SAMIA: Hello, Salaam, Shalom, Namaste, Sat Sri Akal, Aloha, Holah, Ciao, Bonjour, Buna, and Privet!It's really really good to be with you... And you know you're in for a treat because we have a very cool guest today... It's Carol Lee who is an Online Business Mentor. And I’m going to ask Coral to jump right in and tell us more about who she is and what she does... Welcome Coral…

CORAL: Hello! thank you so much for having me... Thanks for inviting me on. I'm so happy to be here and connect with your audience... It is an honor. Gosh, you know this is such an open-ended question but I'm going to try to keep it relevant and concise... I grew up in Northern California just kind of a wild child in the mountains, growing up barefoot on a big piece of land. And I have always really prioritized our Earth and having time to enjoy the nature outside and all of that... And that's always been a very underlying thing for me. I was very academically oriented in high school, in college... I majored in mathematics and then was like... What the heck do I want to do with my life and I knew I didn't want to teach... And I had just had my first child right after I graduated and I kind of was like... What is my career, you know, what is actually what I want to do? And I knew I was a very good problem solver obviously as with a master's degree... I knew that I love to serve and help people and serve our planet and all of that. And so I knew those things were huge priorities, but I for years and years didn't quite know what to sink my teeth into... I felt aimless, desiring a purpose, but not really knowing how to serve and yeah that all shifted when my daughter was a couple years old and I started looking at the online space and different ways to earn online. And this was 2016 or 2015 actually... was when I first kind of started, and I started in the health coaching space which was amazing and great… and I felt burned out… like a solopreneur… like I was… like holding… Atlas holding up the world... And I knew that the online space was for me. I knew that I had a voice, I knew that I loved creating content on social media and connecting and I could tell that it was the right direction... But it took me another two years to really figure out what in the online space I wanted to pursue. And in 2018 one of my old roommates from when I lived in Santa Cruz, California… and one of my... she had become a business coach in the online space. And she had coached me a little bit and I was kind of following what she was doing and seeing what how it was working for her… And she started talking about affiliate marketing as another income stream for coaches... And it caught my eye very quickly because I was like, I would love to find a way to not be trading my time for money and have, you know, the ability to make money in my sleep... Because the way that I was doing it was, I had to be showing up and doing all the things and wearing all the hats and launching all the things… and I wanted more automation, support built-in, mentorship, all of that... So I took a look at what she had been talking about in the affiliate marketing space and decided it was a great fit for me as well. And so that's why we'll be going into just affiliate marketing in general and all of that in this in this podcast... But that's my main focus right now. I also do social media management as well.

SAMIA: Nice... And you know I can relate to so much of your journey in terms of like I know when I was going through college... you know I loved being in college but I had very little idea of what I wanted to do. Once I got out... And like literally it took me years even when I figured out I wanted to start my own coaching training healing practice... it took me years to really nail things down for myself. So and you know what you mentioned about... gosh, I don't want to be trading time for dollars anymore… That is such a huge huge huge aspect of like when I think about making change fun and easy for myself but also for people in general... I mean, there's... I mean, yes, I love doing the work that I love doing, but I want to do that work because I love doing it, not because I'm forced to do it. And I want to be able to, you know, have my profession be lifestyle friendly… because my life isn't just about my profession, and you're a mom, you have a child... So it's even more important for you to be able to make that time to spend with your family and so forth. So I really really appreciate your sharing that aspect of your journey... 

CORAL: Yeah... I actually have two kids now... And recently divorced… and I have them pretty much full custody. So I need… I'm so glad that the paths that I had led me to a place where I could earn online for one… because I homeschool them and so I don't really have like you know a place to go work separate than my own home and life... which is perfect. I designed it that way. But I also can't be on like coaching calls all the time, you know... one on one calls… I can't be putting in eight to 12 hours of work every day. And so I've learned how to earn with pockets of my time… one or two hours a day. And most of it being very flexible in terms of like not having to, you know… like even this podcast interview, I was like… okay, got to line up babysitting for the kids… which is great, I love having things to have to do that for... But I don't need that in my schedule every single week, which is a gift. You know, those of you that are in the coaching world know that a lot of your time is… you know, you're focused on your clients and can't have kids asking for their booty to be wiped in the middle of that without your clients being like... Man, I kind of paid you a lot of money for this session…

SAMIA: True, true… True... True. So you mentioned you got into affiliate marketing… for people who are not familiar, Can you talk a little bit more about what affiliate marketing exactlyis…

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CORAL: Absolutely. So the idea behind affiliate marketing is to be your own brand. And have your own voice... your own audience... your own niche... whatever that may look like. And through your brand on social media you're recommending maybe a few products, maybe just one product… but whatever that is, you're recommending something that then if they go and buy themselves you will be getting an affiliate commissions from them.

SAMIA: So it's sort of like being a social media influencer...

CORAL: Yeah... yeah... but not... I don't have a ton of followers or anything like that. I think a lot of people see influencer and they're like oh man like you know how to make money doing that way you need to obtain the 10 of 1000's of followers... And I think that is true with a lot of affiliate marketing aspects. I happen to focus on high ticket. So I do not need a large audience or a ton of leads or a ton of people coming through because yeah... I just I've narrowed my focus down to kind of two things... And one of those is a very high ticket and high payout. So yes... yes in terms of social media influencers... I don't always call myself that because I'm like, Oh you look at my social media and I have like 3300 followers and 5000 Facebook friends, you know… And but I think that's the beautiful thing about the industry is that you don't need huge numbers either...

SAMIA: Yes! I think actually that's a really really important point that you've brought up because for sure I know I had this misconception that in order to be effective at affiliate marketing you need to have a large following... and so what you're pointing out is that even in the context of affiliate marketing there's different strategies that you can utilize... And some strategies may require you to have a large following… but there are strategies that require you to not have such a large following. That's amazing... actually.  

CORAL: I think the most common affiliate marketing that people know of is Amazon, right... So you know anyone can do this… they can create a specific link on a product on Amazon and if someone clicks on that link and buys it, Amazon gives them a cut... but Amazon usually  gives like a five to 10%, maybe sometimes even one to 2% affiliate cut… and a lot of those things are very low ticket. So you would need, you know… say it's like a Yeti microphone for $100 that you maybe make like nine to $10 on… you need to be having a lot of people click on that link and a ton of traffic for that to be actually lucrative... And while it may become passive because you can make money in your sleep, no one really jumps up and down about like $100 you know after 10 or 11 sales... So yes... I love the clarification of like, yes, affiliate marketing a lot of times is that, and it can be strategized in a different way as well.

SAMIA: That is so cool. So can you just tell me more about this… you don't need a huge list... but you are affiliate marketing… like okay I guess... Oh my gosh yeah.... Just tell me more.

CORAL: Of course... of course, I will. I'm happy to...

SAMIA: I was just wondering if I... so okay... Yeah I feel like you've already sort of highlighted a problem people can run into, and your strategy for solving it... So yeah just tell me more.

CORAL: So I was like... Are you gonna give me a very specific question to answer, but yeah... no, I'll just fill it in which is great. So personally... how my sales funnel looks and that's just how I'll always share this with you is… it starts from general awareness on my personal Facebook or my Instagram. I also have the business Facebook page. Sometimes I run ads. I currently am not using that strategy right now, but that is another strategy I can use... And it's building out my personal brand and my voice and my brand awareness... and that's just Cora Lee... me… my, you know, me… my single mom and my outdoor adventures and you know what I stand for and all of that. And then once a week I write a call to action post or do a call to action video... sometimes more than once a week if I'm doing a specific launch, but at least once a week… I invite people to take a look at an online business opportunity that's kind of like a business in a box where everything's already laid out and the sales funnels are made and the back end pages are made… And the sales calls are done for you and all of that. And I recommend people to this business in a box, I'm gonna call it... and it's called the "Freedom Era". And so I usually am inviting them to take a look at something live going down in a Facebook group... maybe one of my mentors is doing an informational training, maybe it's me doing it... maybe it's just like someone that I really resonate with that I want to you know have my audience take a look at… and in that free one-hour masterclass we talk about… a little bit more about the details about how the online business works and what people could be getting out of it... if they were to join. It's an educational platform that also has a physical product tied to it as well. And so it goes from general awareness of seeing me on my page... I… we only use attraction marketing techniques... So I'm not like cold messaging people or anything like that. I'm just simply inviting them to take a look and take an hour of their time to take a look at what I have to offer. And so that goes from general awareness on my page to taking a look at an informational video, a webinar, masterclass… might be a challenge you know... there's different things that we like to offer… we always like to offer a ton of value first... so it might be like a money mindset training and at the end we'll talk about, you know, how we've shifted our money mindset with this education of this platform and also plugging into the business of it... that's one example. So then they can choose to take the next step which is signing up for the platform and taking a look at how the exact ins and outs of this already built for you business works and whether it may be right for them. And then within that platform there is a sales team that basically will get on a call with whoever I have affiliated into that platform... and talk to them about the physical product that we also affiliate for... so I have mentioned that there's two things I affiliate for... its educational platform and a physical product that's recommended inside of that platform which has to do with getting clean, amazing drinking water into people's homes. And so if they decide that both of those things are also in alignment with them... then they will purchase the water system and I will get a… I get 50% commissions from that purchase at this point... I when I first started it was 10%... but it's in a lifetime cumulative kind of model. So once I hit a point where I kind of could max out on the compensation plan I now will forever get a 50% commission on people if they decide... and everything's very like… is this feeling in alignment with you still... is this feeling like… you know that I never... I used to shy away from anything that felt salesy because it's like man, people are pressuring you… and I've noticed within this community it's like man, we only want people that want to be here… because otherwise it's just dragging energy, you know. So it's usually a very exciting process... and they're learning more about the ins and outs of the business and like how it can be a moneymaker for them as well. I also can earn affiliate commissions from educational and coaching courses that are offered through the platform as well... And those are the… that's the two things that I kind of really focus on.

SAMIA: That is so cool. And okay so I just thought of a few questions to ask you...

CORAL: Please... please.

SAMIA: So one question that I was thinking… for someone who's interested in engaging in affiliate marketing, especially following a model similar to yours... what would you say are some skills that they need to have... like, because obviously this won't be a good fit for everyone. So what person would this be a great fit for...

CORAL: Absolutely. So somebody who's coachable, is very important... somebody who's willing to learn right... willing to be open-minded and be told… you know… held accountable and all of that... that's a skill set actually…. not everyone is coachable... so that's important. Resilience, commitment, consistency... those are all very very very important. A lot of people want to get rich quick kind of thing. Or they want to you know put in maybe 10 hours in the beginning and hope that it's going to make them money forever... and I'm not looking ever for people that are like not wanting to actually put in the work… in terms of a background and knowledge of what people need before they take a look I don't think they need any prior online experience... I don't think they need any prior sales experience or business experience... as long as they are open to learning, open to being coached, willing to put in time and have patience... And it's very much… I mean I think any online business it's very much around the compound effect of like you may be working a lot and putting in a lot of hours and not seeing a ton of return in their first few years of your online business… but when you stick with it can become the most compound effect liberating abundant thing …because all that time that you put into building will pay off over time... and so I see that happen when people stick with it... but when people quit too early, that's when the I see you know it just not work out for them.

SAMIA: Right... That makes sense. I mean that's actually true for any kind of business... I mean...

CORAL: Yeah... 

SAMIA: …in my coaching training healing practice for example as I was sharing with you... it took me literally years to even just like nail down like who exactly I want to work with... what exact programs are actually something that the people want… like I know what I want to offer but not… maybe people don't want what I have to offer. So you have to there are so many things out and it takes time to do that… and there's like all this process you have to go through and learning and growth... 

CORAL: Yeah. 

SAMIA: So I hear what you're saying... And yeah, I just appreciate your being real about the time that it can take and the effort that it can take, because a lot of people walk into these things with false expectations. And then when those expectations are not met... they feel really disappointed, and they're like "Ah! this is not right. I got tricked. This doesn't work". But really it's that you have false expectations to start with. 

CORAL: Yeah! I'd also love to add in terms of your question of what skill sets people need... the ability to work on themselves and see their own flaws and you know have the personal development drive to better themselves and know that vibration is currency, and all of that... because while I didn't really believe it when I first came into this specific business model, my mentors would be like your work is 80% your energy and 20% action... like 80% mindset work and your, you know, your morning routine and all of that. And I was like, no, no… I mean like I thought I had all that down… like I want to learn all the doing. But I didn't start to see my first five-figure months until I actually started doing the work and started like spending more of my time on myself than on my actual business… which sounds counterproductive... but people are so attracted to your energy and how you do show up when you do... that I've found it to be very effective actually.

SAMIA: Yes. And there's so much more to it... like I know my gosh as a happiness expert I'm 100% with you on this... I truly believe that working on our own happiness, our inner peace, you know just our ability to manage our emotions and how we think and how we act... this is the foundation for all success. 

CORAL: Yeah.

SAMIA: It really like doesn't matter what you want to do because like you said… other people can feel your energy they respond and react to your energy... but there's also like something very magical in terms of like when you begin to think about… like for example the spiritual laws of the universe... like the law of attraction that got so much... buzz… when Opera started talking about it… and a lot of people don't understand really deeply what law… the law of attraction is all about. And really when you boil it down, it's about… when you maintain high energy for yourself, you attract and magnetize all sorts of abundance into your life and all kinds of ease into your life.

CORAL: Yeah... yeah absolutely. Yes. It's undervalued in our like public school system and universities and all of that… but it's really a huge staple for thriving in life.

SAMIA: Indeed indeed… And that realizing that is actually what motivated me to get into the work that I do… because when this was a lesson I truly learned and began to apply in my life, it changed my life for the better... and I was like Oh my gosh, I have to share what I've learned with everyone else.

CORAL: Yeah... it was contagious. It's like yeah. 

SAMIA: Indeed... oh my gosh... Okay, so are there any other challenges you can warn us about... So for someone who wants to get into affiliate marketing, or has maybe gotten their feet wet into affiliate marketing... What kind of challenges might this struggle with... and what can they do about it?

CORAL: Absolutely. So it's very important to have a clear offer... and to have clarity on who that offer is help… going to help, right… and like what problem you may be solving with that... I am speaking from my point of view of affiliate marketing. Now I will say if like you have a blog that gets a ton of traffic and you're recommending certain products in that blog, that's a different style of affiliate marketing that I personally have tried. But because I don't have enough traffic coming through on my blogs or my Instagram or anything like that, I did not find focusing on that as worth… as much worth my time... So in the way that I approach affiliate marketing I get very specific... like for me right now I'm a financially independent single mom… my ex doesn't really help financially or timewise or anything like that… and a few years ago I would be in huge victim mindset about that… but now because of all the work that I've done on myself I do not feel like a victim… and I'm so grateful that I have an online business that can support me and my kids and you know pay our bills every month and all of that... I desire to reach more people like me… more… and you know maybe it's not necessarily a single mom... but a struggling mom that's wanting to help out financially. Maybe not even a mom… I mainly focus on females, although I do definitely attract like male energy and I loved working with men as well… but I mainly focus on females who are, you know, of the world of believing in law of attraction and that we can create our own reality and being empowered around that… and already doing the work, but want a financial way to support themselves as well… and so I solve that problem in terms of offering a business model that they can do the same thing for themselves... Now I already lost my question... was what was your question exactly... Oh challenges?

SAMIA: Yes... and what to do about it...

CORAL: So for me some challenges are just reach and exposure… enough see people actually seeing my message… because everyone who sees it's not going to resonate with them. So that's one challenge I have... there is a ton of education within my platform on how to run Instagram ads and Instagram story ads and Facebook ads… and those are ways to increase that exposure and get more eyeballs on your offer... And those are things I've dabbled in and are on my to-do list to look even deeper into. So that's like a current challenge that I have where it's like I could just use more people seeing my stuff you know... but I also am so grateful for the audience that I do already have and their connection with me, and all of that as well. I also see challenges of people not believing in themselves, or believing that they can do it… or they're not worthy of high ticket sales... for example like one sale for me can be two to $4,000 in what's coming to me… and some people actually have a hard time believing that they can receive that… and have I personally even have had to work around... like okay, it's not necessarily harder to make more money… it's a different way of thinking and receiving… being able to receive, and all of that... So I do see like a lack of belief in oneself being a huge roadblock for people as well. And then I also see people struggling with consistency. And if they don't see results right away… and this is true in any online business as you know… they don't see results right away, they want to go just like hide in their grandma's closet and, you know, not show their face on social media ever again... So people being able to show up even when no one seems like they're watching… and that can even be years of doing that... And it's, you know, it's a long game.

SAMIA: Yeah... you know… so we keep coming back to this idea… I hear you keep going back to this idea of the importance of building your own personal brand and being really clear in your messaging... And I was just wondering if you could sort of clarify for our listeners how that relates or connect to what you are marketing in the context of the products that you are an affiliate for... because you're marketing someone else's product… so if they're a good affiliate marketing platform... I guess… I’m struggling for the right word… they will be providing you with lots of marketing materials that they want you to use to promote their product. And they'll be telling you how they want you to talk about their product. So where does all of that connect with your brand, and How you build your brand, and why it's so important to build your personal brand...

CORAL: Beautiful question. So I personally do not experience any buddy telling me how to market their product or anything like that... there's no stipulations on how we want to do it. Like I had said… so there… there's kind of two layers... there's the physical product which is recommended within the platform. But the actual platform teaches personal branding and having your own voice… and while they do provide marketing resources in terms of like templates and suggestions and all of that... We are encouraged to have our own voice, our own opinions, and our own values, and our own uniqueness. You know because there's nobody like you, right... and people will connect with you, not necessarily a product. And often people will see like once they do get into the platform and they learn more about the physical product and all of that… they can see why how it all works together and why we do it in the way that we do it... But I personally would have a hard time with any company being like, hey, market this way, say this and not that… like that's not in alignment with me and my values… I'm very much about free speech and freedom and all of that. So I'm lucky to have found a community of people that are similar in that way... and while there's marketing support, I do not personally experience that… Now, to go on that a little bit more... there's two ways that I could be making the commission's that I do… and one is by this platform that helps support me and all, in the sales process and the funnels… and one is to support… is to market just the product itself, which would be the water… and it's called Kangen Water... Now there are some stipulations if I'm marketing just the water, about like health claims I cannot make, and certain things that I can or can't say... So you are totally right in that respect... I personally focus less on that and more on the business model rather than the physical product... Because when people are buying the physical product, it's actually a business investment for them rather than just an investment in their health... It's a business investment with the health bonus rather than just buying it necessarily for their health… which there's a ton of merit in that as well... I just personally focus on people who want the online business and the support around how, you know... how to actually build one and how to actually build a personal brand... what does that mean... And there are a ton of like courses and modules and support around that... Does that answer your question...

SAMIA: Yes... yes... I am getting more and more clear. And I see what you're saying… and I mean, I... yes… okay, so not only is there variation in affiliate marketing in terms of the different strategies that you can utilize, but there's variation in the way that people who are putting out affiliate marketing offers, how they structure their community of affiliate marketers and what kind of support they provide and what level of support they provide... So basically you need to find a good match for you... 

CORAL: Yes... yes absolutely. And that looks different for everybody and even within the business community and you know what I refer to as a business as a box... even within that, it's like there's… you would look at two different profiles and you'd be like, what, these people both affiliate for the same like company, really… you know… and one person's talking to like horse trainers and like one person's talking to like oil rig workers in Canada and getting out of the oil industry... And you know it's what… the beautiful thing is, it's very versatile in the way that we specifically approach it in terms of like, you know, who we're talking to. And so there's… it makes it very open and just like there's space for everybody… if they're feeling called, if they're feeling magnetized to explore how to do it themselves...

SAMIA: Yeah... that makes sense... So if I want to get into affiliate marketing and I have so much choice in terms of what products, what companies I can work with... may be my last question for today is… can you give some tips… some things I think you've already actually talked a little bit about this... but maybe a little bit of a recap, or if there's anything you want to add in terms of just tips for people that they can use to filter… like if they have… like a… like 10 possible options before them of companies they could do affiliate marketing for... what are some criteria they can use to filter and narrow down and figure out what the right match for them is... 

CORAL: Yeah, absolutely... So some questions to ask yourself is… do I believe in this product myself to the core, very important… because on an energetic level you know it's very hard to promote something that you don't use yourself or love yourself love it yourself or whatever... that's one. Two is, is it an irresistible offer to your audience… and it doesn't have to be to your whole audience... but are there people in your audience that this is just going to be like an irresistible offer for them. Three, is it going to be worth your time... so a couple ways to look at this… you know like I had mentioned before… if you have a blog that gets a ton of traffic and you can throw some affiliate links in there... that's not taking up a bunch of your time because that can be happening while you sleep… someone could be reading your blog, clicking your link... Well mine is a little bit more hands-on in that... in that I'm usually in conversation with anybody who's taking a look at my affiliate offer. And because of that my time is very valuable... so I want… every single conversation is not going to lead to a sale, but I want to know my numbers… and I want to know that if I talk to 10 people, one or two of them will convert... and that's still enough money to pay my rent and my bills for the whole month. So if it's a hands-off affiliate offer and you have the traffic already coming through and you know how… like, great... it can be lower ticket in that case. If it is very hands-on and you know… let's take network marketing for example, because that is a similar model to affiliate… there are some differences… but you know with network marketing most people are talking to their customers and educating them on, you know, all of these things and all of that... and it actually can be very time heavy per sale. So you want to know if that sale is going to be worth it… because it's really disheartening to talk to 10 people, two people actually buy the product, you made $200… you know, it's like that's… that can be disheartening... and if you're like me, and you're low on time because you have young kids that are needing things all the time, I want those you know one to two sales to be enough for the entire month, honestly... So that's where… that's a couple of my tips... 

SAMIA: That is so cool... that is so cool. Oh man and you keep mentioning amazing information and I keep wanting to ask you more questions… and unfortunately we're running out of time for today... but for people who are listening... if you have more questions coming up for Coral, please connect with her… we will be adding her links in the show notes… so please check the show notes and connect with Coral so she can help you out and support you in your own journey to start your own online business if that's something you're feeling called to do... 

CORAL: Yes... yes, please. So I will I'll give you my Instagram as one of the links… and if you did listen to this podcast or watch this… I believe you're putting this on YouTube… please DM me... and say, "hey, I listen to this”... because I would just love to hear that you did and to hear from you...

SAMIA: Awesome! Thank you again so much Coral for joining us today… and I hope that, yeah... just wishing you lots and lots of peace and joy… and sending extra love for your kids. :)

CORAL: Thank you... thanks so much for having me. :)