I love presenting and pitching, and I love the freedom of choosing when you want to get up, when the day starts or when it’s over etc. I can choose who and what I want to work with, and nobody is breathing over my neck.

What do you think it takes to be successful as an affiliate?
Persistence, the ability to learn from your mistakes (and you will make many), the right mindset, and hard work. You must have self discipline; this career is definitely not for everyone. I also think that it’s important to learn how to be social and how to sell person to person, because that’s how you set up strategic partnerships and get great connections. Buy a suit, get out there and network, get to know people who have lists, websites, blogs, massive Facebook accounts, whatever… It’s a lot easier calling a high profile person if you had drinks last night, than just a regular cold call.

What have been your biggest failures and frustrations?
I have failed so many times, I can’t even remember which the biggest ones were, and I’m sure I’ll fail many more times in the future. Talk to any successful person, and they’ll tell you that they’ve failed tons of times. I think the ability to see “failure” as a learning experience instead of a “failure” is a must when you work with marketing and sales. Let it motivate you to get better instead of giving up. I always think “well, now I know what DOESN’T work” when I fail. On to the next method!

The biggest frustration was probably in the beginning, when I was testing tons of platforms and campaigns at the same time, and just losing tons of money. Learn how to focus and make one thing work, and then scale and add more.

What is the single toughest problem you’ve had to face, and how did you get through it?
Fear… of failing, of losing money, of letting go (stop micromanaging)… I go to seminars and read books on self development and positive thinking, and that has helped me a lot. And then just doing it is probably what has helped the most. Put the keywords in there, put the budget in there, and press go!

Also, self discipline. I hate getting up early, and I don’t really have to, but it’s important to get the day started. It’s so easy to become lazy when you work as an affiliate marketer. I get up in the morning, shower, shave, and put on business clothes, even if I don’t have any meetings, because it gets me in the right mindset. A lot of people can’t handle the freedom, they play video games all day instead, and then they wonder why their campaigns aren’t making money.

Is there anything that you don’t like to do, that you just hate working on?
Absolutely, so I don’t do those things any more. I hate building websites, so I always outsource that. I hate whiny clients, so I always screen and pre-approve. I don’t work with anyone; there is an interview process, because I want to make sure that you have the budget, and that you will stay committed. As far as affiliate marketing goes, again, I hate building websites, and I’m not a big fan of link building, so I outsource that as well. In fact, I outsource all grunt work, because I don’t like doing it, haha.

What is the future of marketing?
If I knew, I’d put all my money right there, but I’ll take a guess at online and mobile platforms. In 2011, we’re going to see lots of marketing for the iPad, much more mobile marketing, and even more social media integration. I still believe in traditional marketing – but only as a part of the online strategy, not really by its own (for most affiliate marketing efforts, that is). The economy is turning, the numbers are up, there will be a lot more money spent on advertising in 2011.

I think that what affiliate marketers and online marketers consider the “now”, still is the future for many companies. I can’t tell you how many clients I consult that have no idea how Google Adwords work, or what SEO really is. They still think that as long as they have a website, they’ll sell millions of products. You’d be surprised to hear about some pretty big companies that have absolutely no clue about how to approach the online market. Most “offline” companies want to go online, they just don’t know how, and it’s our job to take them there.

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?
There are certain niches that always have, and always will make money, such as health, beauty, gambling, porn and “how to make money”. I run lots of campaigns in the health and beauty verticals, and also some in technology related areas. As for consulting and offline clients, I guess the “learn how to make more money/increase sales”-niche has been working very well. I haven’t dabbled in porn or gambling, as I think they wouldn’t be a great choice of niches because of my current clients and reputation, but I have several friends who run sites in those niches and they are banking.

Me and Brian Evans (from DailyConversions.com) are in early stage of developing a massive online education portal, so I’m really excited about that.

What niche has worked best for you?
Health, no doubt about that. People will always want to be thin, have white teeth, build muscles, eat healthy etc. But, aside from affiliate marketing, I’d say that consulting clients has done very well, because then you work straight with the source, there is no middle man (read CPA network). A marketing package with social media marketing, SEO, commission, and an upgraded website can easily bring in 5 digit numbers per month that can be outsourced for cheap.

Which methods of promotion do you favor?
Depends on what I’m doing. I’ve done a lot of PPC and media buying, some CPV, and lots of SEO. Lately, I’ve been doing more cross platform marketing, integrating SEO with social media platforms. I like having customers return, so I usually don’t do the whole “click, buy and forget” thing. I have them sign up for newsletters, “like” a Facebook page, become members of a group etc, and then I feed them useful information in between the sales pitches. I suggest you read up on “Permission Marketing” by Seth Godin.

How have you made those promotion methods successful?
By failing, losing tons of money, collecting data, and studying lots of books/courses on the subject.

What have you been up to recently? What projects are you working on?
I’ve been doing more consulting, and me and Brian Evans have been doing seminars, which we plan on continuing to do around the country in 2011. We’re also looking into some larger projects in the 5+ million dollar range, and dealing with investors to see if we can make them happen. I’m also in the process of writing a book, a “real” one, not one of those e-books, and it’s in the marketing/sales psychology niche. It probably won’t be done for another 6-12 months, but why not throw in a shameless plug here?

What problems have you had with those new projects?
I don’t feel that I’ve run into any problems with them yet, it’s always a longer process when there are larger sums of money at stake, especially in this economy. I’m sure we’ll run into tons of problems down the road, but nothing we can’t solve. I never focus on the problems, I focus on the solutions!

Do you think anything particular in your past prepared you for this industry? Your education? Jobs you’ve held before?
Yes, I think boring, monotone jobs inspired me a lot. Like most other people, I worked some shitty jobs during summer breaks when I was in school, and after that I just made a decision that I never ever wanted to do that when I grew up.

I also read tons and tons of books on marketing, sales, sales psychology, body language, and NLP, and that has helped me more than any college education. I know it’s a cliché, but if you want to be successful, I highly suggest you read the classic marketing/sales/personal motivation books out there. Don’t agree with everything that they say, just pick out the stuff that clicks with you, and become your own master. Check out names like Napoleon Hill, Stephen R. Covey, Anthony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Dan Kennedy and a bunch more.

What are your greatest strengths?
I’m a visionary. I see a big picture with everything, and I have tons and tons of ideas. The inspirational flow almost drowns me at times. Being a social person.

What are your greatest weaknesses?
Probably time management and focus. It’s easy to get carried away when you have a burning desire to do so many things. Also, I can’t drink coffee.

What motivates you?
Money, freedom, and being able to contribute to the community and to people and animals in need (I frequently donate money to different organizations), meeting cool, successful and smart people and the fact that I think it’s fun.

What is the best advice you’ve been given and try to apply to your life?
I can think of a lot of things, but some would be “Failing to plan, is planning to fail,” and “If you want to fly with the eagles, don’t sit with the turkeys.” Always have a plan with everything you do in business, and don’t listen to the “turkeys” and their opinions. Seek out and surround yourself with positive and successful people, and you’ll see stuff happening. I’m a sucker for quotes, but the last one would be “Be the shepherd, not the sheep.” Don’t follow everyone else, have them follow you. Oh, and don’t forget to give back.

What kinds of people do you have difficulties working with? Any good stories?
Oh god, I could write book or two for this question. Through the years, and especially in the entertainment business, I’ve met a lot of…let’s call them “interesting” people. But also just the average negative Joe that’d rather eat burgers and smoke weed while watching some stupid reality show on TV and complain about how there are no opportunities out there and about how life is so hard. I just can’t stand that.

What are some of your long-term goals? How much is enough? If money was no object, what would you be doing?
Like I said above, we’re trying to get some larger projects going, and that’s what I would like to see happening. If we can manage to start a few companies with a couple of million dollars, build them and sell them for high double or triple digit millions of dollars in 5-10 years, I’d be more than happy. I’d probably just spend the rest of my days drinking wine on my own vineyard somewhere in Tuscany.

Where do you want to be ten years from now?
In Tuscany, drinking wine. If not, I’d love to have a diverse portfolio of company investments, and have a finger in lots of cool startups. I don’t really see myself focusing on affiliate marketing per se, I get bored easily. I’d rather have my own network than running the offers.

What is your greatest achievement outside of work? What are some of your unfulfilled dreams?
I’ve done a lot of charity work, travelled to extremely poor places and seen what that side of the world is like. It gives you a whole different perspective on life, and it makes you appreciate what you have a lot more. I’m past the “life is about having a fast car and owning the most stuff.” I’ve had a couple of nice cars, and the fact is that they didn’t make me or my surroundings any happier. I mean, don’t get me wrong, always take care of your own needs first, and there is nothing wrong with owning a nice car or gadgets, but you have to think about others as well.

Do you have a Twitter account or Facebook “Like” page?
No, I don’t. I’ve been too busy promoting offers and my clients. I’ll probably have something soon, as I’ve been working on a concept for a blog (it won’t be promoting IM stuff, though, it’ll be more personal development, and sales/marketing and behavioral psychology). I’m not in the whole IM game, and I’m not interested to be in it either. I’ll let you, Shoemoney, Nickycakes and company take care of that, haha.