Interview: Yousif Yalda (Profit Kings Media)

Yousif Yalda is a full-time affiliate marketer and CPA network owner. He's been an independent affiliate for over a year and has funded Profit Kings Media; an affiliate network that has been gaining lots of speed!

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 am 19 years old and living in Chicago, Illinois. I've been adapting to the internet advertising game for almost 2 years now.

What accomplishments so far are you the most proud of?
Being able to run a successful business as a network and as an affiliate marketer. School was never for me and I'm glad I made things work w/out college. College isn't a necessity at all in this business, but it's nice to break away from the bullshit they teach you and still be ahead.

What do you think more affiliates need to understand about the network side of things?
Loyalty brings forth royalty. Too many affiliates run all over the place to about 10 different networks. I suggest building a relationship w/ about 3-5 networks and get some history going so you can establish trust together. Don't run network to network just for a better payout, because at times when payment problems arise (advertisers charging back on legit traffic) you are better protected if you have some strong activity in your account and by keeping communication open w/ the network you work with. In this case, I would cover the affiliate 100% and take the hit. Reputation is everything in this business and you need to make things right.

What do you think it takes to be successful as an affiliate?
It's a mix of attitude and knowledge. If you are sure about a winning campaign or ad network, be confident about dominating your spot and don't bite other styles of adcopy or landing pages. This kind of thinking helps spark innovation into your work ethic. The best form of knowledge is experience. Stay persistent and focus. Don't jump from multiple niches and traffic sources. That's the fastest way to burn your money. Pick 1-2 niches and make them work. You will have more time to dedicate into perfecting your verticals.

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'm the king of dating, to say the least. My most favorite type of offers to work with are lead generation. I rock both gaming and dating a lot on social network traffic and banner buys. Both of these niches are long term. There will always be lonely men and women looking to mate, and you can bet gaming is no phase that will pass. I like working with volume, and these verticals help provide the demand (audience) and the diversification of running internationally to other countries. There is dirt cheap traffic out there with huge ROI to be had.

What niche has worked best for you?
I've had moderate success in all of the popular verticals (Gaming, Dating, EDU, Mobile, Health/Beauty, and Financial). I enjoy working with lead-generation type offers because of variety. I also recommend it to advanced beginners. With rebills, you have to have a decent cashflow becuase since these types of deals are frowned upon, you are restricted to buy from most traffic sources. Running these through search PPC (Bing, Yahoo, Google, MSN) and Facebook Ads will get you banned. You have less options now and it takes no creativity to push. Usually "flogs" or "farticles" landing pages work and you can combo sell as Step 2 and 3 or sling solo. Your alternatives are to run on media buying ad networks, eMailing, or contextual pop up ads. In addition, I know a lot of guys who've made a fortune in the good ole' Acai days, to say the least - but now are struggling to stay in the game because they couldn't diversify outside of rebills.

Which methods of promotion do you favor?
I love self-serve ad networks on social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Plenty of Fish. I also do direct site media buys and as of recently been finding profitability with CPV traffic.

What are your greatest strengths?
Probably my technical background. It's a great advantage to be able to design your own banners, landing pages, install scripts, and get things done on the spot without too much outsourcing. Being on the Internet for long hours and many years has taught me to pick up what sites work to stir my own curiosity and potentially click an ad. I can back track old sites I've stumbled upon and now do direct-site buys on.

What are your greatest weaknesses?
Opening my eyes is the hardest things in the morning! I work 16+ hrs/day and only get about 3-4 hrs of sleep. Money never sleeps

What motivates you?
I love to watch small-time affiliates blow up. I believe the saying "small fish can turn into big fish." It happens here a lot at PKM. I've seen guys come in grossing $300-400/day to flipping 4-5 figs daily now because of the way we operate as a network. I <3 my affiliates and I really care about their success.

Who has impacted you most in your career, and how?
Ryan Eagle. Believe it or not, we are really good friends. Everyone knows the heat that goes on between us. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be in the affiliate marketing industry. I met him off a forum one day and found out he was local too. I give props where they are due. He didn't teach me affiliate marketing but he laid the foundation of what it's all about. Because he mentioned that this type of business/industry exists, is why I'm here doing my thing. Our relationship is that of a drug dealing operation. We step on each other's territory all the time, as he owns a network too (EWGAY), and we fight about it, but always shake hands.

What kinds of people do you have difficulties working with? Any good stories?
Scammers. I hate working with garbage advertisers who refuse to pay their bills. I would just like to plug in that Adotomi/Adotomy and PushInt (formerly Traffic Needs) owe us and many other networks and individual affiliates a large sum of money for clean traffic. There are plenty of dirty advertisers who have literally stolen money from pubs and networks alike. If you have been wronged, go public and expose the shady bunch. Shoutouts go to Daniel Dye for setting up the best Facebook group in calling out the deadbeats who have outstanding balances due. Check it out here: Internet Advertising - People Who Don't Pay

If you could go back to being 18, what different career choices would you make?
I only wish I knew about this business YEARS ago. There were, and will always be rare opportunities in the past. Rebill-type offers weren't as investigated as now. The FTC didn't enter the force about credit report offers either. Facebook Ads was more laxed than now.