I’ll jump in too, just because I can.
I was playing poker with friends regularly and one day I woke up and decided to build a poker site about Texas Holdem strategy. This was going to be a fun hobby and I also thought I could throw up a couple of banners here and there, and make a little cash. My goal was to try and introduce new players to the game of poker, to try and give advice to those who were already playing so that they could become better players, and to finance my own poker bankroll. So two years ago, I created my first site, xxhttp://www.mypokercorner.com. (I have 4 sites now, with MPC being my primary with the most traffic)
Back then, I wasn’t an affiliate, I was a poker player. I didn’t know squat about internet marketing, building traffic, etc. I just figured that if I had a great website, everyone would link to me. After months and months of hard work and no results worth mentioning, I realized that I was clueless and needed some help.
At that point, my website “hobby” was taking up more and more of my time, and I wanted to get something out of it. It wasn’t as fun anymore. Who wants to work for free right? So I found PAW on google, and joined the forum.
Over the last year and half or so, I made so many contacts, learned so many concepts, like SEO, and changed my attitude about how to go about this successfully. I didn’t want to be a poker player with a hobby, I wanted to be a businesman. I made some deals with many PAP members (buying content, reviews, links, trading links, selling links, etc). Every single penny I ever made from selling links to members of this community, I gave back to them by purchasing services I needed. I’ve never invested a dime out of my pocket on my websites. That was one of my goals. I wanted to make money out of nothing. And I did! Well… a just little bit. But I see improvements over time and as long as there is progress, and as long as I’m having fun doing this, I’m gonna keep doing it no matter what. Freedom 45 baby! That’s my goal.
One day I PMed Graham and I said “Look man, I suck at this. Can you help me out?”. He was kind enough to offer assistance. We spend a good hour talking on MSN going over my sites. He pointed out a bunch of things he felt I could improve, and gave me links to some valuable information. I can’t thank him enough for his kindness, because what did he get in return? Nothing. What he got was a fan who periodically PMs him to pick his brain. And every time, he’s always happy and willing to help out.
I’ve had similar experiences with other PAP members, who offered advice and comments to help me be better at this, namely Lady Holdem and NewPokerGirl. The willingness to help each other out is truly the strength of this community.
So what did I get out of PAP so far? Simple: I knew I sucked at this before coming here, but wasn’t sure why. Today, I still suck, but I at least now I know why! lol
More importantly, now I have a plan. I know what needs to be done, and I'm gonna get there.
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