Gather Success Interview Challenge

For this interview challenge, I have interviewed one of my internet marketer friend. His name is Alex. This is a text based interview. I asked him to do an interview with him and he agreed.  Below you  will see the interview questions that I asked him. Note that this is took directly from the email I sent  to him and he replied.

Interview With Alex on Internet Marketing and Make Money Online

Calvin: Hi Alex, yesterday I told you about interviewing you. So here is my interview questions.

Calvin:  How do you get to know about internet marketing?

Alex: I got to know IM through Adam Khoo’s book: Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires. That was in 2007.

Calvin: Why do you want to start an online business to make money online?

Alex: I always wanted to start a business. However, starting a traditional business needs a huge capital which I don’t have the money at that time. After reading Adam Khoo’s book, I realized that starting an online business requires minimum capital and is low-risk, so I decided to give it a shot and try it out.

Calvin: How long did you take to start to make your first $1?

Alex: I can’t really remember exactly. But it took me roughly 6 months before I made my 1st dollar online.

Calvin: How much are you earning online now on average per month?

Alex: I don’t wish to disclose publicly. All I can say the amount is good enough for me to do this full-time.

Calvin: What is the most difficult thing when doing this online making money?

Alex: I don’t have an IT background. So, when I first got started, I know nuts about creating a web page, HTML, FTP, WordPress etc. There is a learning curve to get past the technical barrier initially.

Calvin: How do you manage to become success in making money online?

Alex: I believed it’s my perseverance. I tried a lot of stuffs previously – internet mlm, bum marketing, ebay etc. They all failed. But I never give up and keep trying until I succeed.

Calvin: What do you like about internet marketing/make money online?

Alex: Time freedom. I choose when I want to work and when I want to relax. I have the freedom to choose what I want to do in a day. If you are working as an employee, you definitely can’t do that.

Calvin: If possible, do you mind sharing your experience on how you able to make that amount per month? Example, internet marketing tips, etc.

Alex: I am doing niche marketing – that is to focus on a specific topic and target to a specific group of people. In that way, competition is much lesser.

Calvin: I know you are doing affiliate marketing. Which affiliate you get the most profits? Clickbank or any other affiliate programs?

Alex: I am doing quite well in Shareasale.com. Clickbank.com is my preferred secondary affiliate network.

Calvin: What is the key or most important thing when doing affiliate marketing or even just to make money online?

Alex: Getting traffic is not enough. What is important is how you use the traffic and convert your visitors into buyers. In other words – your conversion rate. You can have 1000 visitors going to your site daily. But if no one else is buying the product, you make no money.

Calvin: What is your best recommendation, either products or any other info or etc, to help on internet marketing? 

Alex: If you are newbie, Ewen Chia’s products will be good for you to get started and learn the ropes. I also read other internet marketer’s blogs such as Andrew Hansen, Lynn Terry etc and learn from them. They provide good information!

Calvin: Do you enjoy your life now? How is your lifestyle like now?

Alex: Yes, I enjoy my lifestyle now. I am a night owl, so I usually work at night. During daytime, I usually relax – such as swimming, watch tv, meet friends or sleep.

Calvin: How do you manage your finance upon doing internet marketing?

Alex: I save quite a lot. 50% of my income goes into my bank. I also put aside some money to invest in unit trusts per month.

Calvin: How do you choose your niche such that you able to make profits?

Alex: I am into the health niche. So, I will do keyword and product research to make sure that there is a demand for it. Also, try to involve in a niche you are interested in. If you are interested in something, you tend put more effort and won’t give up so easily.

Calvin: How long have you been in this internet marketing industry?

Alex: 3 years.

Calvin: Will you ever give up?

Alex: I can’t say for sure right now. Who knows I might go into other businesses in the future? But at the moment, I like internet marketing and I love what I am doing right now.

Calvin: What words would you like to tell those who just started online business or those who want to start an online business?

Alex: The newbies will definitely face problems and failures when they are getting started. Don’t give up. Just keep trying and tweak your strategies along the way until you find something that works for you.

Calvin: Beside working alone on affiliate/internet marketing, have you ever joint venture with other internet marketers out there?

Alex: There are some merchants who will contact and persuade me to promote their products. Normally, they will give me better affiliate commissions.

Calvin: What is your biggest reward(s) you get when you become successful?

Alex: I don’t consider myself as being very successful right now. But as I mentioned earlier, I value time-freedom a lot. So, I guess my biggest reward is not having the need to report to a boss!

Calvin: Lastly, beside being able to make that amount online, what is your greatest goal that you want to achieve right now?

Alex: To earn a five-figure income monthly and consistently. Buy a 1-carat diamond ring for my girlfriend!

To proof that I have did this interview. Below are the email screenshots I took from my outlook.