Interview: Craig Snyder (Lazy Profits)

We're very excited to present our 7th interview with Craig Snyder of Lazy Profits. Craig Snyder is an online (and eventually offline) entrepreneur, stock holder, and domain investor in full stride to becoming the most electrifying man in affiliate marketing entertainment.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? How old are you?

I'm from an incredibly small town in Florida by the name of Interlachen. It probably sounds something like the name of a rare dinosaur to you; I believe it actually means "between the lakes" in some form of translation. We're talking about 1200 people, that small. The nearest city that you'd recognize on the map is Gainesville, home of the Gators and some of the friendliest people and best college athletes. I'm 20 years old, about to turn 21 on September 11th (terrible 12th birthday). I'm a huge NBA and NCAA basketball fan, but I'm an even bigger fan of the internet. I'm a little bit of a nerd, but I'm really easy to talk to and get along with. I feel like I grew up in an age where technology was in full bloom, and there are three things that I remember really well from childhood: getting a Nintendo 64, getting the original PlayStation, and sitting down in front of our first personal computer with access to the internet. Ever since then, the internet has been a little bit of an addiction for me. I use to be big on gaming and the social aspects of the web, but now my focus is set entirely on internet marketing.

2. How long have you been in affiliate marketing and how did you get involved?

Coming right out of high school, I did not want any of the jobs available in this small town. I remember browsing Digital Point with Aran, a long-time friend through the net and current AM at Lazy Profits, looking for article writing jobs and pay-to-post work. I very specifically recall making about 300 30-word minimum posts on a forum for a payout of around $15. I knew I was not cut out to do that forever, and I began to look into affiliate marketing. I started out with Amazon and CJ and then began picking through more niche-specific networks. Overall, I've been with affiliate marketing for only about 2 years.

3. How long was it before you realized you could live off your affiliate income?

I'm a little bit of a jealous person and when I started noticing people in the same online communities around me that were incredibly wealthy, I knew it was within reach. I felt like there was nothing they could do that I couldn't and in the spring of 2009 it just exploded for me.

4. What is the biggest mistake you made when you first started doing Affiliate Marketing?

Well, my biggest mistake in affiliate marketing was jumping into things without enough research. I learn from my mistakes and when you're dealing with lots of money and a business, you quickly learn that it's not the most effective strategy. My biggest mistake in the broader spectrum of internet marketing as a whole was the sale of an incredibly opportunistic domain name, which resulted in a loss of the potential of six figures in profit and an eventual lawsuit. Everyone makes mistakes.

5. What are the best places for the newbie to learn affiliate marketing? What advice would you give for them?

I don't really feel like affiliate marketing (or any other form of marketing for that matter) is something that you need to worry about searching for a place to learn. If it's not something that interests you right when you're introduced to it, it might not be for you. If you're into it though, you've already been exposed to the great big world of the internet. You can find and learn just about anything with the internet. However, one of these days I am going to develop my internet marketing blog, so check it out at a future date: http://www.makemoneyontheinternet.us/

6. In your experience, what are the three most critical elements of run a successful campaign.

The three most important elements of a successful campaign are proper demographics, a venue that isn't saturated with competitive advertisements and marketing too similar to your desired niche, and your testing. I promise you, if you're able to do some quality split testing to make everything nice and narrow and you're marketing to a demographic that is going to go at your offer like sharks at a place where your niche is relatively untouched, you will profit. That's easier said than done, though.

7. What's the difference between a Super affiliate and an Average affiliate?

A Super Affiliate is one of those guys (or even girls) who can easily pull in $500 a day if they need to. They have to be sending in quality leads and they need the versatility to support the chance of a campaign going under. I also think a Super Affiliate, just by nature, has to be a teacher. When you're successful, you want people to know your story, even if it's through your own personal blog like a Volk or a Koscianski (two people I'd really like to have the pleasure of meeting).

8. Tell us a little bit about Lazy Profits and what you do over there?

First of all, Lazy Profits is tailored for the novice and intermediate affiliate. We are an extremely honest network and we're not going to make an attempt to put ourselves next to Neverblue or anything silly like that. When I brainstormed the original concept for Lazy Profits, I saw a network that was relatively large and filled with affiliates that were making anywhere from a cent to $200 per day. I'm not telling you that we're going to turn away one of those Super Affiliates I mentioned earlier, but we really cater to the newer guys who just need an honest network that will pay them on time and offer them a huge variety of offers to promote and include a wide range of payout options. We have a lot of offers, some direct and some indirect, and we just want to establish a solid presence in the affiliate marketing community. Making relationships with networks and marketers is really what pleases me. If the advertiser can make money while the network and affiliates makes money, then that sounds like a pleasant setting to me.

9. I see you are using HasOffers as your affiliate network platform. What made you pick them instead of choosing DirectTrack, LinkTrust and HitPath, etc?

This is the part where I would be getting laughed at if this interview was being conducted before the eyes of WickedFire! I'm a big WF/PPC.bz fan actually, and I completely understand why HasOffers gets a bad wrap from veteran affiliates. It's easy to take advantage of and use for all of the wrong reasons, and it has significant limitations to other platforms like HitPath and LinkTrust. HasOffers is something fresh and new though. What's the biggest HasOffers network out there? Axon? I'm not even sure, but the point is that these are all new networks that are breaking onto the scene and they're not trying to superimpose themselves into a the picture of Convert2Media, EWA, etc. If you're a startup network, I think HasOffers is great and very easy to use. I'm satisfied with the platform so far.

10. There are already so many CPA affiliate networks out there. What makes Lazy Profits different?

Lazy Profits has incredibly active and friendly affiliate support. Lazy Profits won't even consider shaving your leads, I rarely even shave my face. Lazy Profits will pay you on time, all the time. Lazy Profits has a beautiful and unique design to please your beady eyes while you thoughtlessly refresh your stats every minute. Lazy Profits has over 100 offers already, and we're shooting for hundreds more. Lazy Profits will reward high-performing affiliates and loyal affiliates. We're a great new network and we want all the clean and quality traffic we can get.

11. What are the criteria for a marketer to be accepted at Lazy Profits?

It may come to you as a shocker, but we're really not too big on fraud or poor lead quality. To get accepted as an affiliate with Lazy Profits, you'll need an honest application. I can't say much more than that.

12. For those who are interested in working with you and your affiliate network - What's the best way/time to reach you?

The best and quickest way to reach me would be through AIM (Lazy Profits) or Skype (lazycraig).

13. What are the keys to building successful relationships between Affiliates and Affiliate Networks? What are some of the challenges of being an Affiliate Manager?

Again, honestly is a huge factor on both sides. From the affiliate's end, honesty is the main factor. Don't lie to your AM or anyone else from a network, it's just silly. We know how to tell when you're lying and we do not like it! Pay attention to each offer's restrictions and terms, bad leads are a stab in the heart. The only part of affiliate management that I would consider challenging is the constant scrubbing for fraudulent affiliates. It's as annoying as it is challenging, they're getting better and better.

14. If you could change one thing about the affiliate industry, what would it be?

I think I'd want there to be less accusations and other cliché drama. Not every network is out to shave your leads and hold your earnings, and not every affiliate is Shawn Hogan (if you know what I mean).

15. What do you think about where the industry is going? Where Lazy Profits may be going? What advice would you give to affiliates to keep up the pace.

This industry is unpredictable. The FTC is going to eventually put a roadblock in front of rebills, I think. As far as Lazy Profits, we're going to the top. We're coming for that number one spot. We want the jewelry, women, and cars like Manuel Gonzalez. We want the tight shirts and catchy Facebook status updates like Ryan Eagle. My advice to affiliates is to learn the game and get as many free review copies as possible.

16. What's your favorite movie and why?

Wow, this is most definitely the hardest question so far. First of all, I think Will Smith is an extremely underrated actor. The Pursuit of Happyness, Seven Pounds, and I Am Legend are three amazing movies. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is great and Kevin Spacey is awesome in American Beauty. Fight Club is always a winner and I like Cashback and Clerks II. I think my favorite movie of all time is Boiler Room, though. I went through this stage where I was absolutely obsessed with the stock market during my senior year of high school and this movie just connected with me. Seth Davis plays an amazing character in the movie, and if you want a movie that is going to motivate you to get out into the world of business and find money then you need to watch this.

17. Give us a little glimpse into what a typical day in your life looks like.

I usually wake up, brush my teeth, take a shower and then get to work. I don't go out much and that does not bother me at all. It doesn't take a lot to keep me happy.

Many thanks to Craig Snyder for allowing this interview! If you have any experience with Craig's Lazy Profits Affiliate network, please write a review for them on the Lazy Profits reviewpage. Ps. If you are an affiliate marketer, AM or Network owner and are interested in answering a few questions about you, your network and affiliate marketing, please drop us a message.