Evergreen Affiliate Marketing Book Review Summary;
Summary: A really well written book by Nate McCallister. He has added his own spin on the affiliate marketing world. Offering up useful tips, hints and ideas on how to succeed and grow.
Pricing
Not that expensive, and Amazon love slashing the price on occasion. You can also pick up the audio version for free
content
Nate has put a lot into this book. Each chapter is well written, spaced out and easy to read. With images, bullet points and actions for you to complete to push you forward.
Finding decent affiliate marketing books is hard. No word of a lie, most of them either end up being 50 pages of fluff, or old out of date techniques and styles that simply don't work in this day and age. Additionally, many books are written by ghost writers, or they are PLR content that people try to sell (usually without changing any of the content).
I don't own many books within this niche, aside from the ClickFunnels trilogy, a few eBay selling books, and Sabri Suby's Sell Like Crazy. So when Nate ask if he could send me a draft/early version of a book he was writing, I was honestly excited.
Today we are going to take a look at the book, see what it contains, and of course see if it's worth grabbing for yourself. So, sit back, relax and enjoy this Evergreen Affiliate Marketing Book Review.
Who Is Nate McCallister?
Ok, there will be people out there, who don't know who Nate is, which is cool. I didn't until I started to expand my own network of affiliates and marketers.
For one, he owns and writes for EntreResource (don't ask, it's a sore subject I think), a website devoted to understand mindset, affiliate marketing and more. Mastering the art of SEO and blogging, so much so that he has written and created his own blog training.
You can find the whole course inside of Affiliate Secrets. He must be petty damn good if Spencer recommends and partners with him to create top notch marketing training.
Nate has also joined the ranks of many super affiliates with winning the coveted Dreamcar Award.
I have actually been through his 21DayBlog training (or at least the Affiliate Secrets version) and I love his style and brutal honesty with him work, but it also shows that he knows a lot about affiliate marketing, and how this space works.
What Is The Evergreen Affiliate Marketing Book?
Evergreen Affiliate Marketing, is a book that looks at providing you with the skills and knowledge to succeed with affiliate marketing.
The description on the front states
"Master the Mindset, Learn the Strategies and Apply the Systems Used by the Worlds Wealthiest Affiliate Marketers"
As with a lot of books, it can sometimes be difficult to really get across all of the different parts that the author originally intended to be included. The cover does seem to cover a lot of different angles, and promises to deliver a lot.
Books and audiobooks can also sometimes be just too much, forcing the reader to consume a ton of information, in long, boring paragraphs and chapters.
Thankfully, the 7 sections found within this book look to break it down into manageable bite size chunks. With actionable takeaways, that can actually be acted upon.
What Is Inside The Evergreen Affiliate Marketing Book?
As previously mentioned, there are 7 sections in total within this book.
Each section is broken down into smaller chapters. Each covering a particular point. For example, Content Creation covers the Skyscaper Approach, Low Hanging Fruits and Going Beyond Review Posts.
Section 1 - Introduction
I will skip the acknowledgments (I sadly didn't make the cut, so obviously not worth talking about...).
Straight into Chapter 1, which of course is the introduction to the book. Nate covers all of the important details, such as what you are actually going to get from reading this book. But more importantly, what you will not get from reading this book.
As I mentioned right at the start of this review, this book is designed to give you solid strategies, but also provide you with training techniques that you can use outside of this book. As this book should be seen as a training aid to assist you with your journey, but it's not going to have the most up to date techniques or strategies (unlike a digital course or video).
Lastly, Nate drops you some free downloadable resources (gone are the days of sending you a CD or USB drive in the post). You can use these free gifts as additional training aids, such as Keyword Research Spreadsheets, Checklists and workbooks.
Section 2 - Affiliate Marketing 101
Any book that covers affiliate marketing needs to have a chapter that actually covers what the hell affiliate marketing is. And of course, this is no different.
It also dives into;
- Finding and understanding your niche
- Different traffic methods
- Different content styles (Writing, Audio, Video)
- How to grow your traffic
- Analysing Affiliate Offers
The chapter itself has some interesting traffic methods, but it's the niche part that I believe will really help people get started. As Nate McCallister doesn't just say ' Choose a hobby' or 'Go for the big 3'. He breaks down his own 4 requirements and 3 research strategies to help you find that amazing niche.
Of course, once you have found a niche you love, or enjoy, you have to decide on the content style and traffic style.
Again, the book explores the different content methods, but also explains how you can re-use your content across other mediums. I love this part, as many marketers simply focus on 1 platform and never re-use or utilise the content they have.
"There is no single 'best' medium" - Nate McCallister
Section 3 - Core Concepts And Mindset
After covering the introduction, understanding niches and deciding on traffic styles, we move onto mindset and concepts.
I feel this could have been part of the introduction, though this isn't a long chapter. A lot of people start affiliate marketing with the belief they will be millionaires by next week, or that if they put out 10 videos they will have a full time income within a month.
Sadly that's not the case. As with pretty much any business, it takes time, energy and effort to start seeing results.
Thankfully, this chapter exists and it's worth reading end to end, multiple times. Something that struck home for me, is that it can take multiple tries and effort to start seeing results. You may not see tons of views on your first video, or your 10th article. But the more content you have, or the more tries you throw at it, the better your chances of success.
Again, understanding and reading this short chapter should be a must.
Section 4 - Content Creation
It's time for the meat and potatoes, or at least some people may see it as that.
If you have ever been stuck about Content Creation, this whole section should help get you going again. I really enjoyed reading this, even though I have been writing blog articles for years, and even creating social media content for quite a while now, there was still a few hidden gems here.
I loved Nates take on research vs creation, and how long he likes to spend on both. Essentially trying to spend at least 2x the amount of time researching as he does actually creating the finished product.
Other golden nuggets include the fact that you don't have to constantly re-invent the wheel. That doesn't mean you should just copy someone's content, but if a framework works, or a particular style gives results, leverage it.
For those who write articles, or create YouTube videos, I would highly recommend reading this whole chapter. Even if you have older content and you think you 100% know what you are talking about. You will learn something new from this.
Section 5 - Tactics And Strategy
Affiliate Marketing can be more than just sharing other peoples products, it can also be about building your own list of buyers and finding new ways to build that list.
Section 5, and all the chapters within this focus on finding additional angles and ideas to create your list and to crush the competition.
Some of the ideas you find, are not new, or mind blowing. But, Nate has at least put a spin on them.
For example, bonus stacks to help boost conversions is something that a lot of marketers already implement. The 'normal' way to do this, is simply throw a ton of random courses, tools and usually unhelpful stuff that isn't needed.
You are far better off focusing on offering items or products relevant to the course or tool you are promoting. For example, if you promote an SEO platform, then offer a free mini tutorial about how to best use that platform. Other options include providing an additional tool or item that may help or enhance the experience.
It's worth remembering, you should make it cost effective to yourself. Don't try and have 400 random courses, tools and 1-1 support on a single $7 product. As I am sure, your time is worth more than the $3.50 you are going to get in commissions.
Other options or examples are to create free tools, or courses that you can leverage. For example, mine and Sam's FREE 5 Day Blog Builder Course has always been a great product to generate leads, as well as to offer as an additional bonus for other products. The same can be said for the full blown course BlogFocused, which is also sometimes offered as an additional $100+ bonus.
As Nate points out, you can purchase white label rights, re-sellers rights or other rights to allow you to offer or sell these as your own.
Other options explored within this section include becoming the first affiliate (which can be difficult), flipping old product issues with new solutions and of course offering giveaways (in exchange for leads).
Everything within this section and the chapters can be picked up and used by old, and new affiliates. Even if you have zero following, or a small budget, you can pick up leads, sales and a following with these methods.
Section 6 - Copywriting
As someone who has spent the last 5-6 years writing articles, and more recently switching to social media style posts, Section 6 Copywriting is full of some gold.
Nate covers a lot in this chapter, but he breaks each chapter down into much smaller pieces. I personally enjoyed the parts about getting feedback from users, and leveraging that to help with your content creation. As well as being honest about the drawbacks (I will also be brutal about products, especially with their shortcomings), readers (and viewers, if you are writing scripts) can warm to you more if you point out problems (or how to fix them).
Some parts of this chapter, you may be familiar with, but he has done a good job of breaking it down. For example, a lot of copywriters tell you to sell benefits, not features.
I have never looked at a pair of shorts and thought about the different benefits such as having pockets that can secure my valuables, or the fact they are made from stretchy material, that stops them from ripping and last longer.
It's worth noting, you can get better at copywriting, and it takes a little bit of thinking and time.
If you are someone who does write a lot of content, especially articles, or even short ads, taking the time to go through this chapter, writing your own notes and practising some of the points shown is well worth it. You may think you suck at writing, or that your copy is bad, but in reality, it's not.
There are a few areas in here that to be honest are self explanatory, such as 'keep going' or ensure that you keep testing your copy and change as it goes. But the majority of this chapter is decent.
Section 7 - Miscellaneous Thoughts And Considerations
I guess this is what you could call a 'mop-up' chapter. Something, personally I am not hugely keen on. As it can feel quite disorganised.
Some of the topics covered, such as High Ticket vs Low Ticket or One-Time vs Recurring Affiliate Programs could have had their own section.
There is a section with records to using templates, or knowing that your data may not always be 100% truthful, which again could have been put into other section such as Tactics and Strategies.
But, that would be seen as getting a little nit picky (As we Brits call it).
As with other areas, you are going to find useful, golden nuggets and you can tell he has thought long and hard about a lot of this stuff.
One area that made me stop and think, and it's something I have thought about a lot in the past is;
Passive Income Is A Lie
That' quite a bold statement, considering you will find hundreds, or thousands of marketers telling you it's true. I could even say I am guilty of using that language in my own copy, especially when it comes to blogging or social media stuff.
But, he does has a point. It's a term that has become sexy, and sought after. Especially within the 'make money' or 'online business' world. An income that requires no effort or no imput.
Those who rent houses out will tell you it's passive income. It doesn't require you to do anything.
Aside from;
- Deal with solicitors when buying the house
- Potentially decorating the house
- Dealing with tenants
- Dealing with issues that arise from tenants
- Sorting out insurance
- Cleaning, fixing or updating the property once tenants have moved out
Of course, you can get agents to deal with some of that stuff, but you will always have to have some input. You may get lucky, purchase a property and never have a single issue, giving you a steady 10% a year return. But, there is always a chance and a risk that the person or company renting or leasing the property cause you headaches and issues.
The same can be said for affiliate marketing, and even blogging.
Yes, a lot of the income I earn from blogs is passive, or at least as Nate coins it 'pastive'. I still spent time researching, writing and publishing the content, I waited for the articles to rank or the social media algorithm to make my content go viral. But, after it has done that, the content then starts to earn me money.
I do still have to go back and tweak things, or write myself some new articles, else Google thinks I have come stale, but I can snowball the effect.
Again, Nate McCallister notes that
No passive income is built to last forever
And I really do agree with that. Yes, I have articles from 3 - 4 years ago that do well, but I have also articles from 5 years ago that haven't been touched and have dive bombed off the face of the earth because it's old, and is outdated and no longer relevant.
It was always going to be difficult to 'sum this section up'. There are so many different thoughts such as;
- The anatomy of lead magnets
- Should you go high or low ticket, or recurring vs one time sales
- Are refunds really an issue
- Email tags and how to use them
Again, I feel it's a bit of a mind dump, and it could have become a useful area to try and place some of these together into other sections. As I said before, putting the different types of products or sales into the Affiliate Marketing 101 section or the Data & Email Tagging into Core Concepts or Strategies would have made sense to me. But, I also appreciate it is going to be difficult to find a home for all of these different chapters.
Of the few affiliate marketing books I have read, or even business focused books I have enjoyed, they have a brain fart section. Filled with all the other random stuff (some of it super valuable) that they simply wanted to cram into the book, but didn't know how or where.
Maybe when a V2 or Updated version comes out (if that ever happens) Nate will find a home for some of these chapters and re-jig it around.
Who Is This book for?
I always ask this question to myself when it comes to reviewing or looking at course, tools or even eBooks, as it can be difficult to understand, or even know if an expensive course is something that will be good for you.
For this book, the answer is a lot easier. I would comfortably say, that if you focus on any part of affiliate marketing, then this book would be useful for you.
Even if you are a few years into the process, you will learn something new and find a different angle to a method, or style you already use.
Evergreen Affiliate Marketing Book Price
This will always be determined by Amazon, as it's published and sold by them. I picked the book up for about £14 / $20, but you could get the Kindle Edition for £7 (Or free with the app/subscription) and the Audible Version for £16 (or again free with Audible trial or a credit).
Is it the cheapest on the market? No, there are other books, including those in the affiliate marketing space that are a little cheaper, but I still think it's worth picking the book up.
Is This Book Right For You?
If you are someone who wants to push their affiliate marketing methods a little further, or who enjoys reading expert views and ideas on topics such as Affiliate Marketing, Copywriting and Sales, then this book is a good fit for you.
Evergreen Affiliate Marketing Book Review Conclusion
It's been odd reviewing a book, as a lot of the visual cues and tibits I love to find in course or tools simply can't be grabbed or shown. I can't talk about the the platforms or the style and it really comes down to the raw content (Which I agree should be the same for everything I review).
I really like this book, and I don't say that lightly. I honestly find a lot of marketing books boring, or full of old, outdated fluff. At least Nate has injected some interesting points and actually speaks about his own methods, mistakes and styles.
Well worth grabbing.
I started this blog around 2017, after realising that I wanted to let people know about all the different ways someone could make money online. From DropShipping, Affiliate Marketing, Network Marketing and more.
This blog has now grown to review and explain a variety of different tools and platforms, in the bid to help you.
This blog contains affiliate links, and I will get a commission for purchases made through these links. It doesn’t change anything for you and will on occasion save you money! Enjoy, James.