In a turn that was both ironic and bittersweet, last week people from around the world learned of Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs’ death on one of the many devices he helped to create. Steve Jobs undoubtedly affected our world and generations to come. He was an innovator; he loved to create technology and march to the beat of his own drum. As a gaming affiliate, there is a lot to be learned from Steve Jobs.
Willingness to Learn
While in highschool, Steve Jobs frequented lectures at Hewlett-Packard and was hired there as a summer intern. A few years later, he dropped out of Reed College in Oregon due to a lack of funds, but continued crashing classes at Reed while sleeping on the floor in friends’ rooms. Jobs later said, “If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.”
To become a successful gaming affiliate, you have to learn new things. As you build your website, you will encounter things you probably aren’t familiar with, but are necessary for your site’s success. For instance, if you are not a web developer, you’ll need to know about HTML, PHP, MySQL, even in the smallest capacity. Learn everything there is to know about your business.
Perseverance
We all know the enormous success Steve Jobs had as the CEO of Apple. But what many people don’t know is that in 1985 he was fired by the company. After leaving Apple, he went on to create the company NeXT in 1986. In 1996, Apple bought NeXT and the NeXT operating system became the new Mac OS systems; landing Steve Jobs right back in the driver’s seat.
Gaming affiliates must also have perseverance. Although direct results may not always be present, you must persevere and continue to invest time and effort if you want to be successful. Be committed to your website and complete any and all tasks that will improve your site’s performance.
Optimism
This is one of the most important qualities a gaming affiliate can have. We’ve all heard how bad it is out there; how there is little chance of being successful in this economy and certainly no way to earn a living as your own boss. Any savvy affiliate knows that this is completely not true. Staying focused, optimistic and possessing Steve Jobs’ never-say-die attitude is key.
Affiliates have often been called innovators of the online marketplace. Gaming affiliates create an environment in which to promote products, and use the latest technology to find ways to grow business—for themselves and others. When something doesn’t work, a seasoned affiliate will tweak the formula to get the results he or she needs (improving their website content, implementing tricks of the SEO trade, etc.). Affiliates are constantly creating their own online space—a space that has a trickle down affect on hundreds, if not thousands of users. Gaming affiliates may never reach the virtual masses like Steve Jobs, but they can carve out a niche for themselves and their users, and make every single visitor to their site experience something of enjoyment, and value.