Chai With Kj #4:From Rags to Riches: How Jitendra Vaswani Earns 6 Figures in Affiliate Marketing!

Can a $100-a-month SEO job turn into six figures in profit every year? 💰

I was a guest on Chai With KJ with my friend KJ Rocker. We first met at an Affiliate World conference in Bangkok. 🎙️

In this episode, I opened up about my family’s resistance, my stammer, losing my mom, my health, and how I build backlinks and teams. 💡

📊 In this episode, we unpacked:

• 🚀 How I started in SEO on $100 a month
• 😔 Going against my family
• 🎤 Stammering and my first nervous interviews
• 🙉 Dealing with haters
• 💔 The hidden stress of entrepreneurship
• 🏋️ Losing weight and fixing my health
• 🔗 Backlinks, AI and video content
• 👥 Building a 20-person team by referral

🎥 Watch the full episode:

🚀 How I Started in SEO on $100 a Month

I finished engineering in Jaipur in 2012 but wasn’t interested in programming. A friend told me about SEO, I read up on Google, cleared my first interview and got a job paying about $100 a month. 💼

After about two and a half years, I quit to do affiliate marketing full-time and worked 14–16 hours a day. 🔥

Today I run sites around make money online, proxies, VPN, hosting, SaaS reviews and coupons, work with networks like Impact, PartnerStack and CJ, and make six figures in profit every year. 💰

😔 Going Against My Family

My family wanted me at a big IT company. My father was against it, I was told no one would marry me, and I used to cry every day. 😔

Now I tell young students: your degree doesn’t matter; all you need is a good skill. 🎓

🎤 Stammering and My First Nervous Interviews

Around 2015, at a domain conference, my friend Ashwin pushed me to do video interviews. My first was with a domain investor who buys and sells expensive domains, and my hands were shaking. 🎥

I stammered in school and college, and people made fun of me. I practiced in front of the mirror and kept going. For more from the domain world, see my interview with Team Sedo. 🔗

🙉 Dealing With Haters

After I interviewed Neil Patel, as one of the first people from India to do so, I got many abusive comments. At first, I took them to heart. 💔

Gary Vee helped me realize your own opinion of yourself is what matters. My number one tip: stay away from negative people and hang out with OQP, only quality people. 👥

My favorite guests, Neil Patel and Gary Vee, are humble and grounded. 🙏

💔 The Hidden Stress of Entrepreneurship

I shared something for the first time here: my mom passed away from cancer in 2018, and with work, travel and a team of about 20 people depending on me, I couldn’t spend much time with her. 💔

“Entrepreneurship is very lonely. It’s dark, it’s stressful.” Social media shows the Lamborghinis, not the sacrifices. 🕯️

🏋️ Losing Weight and Fixing My Health

I was around 90 kg, drinking about a liter of Coca-Cola a day. Inspired by fit entrepreneurs, I cut sugar, moved to a protein-based diet and started weight training three or four times a week. 🏋️

For the last two to three years, I’ve maintained about 79 kg. “Your body is your temple.” 💪

My best ideas come in the shower or on walks, and my mind works best after 9 PM. Be careful what you consume online: garbage in, garbage out. 🧠

🔗 Backlinks, AI and Video Content

Video gets more views, engagement and sales, so I’m back to interviews and podcasts while keeping text content for readers who want it. 🎥

AI content is fine if you edit it and keep it human-readable. High-quality backlinks are still the number one ranking factor for me. 🤖

Last year I invested about $30,000–40,000 in expired domains with strong backlinks, and they now pay off through sponsored reviews and affiliate deals. Learn more in my talk on expired domains and backlinks. 🔗

👥 Building a 20-Person Team by Referral

I built a team of about 20 people through referrals. Don’t be ashamed to ask friends for referrals. ✅

Structure: my business partner, then an SEO manager, then editors, all run on SOPs, tracked in Trello with daily Zoom calls. SOPs only came after three or four years, when WhatsApp stopped scaling. 📋

My favorite city is Bangkok. I attended my first Affiliate World Asia there, and its monthly SEO meetups taught me a lot. For more from Thailand, read my Matthew Woodward interview. 🇹🇭

📝 Key Takeaways From My Chai With KJ Interview

• 🎓 Skills matter more than degrees
• 🙉 Ignore haters and keep only quality people around you
• 💔 Entrepreneurship comes with real, unseen sacrifices
• 🏋️ Cut sugar and train: your body is your temple
• 🔗 High-quality backlinks and expired domains still pay off
• 👥 Hire by referral and run your team on SOPs
• 🤝 Don’t be afraid to ask for help

❓ FAQs About KJ Rocker

How did Jitendra Vaswani start in SEO?

After engineering in 2012, a friend introduced him to SEO, and he got a job paying about $100 a month before going full-time into affiliate marketing about two and a half years later.

How much does Jitendra Vaswani make from affiliate marketing?

He says he makes six figures in profit (USD) every year.

What is Jitendra Vaswani’s advice for beginners?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help, join community events in your niche, offer value first, and stay away from negative people.

🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love

• Kalin Karakehayov Interview On Buying Expired SEO Domains
• Interview of Ron Vining from ClickZ Live Bangkok 2015
• Jitendra Vaswani Met Grant Cardone ( How to Live 1% Lifestyle )
• Kripesh Adwani Interview How He Makes 6 Figure Every Month From Youtube?

Which part of this story hit home for you? Share it with someone starting out. 💬

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