Frank Ayres is 43 and is the owner of Apollovs Marketing, a company that does Internet marketing and helps others to make money. I’ve been working with Frank for over a year now and he’s one of my favorite joint venture partners. After you read this interview you’ll see why…
Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? How old are you? How long have you been working in this industry?
I am 43 live in Buckinghamshire in England with my wife and 6 year old son. I work in IT. I have been doing IM part time for about 5 years.
What accomplishments so far are you the most proud of?
The things I am proudest of to date is the fact that after a long time of not earning money I now make a regular income each month. Also I am getting more known.
How did you come to learn about Internet Marketing? Why did you choose it?
It was by accident, I was looking on eBay and saw an advert for a complete eBook Website business and decided it would be fun and might make some extra money. The package came with a members forum and through there I learnt more about Internet Marketing.
How long did it take you to go from part-time to a full-time Internet Marketer?
I am currently still part time, I make about 5 figures a year with IM but isn’t enough to replace my full time job at moment, but I am still working on it.
What do you think it takes to be successful as an affiliate/internet marketer?
Hard work, dedication, some great ideas and even a bit of luck.
What have been your biggest failures and frustrations?
Spending lots of money on eBooks and courses that promise great wealth but are a waste of money. Also spending $6k on a mentor that said he would take my business to fulltime and I ended up just wasting $6k!
What is the single toughest problem you’ve had to face, and how did you get through it?
Initially making my first $$ online took me over a year and I nearly gave up. Also finding the time to run my business with a family and full time job.
Is there anything that you don’t like to do, that you just hate working on?
I hate anything to do with writing, sales copy, articles etc. Also I hate making graphics, so I outsource all of this.
If it’s possible for you to share, are there any particular niches that you currently favor? Or that you aren’t necessarily in right now but that you would recommend?
I mainly deal with the IM niche and sell products that other people can make money with.
I do have some adsense sites that make me money and one that surprised me was a gardening one, it gets loads of traffic and after 5 years still makes me adsense money and I haven’t touched it since then!
What niche has worked best for you?
Definitely Internet Marketing and make money online.
Which methods of promotion do you favor?
Article & video marketing, backlinks.
How have you made those promotion methods successful?
Buying lots of software and services that automate these processes for me.
What have you been up to recently? What projects are you working on?
I am currently building a membership site that will be like a complete business in a box, I am very excited about this and can’t wait to let people join. But before I launch it I want to make sure it is perfect first. It has cost me a lot of money to get up and running so will be beta testing it first. Keep your eyes peeled. I have an early bird list for this that will be get a $50 a month discount!
What problems have you had with those new projects?
Waiting for software to be made, spending lots of money getting it right, it has been a bit of a nightmare this is my biggest project to date and I am doing it all on my own!
Do you think anything particular in your past prepared you for this industry? Your education? Jobs you’ve held before?
No, I left school when I was 15, started work straight away, never went to college or university. I think the only thing that helped me was I am always looking for ways to make money and have owned my own business before.
What is the future of Internet Marketing?
I think internet marketing is growing and with the recession it is growing faster as more and more people try to find ways to make extra cash.
What are your greatest strengths?
My honesty, my hard work.
What are your greatest weaknesses?
Procrastination, I am not lazy but sometimes lack motivation. I think the problem is working on my own, I work better with a partner.
What motivates you?
Wanting to leave my full time job and have more money and freedom for me and my family.
What is the best advice you’ve been given and try to apply to your life?
Don’t give up!
Who has impacted you most in your career, and how?
There have been a few people:
John Thornhill – a UK marketer who is very successful and the person I bought the eBook website from. So he got me started in the first place.
Lee McIntyre – another UK marketer that taught me quite a lot when I first started out.
What are some of your long-term goals? How much is enough? If money was no object, what would you be doing?
My Long term goal is to do Internet Marketing full time and leave the job I am currently doing. Once I can earn enough to live comfortably without my full time wage I would be happy.
Where do you want to be ten years from now?
At home with my family doing IM full time and hopefully my son doing IM as well who will be 16 then.
How do you like to spend your free time? What doe work-life balance mean to you?
In my spare time I like music, theatre and computers, I would like to able to spend more time with my family and less time working.
If you could go back to being 18, what different career choices would you make?
Nothing.
What is your greatest achievement outside of work?
Getting married, having a child, joining the Police, saving someone’s life.
What are some of your unfulfilled dreams?
Doing IM full time.
What is your favourite quote?
You can eat an elephant one piece at a time.
Are you on Twitter and/or Facebook?