I first met Ian Fernando a few years back on my way to Affiliate Summit West, we were actually on the same plane, but didn’t meet til we both landed in Las Vegas. We recognized each other from our blogs, and being fellow New Jersey boys, we shared a limo to the hotel. That was a few years back, and since then we are both doing pretty well in the affiliate marketing space, and Ian has also made quite a name for himself… and also on the dance floor! (Party with Ian at Affiliate Summit parties and you’ll know what I mean)
Through IanFernando.com, Ian has blogged about his early adventures in the affiliate world, how he’s tested different cpa methods and is now focusing a lot of his time on launching his own products, such as his latest product InfinateFB, which focuses on making money using Facebook Ads. You can view a set of free intro videos for setting up effective ad campaigns for the next few days through InfiniteFB updated pre-launch.
The following is my interview with Ian Fernando, which is also from my Six Figure Affiliate Blogging ebook. You can download the full ebook for free at SixFigureAffiliateBlogging.com, which includes over 130 pages of content and interviews with 25 highly successful affiliates and bloggers.
Interview with Ian Fernando
1.) Please tell us a little about yourself.
I am an affiliate marketer and blogger. I also consider myself an online entrepreneur because I tend not to stick to one aspect of making money online. I like to diversify my online portfolio as much as I can.
I started off as a blogger and info marketer and merged into an affiliate marketer. My blog at IanFernando.com discusses my success and failures in the online space. Whether it be about blogging, affiliate marketing, entrepreneurship, or online marketing in general.
I also speak at different engagements including meetups and conferences such as Affiliate Summit. I have been published in several magazines in the entreprenerial and affiliate industry. I enjoy talking to other people about the online space and the potential it can bring to users.
Even though I have had many success, I worked day and night to reach my goals.
2.) When did you start blogging and how did you first get into it?
I started blogging in 2007. I got into the blogging space when I first started to try to make money online. I searched on the internet how to make money online and realized blogging was in its prime. I also came across John Chow’s blog and his testimonial about making money online. I was amazed at the monthly numbers he was showing.
My blog started out as a journal with entries written about how I was trying to make it into the online space. I talked about how I utilized sites to gain traction, my attempts at trying to network online, and my first dollar. Even though my first couple of posts were at a beginners level, you can see the growth of my blog as to who I am today.
3.) When starting your blog, did you ever expect it to grow to where it is today
No, I was thinking it would get traction but not to where everyone is visiting and leaving comments and emailing me on a daily basis. I would expect to get some visibility but not gain popularity.
4.) You’ve released a lot of products and networking events off your blog. How much of an impact has the success of these products had because of your blog?
My blog has hugely impacted the success of these products because my audience sees the important information I am trying to share with them. They already trust me to an extent where they know who I am as a person and know whatever I push via my blog are my own words, thoughts, and products that are legit—not just made or said to make money or scam.
As well, my products also get traction right away with certain keywords. It easily gets ranked because of the popularity and ranking I get with Google via my blog.
Readers of any blog would love to meet the writer and the person behind the blog. Anytime they get an opportunity to meet the person behind the blog via local meetups or at conference it builds that relationship even stronger.
5.) How have you incorporated affiliate marketing into your blog?
When I talk about tools I use, I mention and attach affiliate links to the post. If it is a resource I use and utilize, I share my experience and I append a link. It only makes sense to get a commission out of it if I an referencing a tool I use everyday.
I have also done product reviews on my blog. By doing reviews of a product I incorporate the affiliate links within the post. Similar to the tools I use, I share my own aspect of the product from my point of view helping the user decide if they should get the product I reviewed or not.
Other ways I utilize the blog for affiliate marketing is I turn keywords into affiliate links and utilize the unused banner space into affiliate banner links.
6.) In your opinion, what is the single best way to monetize a blog?
I honestly think it is affiliate marketing. The reason is because you get to leverage your audience. Building the trust and then working them into buyers. I have other small blogs and I have affiliate links all over the place to utilize the audience that come and go from the site.
One other big aspect is selling banner space. It is one of the other money makers my personal blog makes. It is easy to sell space, but you need to prove you have the traffic and audience.
7.) What would you recommend for a new blogger, that wants to create their own brand or presence in blogging?
Provide valuable immediate usable content. What I mean by this is give the user something to use right away from your blog. My blog, IanFernando.com only grew because of the tutorials I posted everyday on how I am making money online.
Most of my tutorials are video base, but the content was there. Imagine buying a $97 or even $197 ebook of video tutorials. I posted my own tutorials on my blog for free, and from there my blog automatically grew.
Giving out content that a user can take a way and start using gets you noticed and helps to develop and grow that trust factor right away.
8.) Any recommended blogs or resources for bloggers looking to bring their blog to the next level?
There are a lot of tools to grow your blog. It depends on the goal that you want to reach. The blog to read on how to write and gain traction is my friend Brian at Copyblogger.com. His blog is really geared towards how to grow and write to your audience.
Another one is John Chow. I learned from his blog when I first started and I personally know his knowledge is important to any blogger who wants to start in the blogging space.
9.) Do you have any big announcements or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?
I work on projects all the time, I do have several tools that are coming up to help the online space gain traction. My current project is my InfiniteFB.com ecourse which helps users advertise properly on Facebook.
I am always moving and coming up with projects and tools to help the online space, so I suggest subscribing to my blog to keep up with what I do on a daily basis.
* If you enjoyed this interview, be sure to download my free 130 page guide to “Six Figure Affiliate Blogging“.
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