The third interview in our Mentorship 2.0 series is here. Bogdan Popovici (aka MBM) ranks 8th in Start-Ups and had an excellent mentorship season. He was accompanied by Lucian Ionescu, about whom Bogdan says he will choose again for the new season that’s about to start. If you think you have what it takes to be a Mentor, you can pre-register here. If you’re an ambitious Marketer ready to work hard in the Business League, don’t forget that teams will soon be formed. Your beginnings in affiliate marketing. 

The first time I heard about affiliate marketing was in 2017. At first glance, I saw it as a source of passive income, where you invest money in “Google Adwords” (back then) and earn commissions.  It quickly surprised me. A week after earning my first commissions, I received my first Brandbidding email, and 48 hours later, I was suspended for 5 days. It was too good to be true—those were commissions from BB. What followed was a long and arduous journey.

The first round in the Business League

After 4 years of doing nothing in affiliation (I was focused on trade from China), I returned to the Business League in 2023. In the first round after my return, I came with some knowledge of GAds and SEO, two content websites written without AI, and lots of affiliate links. Organic visibility was negligible, and the daily GAds budget was 20 lei. This resulted in recording 1-2 commissions per day—NOT noteworthy!

What made you enroll in the Mentorship program? What goals did you set, and how did they change along the way?

I had ideas, I had some knowledge, and I felt I could do a lot to achieve better results. However, I couldn’t decide where to start. I lacked the confidence that the choice I wanted to make would be the right one:

• Should I choose SEO? It’s cheaper, investing only in backlinks, with higher profits 
• Should I choose Ads? Quick commissions
• Should I choose niche domains? Generalist websites?
• Should I also choose the “best” model?

Clearly, I needed someone honest to discuss with, to help me decide, and to monitor my progress.

Initial goal: minimum wage from affiliation

Final goal: promotion to COMPANIES and 1,000 euros profit per month. I surpassed these goals 🙂

 
How did you choose your Mentor? Tell us about working with him—the good and the bad, but especially the good

It was very easy for me. I met Lucian Ionescu during a live session where he explained how to implement a conversion import script. I saw him as serious, pragmatic, technical, and dedicated.

Throughout the mentorship period, he proved I was not mistaken. Starting in January, I’ll choose Lucian Ionescu again! 

How would you describe your evolution as a player in the Business League, before vs. after mentorship? Both in terms of concrete results in rankings and in learning, progress, and know-how?

I achieved at least “10x” in everything.

• April 2024: 31 commissions, value 187.77 euros
• October 2024: 537 commissions, value 3,411.23 euros

How did I achieve this?

• From classic search campaigns to DSA, CSS, ROAS, CPA
• From SEO-rankmath to SEO On-Page
• From cheap backlinks to a BACKLINK strategy
• From a “blah blah” website to one with persuasive, commercial content
• Perseverance, 2 calls per week, “homework,” progress reports, discipline, and involvement

How would you evaluate the benefits of this program?

The mentorship program is truly helpful. 2P promised mentors, and they delivered. They promised added value and convinced the mentor to provide it. They promised we’d find a way to manage the 25% commission, and we did. One surprise I didn’t expect was the CSS restriction. Maybe in the future, a CSS-related benefit for mentees. Otherwise, my response to the previous question clearly answers this one.

We’ve noticed some players are hesitant to enroll in the program, even though their results suggest it might be a good idea. Why do you think this hesitation exists, and what’s your opinion on it?

Those who don’t have notable results and don’t enroll in the program usually have at least one alternative source of income and don’t prioritize investing more time and energy into affiliation. Initially, I would have pointed to the 25% commission. However, as long as you don’t have results, there’s nothing to worry about. After all, where else would you find someone willing to teach you in advance, investing their time, energy, and know-how, for 25% of “one commission a day”?

What advice do you have for a new player who just discovered BusinessLeague.com?

Take full advantage of the mentorship program. I challenge you to find questions that mentors can’t answer!

What are your objectives for the next season?

To repeat the experience of the first season: “10X” in knowledge, ranking, and know-how!