Side Hustle Secrets: What "Marketing" Really Is / Affiliate Marketing for Beginners

Hello, bonjour, bonsoir, it's Mary Schiller. How are you today? If I were going to point to two things that stop people from launching their online business, it would be sales and marketing. Those two words seem to really scare people, and I kind of get it because It seems like a whole other level of skill, right? Like you've gotta learn how to sell and you've gotta learn how to market and you've gotta learn how to market and you've gotta learn how to sell. And sometimes people aren't sure what's what, like is there crossover between sales and marketing? They are often said in the same breath, in the same sentence. So it can be very confusing. So you know what we're gonna do? We're going to talk about what marketing is. We're gonna put sales over there. We don't need to worry about sales at all if we don't want to. I'll talk about that in just a minute, but we're going to look at what marketing actually is. Sound good? Let's go. So the first thing that I want to say about marketing is that it is about connecting with people. It's hard for me to overstate just how incredible this has been for me in my online business. I mean, I could start to tear up. If I really think about the connections that I have made since I started my business online back in 2016, there are people who I've connected with who have become such big parts of my life. Like, I can't imagine just not having them around as part of my daily life in my community. When I send emails to the wonderful people on my email list. I think of them as if we were good friends because in many cases we are. There are people who I connected with back then who still work with me now, which is such an incredible privilege. And so when I really stopped to think before I came on here to talk to you about marketing, about the most important thing, to me it's about this connection. It's really recognizing that no matter how you connect with people, whether it's through in-person events like we can do now— again, hopefully that will continue— whether it's sort of traditional networking, whether it's through referrals or whatever it might be, perhaps it's it's online through things like YouTube or other social media platforms, you know, whatever kind of floats your boat. It's just about making those human-to-human connections. And the beautiful thing is, I'll talk more about this in a moment, is that you don't have to worry when you are putting yourself out there in this way about how you come across, about what you look like, you know, how your hair looks, all that stuff. It doesn't matter because it's not about that. It's about connecting with people, and it's about recognizing that the people who love you are the ones who are going to connect with you. I know that people worry about so-called haters online, and I get that that's a problem. In my experience though, it has not been a problem at all. I have not had that kind of experience, and I have been out there online for quite a long time, I've really found that the only people who I'm talking to are people who love me and appreciate me. And the same is true for you. You're only talking to people who love and appreciate you. Everyone else will eventually disappear, and your audience is going to be made up of people who adore you. So that's the first thing that I wanted to say about marketing, and I believe it's the most important thing, is that marketing is about connecting with people. The second piece of marketing that I want to mention to you that I feel often gets overlooked because we live in a very busy world and we kind of forget that this is part of marketing But marketing is really about sharing. It's first about connecting with people, and then it's about sharing. It's about you saying, you know, I have this incredible thing, or I know of this incredible thing that might be valuable to you, and I want to tell you about it. Or it's about doing something like I'm doing right now, where I am sharing something about marketing that I think might be helpful for you to understand if you're trying to start your own online business. And so You know, if you connect the dots between marketing being connecting with people and then marketing being about sharing with them, you start to see that it doesn't have to be sort of this big scary corporate monster thing. That's not what we're doing here. You and I are not big corporations. We don't have to have all of those layers in between. We can simply connect and then share with people, connect and share. And I'm going to do a little aside right here, which is an important one, because oftentimes people are nervous in the beginning of their online business about creating something and then putting it out there for people to buy. It's a very vulnerable thing to do, honestly, to put yourself out there in that way. And that's one of the reasons why I am a proponent of affiliate marketing, particularly for beginners, but for really anybody, myself included, because then you're not marketing and selling yourself. You're simply making a connection and you're sharing something with people that someone else has created that you found valuable. And then if someone decides to buy through the link that you provided, then you earn a commission. So the sales piece just goes away entirely. And it's all about this marketing side, which, as I've been saying so far, I've got one more piece to come, is about connecting and sharing, connecting and sharing. If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing, you can click the link in the description below this video. So let's go to the third thing that I want to mention about marketing. Which is very simple. It's just about inviting people to take the next step. That's it. There's no like, ah, I gotta get this sale or else, and there's no, you know, arm twisting, and there's no— there's none of that. We're human beings and we are making connections and we're talking and we're having a conversation. I feel right now like I'm having this conversation with you directly. And so if you really stop to think about the fact that marketing is nothing more than being a human being, and it's about connecting with people who are interesting and who might find you interesting, then sharing something with them that you found valuable, and then inviting them to take the next step. I mean, that is not complicated. And that's one of the reasons why I am such a proponent now of beginners, but really anyone who wants to get into an online business and have a lot more freedom in their life through that, to really consider affiliate marketing. Because the only skill, quote unquote skill, that you need to develop is what I just said. And I know, and you know, that you are fully capable of just being yourself, showing up in any way that you want to, wherever you feel comfortable. There's lots of ways to show up on social media that feel really comfortable. For example, you know, I just don't worry at all anymore about my appearance, my age, nothing. I don't care because I am me and you are you. And when we show up authentically The people who like us will start to appear, as I said, and those who we don't connect with will disappear. So let's do a quick review of what marketing actually is. Marketing is connecting with people, pure and simple. It's nothing more complicated than that, no matter what anyone else is saying. That is the primary thing that marketing is, and we all need these human connections now more than ever. That's why this is such an important thing for me to get across. Marketing is also about sharing. It's simply sharing something that you have found valuable or sharing something that you know that could help someone else. All of that falls under sharing. And the third piece is marketing means inviting someone to take the next step. If you want to learn more, here's how to do it. It's not about twisting their arm. It's not being, you know, a heavy-handed salesperson and all that. That's not what marketing is. And if you are curious about affiliate marketing, where that's literally the only quote-unquote skill that you need to develop is this ability to connect and share and be real, which I know you can because if I can, you can, please do click the link in the description. Find out what affiliate marketing really is. You're being that nice neighbor, that nice friend, that person who cares, and you're saying, I found this cool thing and I would love for you to hear about it. So speaking of that, I would love to hear your thoughts and comments. So please feel free to share them here. I will see you again next time. And until then, bye for now.