Interview with Jeremy Enke of PokerAffiliateListings.com

The following is an “email interview” with Jeremy Enke who is the owner of the best poker affiliate forums on the Internet.  He (and the forums he runs) is one the main reasons I’ve been able to be successful with my online business.  Enjoy the interview…

1. When and how did you get into “internet marketing”?

Back in 2001 I was working in pharmaceutical sales, and while it was a great paying job, the entrepreneur in me wanted to create something that I could own myself. I started a small Ebay business selling individual products at a markup that I would buy in bulk at wholesale prices.

From there I started learning about web design and buying Ebooks as well as visiting forums like the Warrior Forum. In addition to Ebay, I started setting up several mini-sites and promoting products primarily through click-bank. As each month went by, and I continued to learn more about Internet marketing, pay per click marketing, and essentially how to make money online. The rest is history.

2. Did you dive right in full time? And if not when did you decide to make the switch to full time?

Transitioning to a full-time Internet marketer and giving up the security of regular paycheck and benefits is one of the hardest things I ever did. Luckily while I was in the corporate world I was making a very good income. What I did was allocate a certain amount of the money I was making in my “real job” at the time to fund my internet marketing adventures.

And let me tell you, they were adventures! I’m glad I still had a regular paycheck at that time. I did a lot of experimenting and lost a fair amount of money when I was starting out. As time went by though I started to build up a steady income online. It took me about 3 years before I was brave enough to dive in and go head first into relying solely on my internet business to make a living.

3. Was switching to full time a tough decision? Any advice for when/if to make the switch?

Yes, it was not easy to give up the security of a guaranteed paycheck. However with that said I was really limited to how far I could go as an Internet marketer when 40+ hours of my week is dedicated to a full-time job.

My best advice would be to make sure you have some money saved up before you go full-time. Likewise use the time while you are still working a full-time job to do your experimenting and figure out what works. And most importantly when you do go full time as an Internet marketer, have a written plan and work harder and longer than you ever have before!

4. What type of sites are your biggest money makers?

This is a good question. I have never tied myself exclusively to one niche, so the answer tends to change frequently. I have always made a fair amount of money in the online gambling niche with mini-sites, press releases, PPC, and other marketing forms.

Lately I have been exploring other niches and emerging markets. Overall though throughout the years I have found the most success being a master affiliate in different niches. Likewise my largest site www.PokerAffiliateListings.com is monetized through paid advertising, so combined with the poker affiliate revenues and sub-affiliate revenue I have made, as well as paid advertising I would have to say that the poker affiliate industry still takes the cake for the type of sites that are my “biggest” money makers.

5. What is a typical day in your life (when working)?

There’s really never a “typical day”. Overall though, I don’t like to start working until around 9:00 or so. Making your own hours is one of the “fringe benefits” of owning your own Internet business. Usually in the morning I like to check emails and respond to the important ones as well as get caught up on any communications with customers in Europe who’s work days will soon be coming to an end.

Typically around noon I head inside and have lunch with my wife and watch the news for a half hour or so, and then it’s right back to the grind. During the afternoon I will work on sites, content, design, and what I like to call “production”. Inevitably I usually end up having a conference call or multiple skype conversations in the afternoon as well.

My afternoon work day ends around 5:00. With that said however, once my wife and kids are all in bed around 10:00 I like to jump back on the computer and use this time to research, read blogs and forums, and learn new ways to make money online.

6. What is the toughest part of working from home/for yourself?

When I first started working from home, I would have said it was being diligent and working efficiently every day. Now though, after doing this for so many years I have a pretty good routine down.

The toughest part for me is the isolation and lack of real world interaction that you get with a “real job”. While most people think working for yourself from home sounds glamorous, it can actually get pretty monotonous and lonely. Email and Skype conversations on a computer screen are certainly not the same as personal interaction or meetings in a boardroom. The answer to this question is probably different amongst every Internet marketer you ask, but for me it is the isolation from the real world.

7. What is your biggest piece of advice to other affiliates/internet marketers?

Hmm, there are so many pieces of advice I could probably write an entire book on it. Most importantly though is develop a work ethic that is superior to your competition. Many people think that just because you work on the Internet or from home that you can work 20 hours a week and make millions. This is far from the truth.

The next piece of advice I would give is to not get complacent when you are having success. Industries as well as the landscape of Internet marketing is constantly changing. It’s imperative to keep up with industry trends, emerging markets, and especially competition. Just because you are successful today in one niche doesn’t mean you will be next year.

With that said, as Internet marketer one of the best things you can do is to be well diversified and always have the goal of creating multiple streams of income. If you have multiple streams of income, it will make your adventures as an Internet marketer a much more enjoyable experience.

Thanks Jeremy!  If you have any questions for Jeremy you can leave them in the comments and if there are questions I will see if he can answer them for us.