I have been, or can be if you click on a link and make a purchase, compensated via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value for writing this post. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
I probably appear strangely obsessed with Billy Mays, but the reason his passing has had such an impact on me is because I’ve built up the BillyMays.TV website and have kept up on his doings the past few months.
BillyMays.TV is a blog featuring Billy Mays, the products he pitches, and his show, Pitchmen, on Discovery.
I started promoting Billy Mays products through the As Seen on TV Network, and after a dinner meeting with then in Vegas last January, moved on from a single product to anything Billy Mays pitched. The stories I heard about Billy were great, and I had hoped to meet him someday. We even talked about a custom, Billy Mays ringtone! “Hi, Billy Mays here for your cell phone…”
Yesterday I opened my email, after being offline for 3 days, and found my entire inbox flooded with Billy Mays e-mails (from YouTube comments, Twitter followers, etc). Clicking on one, I read “RIP Billy Mays” which was a complete shock to me.
The fan base of this infomercial superstar is amazing. There’s no middle ground – you either loved him, or hated him. However, after the past 24 hours, all of the comments I’ve seen on the blog, the YouTube channel, and even the Twitter account have been positive.
Traffic to BillyMays.TV increased over 5,500% yesterday – Billy Mays was a superstar amongst all marketers and will be truly missed.
Building your business on a single company, product, or person is a huge mistake (heed the warning, Apple!). Luckily, this was a small portion of my affiliate business – it was more of a pet project, rather than a big income producer.
Remember Billy Mays this Wednesday starting at 11am on the Discovery Channel with a Pitchmen marathon.
Life’s a pitch, then you buy.