GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 28 - April 2014

GPWAAFFILIATE INTERVIEWSERIES What do your family and friends think of your work as an affiliate? This has and always will be one of the most irri- tating things about being an affiliate. My parents think I’m just some online nerd who “makes websites and writes stuff.” My friends think I just “hustle.”Ha ha. I mean the list goes on and on. From now onwhen someone askswhat I do I’m just going to say “Internet bum.” Do you gamble online? If so, what do youplay? I’ve always been an avid sports bettor and have been getting into real- money fantasy leagues as of late. I take the time to really studya lot of games and for themost part I’veput together a lot of winning years, especiallywhen the NBA andNFL seasons come around. How long do you give yourself for answering e-mail? What e-mail tips can you offer? I’m addicted to technology, so needless to say if you e-mail me you’ll normally get a pretty speedy reply. However, I’m pretty bad at responding on Skype since my son was born, so normally I won’t reply tomessages for a dayormoreat timeseven though Ialways leave my status as “online” – which tilts thehell outof a lotofmy friendsandAMs at times! Maybe I need a better “away” message than “I’mOnline”!? How do you manage your “to-do” lists? Do you use any special software to help you out? I’ve used BaseCamp in the past andhave found it tobeextremelyuseful in getting tasks organized, especially if you need to delegate different tasks to your team. Other than that, if I can’t contact someone through e-mail or Skype I can normally find them messing around on Facebookand I’llbother them there!Leave it to social media to always let me know whenmy writers aren’t really “writing”! How much time do you devote to SEO and/or social networking inorder todrive more traffic toyour sites? I come froman old-school line of mentors who were al- waysabout two things–content andSEO. You couldn’t have onewithout the other, so obviously it’s pretty crazy that Google is cracking down on sites that have been doing it the “right” way for so many years. Panda and Penguin havemade af- filiates adjust their entire website model to accommodate these changes and I’ve foundmyself learning from a lot younger people about the newest trending SEO tips; it’s beengreat thinkingmoreoutside the boxwhen it comes to the ever-chang- ingworldof SEO. As far as social media go, I think I’m still adinosaurwith that stuff. I loveFacebook and Instagram, but only formy ownper- sonal use. IhaveFBpages, Twitter andG+ profiles set up for a lot of my sites but I still haven’t found that happy medium inwhich I usemy ownwork time tohelp drive more traffic to my websites. It’s somethingEVERYwebmasterneeds todo nowadays but I still think this is one area inwhich I still have a lot of homework to workon. What’s the most difficult thing about running your sites? I’m just a one-man operation so I’m always stretchingmyself pretty thin when it comes to getting my own tasks finished and then managing whatmy teamdoes everyweek. I always imagined scaling a ton more eventually but anyone who knows me knows I’m pretty laidbackand justenjoythesituation I’m in right now. I want to be there for my son andmy family as much as I can – especially since I didn’t alwayshavemy parents around growing up because of their crazywork schedules – and theway my business operates now allows me to do just that and, Godwilling, will let me continuedoing so for a long time! What’s the best thing about running your sites? The freedomof it all.Plainandsim- ple. If you’re not in the affiliate business to achieve at least SOME type of personal freedom then you’ve clearly chosen the wrong career path! I also love the people I work with. I’ve been extremely fortunate towork closely with a lot ofmy “staff” over the years, as well as being able to proudly showcase theworkof someof themostwell-known writers in the business. I’m also friends with a lot of these people in real life and have had the opportunity to bounce a lot of great ideas off them over drinks and strippers.Haha. What do you do to stay in shape – both physically and mentally? Getting to the gym is something everyone struggles withonadailybasiswhenyouwork from home. Trying to juggle work and fam- ily is something that never comes easy. Whether it’s a 9-to-5 job orworking from your home office it can be super easy to just say, “Uggghhh, I’m too tired.” I don’t fall into that trap, and remaining active is something I strive tomake happen every singledayof theweek! Mentally, I just try to read a lot and keep up on current events. You should also work to stimulate your brain with good books and mix in a few great documen- tary movies for good measure. I would also like to go on the record and say that I truly hateWikipedia because that site is a huge time suck for me and sometimes I will get caught reading up on themost random things on the site for hours at a timewhile I’mworking. If someone were visiting you, what’s the one place you’d definitely take them to see? Since I live in Arizona I think it’s a crime to not see the Grand Canyon at least once in your lifetime. It’s absolutely as breathtaking in real life as it is on any postcard, or in anyhistorybookormovie scene. Ifyouhaven’ttakenthetimetosee it I think it’s timeyou roundupyour family or friends and road tripyour ass out here immediately, Griswold-style if need be! When you need to get as far away from workaspossible, wheredo yougo? I love hiking. The outdoors is where it’s at for me. I have a lot of trails I hike regularly, especially those around the Superstition Mountains just outside Mesa/Apache Junction. IfI’mnotthereI’mprobablyplay- ingbasketballat thegym. I’mnot thatgood but I have a passion for it like no other! Also, Ihaveaprettybigguncollectionand a lifetime membership at my local gun range here in Arizona. I love going out shootingwithmypopsandmyotherbud- dies. It’s an amazing stress reliever, too. What’s your favorite vacation spot? I’ve always had a soft spot for San Clemente. It’s a small surfer town in southern California and my family always took me there growing up as a child. On top of hitting up Disneyland just down the highway on the I-5 we would always find time to hit up the beaches in San Clemente. If youeverhavea chance togo, GPWAAffiliate InterviewSeries