Interview - Ashwin Iddya (Bangalore)
By Arnab March 26, 2007 filed in Miscellaneous, Newsletter, Interviews
First the Primary Details Please - Name, Primary Website(s), etc. etc.
Ashwin Iddya.
www.masteringadwords.com
Male - 23rd April 1979
Bangalore, India
[iashwin(at)masteringadwords(dot)com]
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Some information about your Qualification & Experience Background, please ?
I did my BE Mechanical Engineering from MSRIT, Bangalore. However, I worked on my first PC when I was 15 years old. It had 4 MB hard disk and a whopping 64KB RAM! After my Engineering, I joined QSupport Technologies, a CRM company as an internet marketing executive.
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In your own words, what is your Primary Business ?
We have revenues from multiple sources –
- Sale of ebook on primary website www.masteringadwords.com
- Management of Google/Yahoo/MSN campaigns for various clients
- Affiliate Management for clients
- Promotion of affiliate programs via PPC
- Generating revenues via AdSense using the arbitrage model.
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If you can share with us, how much do you earn from Online Marketing Activities, and how long did it take you to get here. Please also mention, how much time you spend in a day on an average on these activities.
When Google first came out with AdWords advertising concept, I was probably among the first 1000 advertisers to give it a shot. I had quit QSupport by then – and was dabbling with affiliate programs. The year was June 2002. The first month’s AdWords testing resulted in sales of $492 and expenditure of $272. The rest – as they say – is history.
Affiliate program business has been profitable from the first month with profit margins of around 40%.
Initially, I had to spend a lot of time on research. AdWords was a totally new concept of internet advertising – so trial and error was the order of the day. My nose was buried inside the keyboard was 16 hours a day. I still work 8 hours per day – but I make it a point to go on a 15 day road trip to the Himalayas, once in 6 months at least!
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What was instrumental in your venturning on this path?
I was looking was ways to use internet to make a living. I had come across affiliate programs already. The only way to promote affiliate programs was via email marketing or via SEO. Since I was there was Google launched the CPC based AdWords program, I combined PPC advertising with affiliate marketing.
I realized that since AdWords was a self-serve advertising medium, a large number of advertisers found it difficult to use it effectively. I quickly wrote up a 50 page e-book titled ‘Mastering Google AdWords’ and started selling it at $24.95 per download.
The feedback from customers (advertisers) in those days was more than positive. Some of the advertisers requested me to manage their campaigns (for a tidy fee, of course). Clients started pouring in and soon I had to recruit and train PPC managers.
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What obstacles did you face initially, and how were you able to counter them?
After I quit QSupport, I had $800 in my bank account. Should I try for another job, get myself a MBA degree or try something new – that was my dilemma. Managing my finances in the initial months (for eg - dealing with payment delays because of currency and geography) was harrowing with nagging doubts in my mind – “ Ashwin - with all the reports about Internet scams, are you sure that this particular merchant will pay you? You have $400 in your account now. Are you sure you want to be in this business?”
I breathed a sigh of relief when Citibank let me know that I just received payment for check number XXXXX for $492. I knew what I wanted to do with my career.
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Any major inspirations Indian/International? Any books/products that helped you?
None. I don’t read books (I know it sounds strange, coming from the author of a book on Google AdWords). Research via search engines and forums got me through.
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What, do you think, are the “BIG” things to get involved in, going ahead.
Very difficult to answer. Marketing on the internet is like evolution – changes happen slowly but surely. If creatures don’t adapt to the changes, they will go extinct. However, internet advertising will never go extinct – it will evolve. One needs to keep their ears to the ground all the time. PPC advertising too might go the way of banner advertising sometime in the future – but something new will replace PPC advertising.
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What are some common mistakes people make in Internet Marketing?
- Financial mismanagement
- Getting into Multi-level Marketing (MLM)
- Buying ‘How to Get Rich on the Internet’ books for $25
- Quitting a job just because they started earning more than their existing 9 to 5 job without having a proper strategy in place
- Putting all the eggs in the same basket (e.g. – depending on Google for their website traffic)
- Giving up quickly
- Assuming that Internet marketing business can be started with zero investment. You need to invest both time and money into the business.
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What do you think is the potential of Internet Marketing in India in the next 3-5 years?
India will eventually go the way of developed markets like USA/Europe. It will first start with travel space (ticket booking etc) and then move on to other verticals like finance, education, software and shopping
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Some encouragement to Newbies…
If you don’t succeed in the first few months, don’t lose heart. Visit forums like www.abestweb.com / www.webmasterworld.com and talk to your peers. Read, read, read all the time. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
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March 26th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
It is good. I am very much impressed. I want some more info regarding internet marketing. Can you?
March 27th, 2007 at 6:17 am
I get lots of information about internet marketing on this articles.
March 28th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
I am running a website www.aspireinfo.org. I am an adsense publisher. I have tried several method of advertising including posting on forums and classified sites. Even I have changed design and colour. Still the revenue is very low. What shall I do? Plz. help.
March 29th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
noticing on small things gives big prospects