Let’s have some fun – and try to do it with no (little)money!

The “changing affiliate world” is a series I’m doing in parts to give those going through the 30 day guide some ideas to get something off the ground.  You can see all the posts on the “Changing Affiliate World by looking at the “Changing Affiliate World” Category.

As I noted in part 1 I’m going to be burning through my “idea” folder and just posting them all.  Today I’m going to post one that I can’t believe I never got around to doing – and be warned, I’m going to be jumping into this with two feet this coming week.  I’m so dang nice though that I’m going to share ALL my notes.  Since my handwritting is horrible I’ll type instead of scanning them in.

Gamers (have fun – make some money)

I’ve got a 10 year old son, and we’ve had a tradition since he was old enough to play a board game.  About once a week (sometimes every day if he is bored) we play a game.  When he was little it was “hi ho cherry ho”, then checkers, then chinese checkers, then chess, then stratego, then risk…. you get the picture.  All those games required him to learn how to think  (i’m still waiting for results).

He’s a little bigger now, and into video games.  So our strategy has moved into the on-line world.  There are a ton of games out there that are multi-player.  I’ve found in playing these games with him that there are huge “networks” inside the games – clans, etc…

Personally I don’t like the on-line games much – you know the ones like World of Warcraft.  I participated with him to stay a part of his life, but was pretty bored and ONLY played when we were on together.

My son then found direct2drive (Affiliate program on LinkShare), and the Steam Client (no affiliate program yet when I looked).  These two places let you buy on-line and download the games.  Unlike buying them where you are going to lose the boxes, etc… it stores a digital record of your purchase.

We’ve experimented a bit and found that there are some games I like on-line.  I enjoy warhammer 2 – basically you get a small “army” and you fight a limited number of others.  You have to have some strategy, etc…

We play for a round or two (about 10 minutes each) every couple days and either go against each other or are on a team.

Now how does any of this stuff turn into money?

Easy.  My son started his own clan for world of warcraft. He told me he needed a website and I set one up for him.  Then he told me he needed a forum and I set one up for him. Then he told me he wanted his own gaming server (expensive)…. and I told him tough.  He would have to pay for that himself.  He hasn’t gotten that server yet BUT in his spare time he has made a small fortune…. having fun.

Here is how he did it.  His “Clan” has to join the same clan on other games.  He tells them the games that the clan is moving into through a handy dandy aweber mailing list (integrated at forum sign up).  Those guys keep buying games from direct2drive with his *well his mothers* affiliate link.

He also displays adsense, adbright, etc…

His earnings are well over 500 for this one month alone… and he has almost a thousand in his “car fund” just from this.  He’s also been buying our games, paying for custom themes for his site, etc..  He’s pretty into the whole thing and is convinced he can be the next gamespot reviewer

He’s your average kid – nothing fancy.  He plays sports, plays outside, we limit his computer time, etc…  He still manages to manage his clan (actually has officers who live in the damn game that he is paying for moderation, recruiting, etc…)  Since he is limited to about 5 hours of computer time during the school week it’s not bad I don’t think.

He had a leg up on most of the people creating clans – ie a Daddy who knows how to milk websites for money. But let’s face it – if you are here at blackhatdigest you have enough smarts to install a forum, create a blog, and write about some silly game.  Treat it like a business and your “hobby” becomes profitable.  The good news is that you aren’t limited to recruiting in one game – your clan can encompass multiple games.  Have multiple people “working” for you for peanuts and never realizing your a commercial operation.

I’m not saying it’s viable – but some serious thought could turn into some serious cash.  Let’s say you can get a core group of about 100 people that will buy whatever game you recommed.  Direct2drive pays 7 percent.  Average game price is 49.99.  If you can sell 100 copies you’ve earned:  $350 bucks.

You could certainly pay for your gaming this way – and it is expensive (especially if you have 2 accounts like we do).  But if you form a community of hard core gamers, you don’t throw crap at them, and treat this as a business that $350 could turn into 10′s of thousands per month.

How?  Expand things…. and use your base to do it.

You are going to have to have landing pages, game tip newsletters, etc… turn this into a real funnel.  Use your clan to help build it up…. tell them profits come back into the clan (give away games (steam lets you give gifts for example)).

You’ve got your clan – a bunch of hard core gamer geeks   Have them make video of their techniques.  Youtube with links back to your landing pages.

Do game reviews — have your clan members write em up and you post them online…. of course there should be an affiliate link there….

You could probably have “in game” contests where people have to pay to enter.  Just thought of this – so not sure if it’s practical or whatever.

Anyway – I guess my point is that even your hobbies can be profitable.  I have to force myself to play the games with my kiddo, because I already spend to much of my time in front of the PC.  If your aren’t working because your gaming — well there you go.