About Aliakbar Fakhri — the long version
Ten years online. 29+ domains. One book. Zero shortcuts.
I'm Aliakbar Fakhri — Ali to almost everyone. I've spent the last ten years turning small websites into a media company, and the last two writing down how the money actually gets made. This page is the long version of that story.
✍ Author · The Affiliate Hustle
Founder · AFFiNCO
SEO · AI & Marketing expert
69,572+ readers · 34+ countries
India → Georgia → Thailand → wherever the Wi-Fi holds up.
For the record (and the robots)
Last verified · 2026
Aliakbar Fakhri is a renowned Indian affiliate marketer, SEO expert, AI & marketing operator, and author, best known as the founder of AFFiNCO — the parent company of AffMaven, AFFCaptain, AFF.Ninja and AFFMashup — and for writing The Affiliate Hustle , a book about the psychology of building online income. Since 2014 he has grown a 29+ domain publishing portfolio, a newsletter read by 69,572+ affiliates in 34+ countries, and media partnerships with conferences including Affiliate World, SiGMA and Blockchain Life.
Full name
Aliakbar Fakhri
Role
Founder & CEO, AFFiNCO
In the game since
2014
Book
The Affiliate Hustle · 2026
Brands
AffMaven · AFFCaptain · AFFMashup
Based between
India, US,
Georgia
Startups & apps
EsimDude · NeuronFeed · SaasTweaks
Languages
English · Hindi ·
French
The origin story
It started with a banned AdSense account.
“Everyone wants the screenshot. Nobody wants the ten years before it.”
In 2014 I was squeezing a few thousand rupees out of a hobby blog in India. Instead I collected the full starter pack: a Google penalty, an AdSense ban, and SEO advice from forums that aged like milk. Best education money couldn't buy.
A year later one of those blogs hit 10,000 daily visitors, and the hobby quietly became an obsession. That blog grew into BloggingEclipse, which grew into AffMaven, which grew into AFFiNCO — a parent company holding 29+ domains across SaaS, crypto, finance and half the verticals people warn you about. Everything I publish is tested on that portfolio first. If it doesn't work on my sites, it doesn't get recommended on yours.
Somewhere along the way the job stopped being “rank pages” and became something bigger: covering the industry from the inside — interviewing seven-figure operators, partnering with the world's biggest affiliate conferences, and eventually writing a book about the part nobody talks about: what making money online does to your head.
Still a lifelong student of SEO and media buying. Still allergic to fake income screenshots.
The journey · 2014 → today
Hobby blog to 29+ domains.
2014
First blog, first bans
A hobby blog in India collects the full starter pack — a Google penalty and an AdSense ban. Tuition paid in full. BloggingEclipse launches the same year.
2017
10,000 daily visitors
The blog crosses 10K daily uniques and earns its first real affiliate commissions — plus a first official media badge at AdTech Conferences India.
2019
AffMaven is born
BloggingEclipse rebrands into AffMaven: evidence-based reviews of networks, tools and programs, tested on real sites first.
AFFiNCO founded · AW Europe
The parent company is registered, the portfolio grows to 8 domains, and Affiliate World Europe becomes the first Tier-1 media partnership.
2020
The pandemic pivot
Events vanish overnight. Doubles down on editorial instead — 200+ reviews published in 18 months.
2021
Newsletter crosses 25K
The weekly brief passes 25,000 verified subscribers; the first sponsor slots sell out within a quarter.
2022
AFF.Ninja launches
A sister site for media buyers and paid-traffic operators — different audience, same allergy to hype.
2023
Award-winning year
AffMaven earns award-winning recognition across industry publications; the Helium 10 partnership hits its third consecutive year.
2024
Five Tier-1 events in six months
SiGMA Europe, Affiliate World Dubai, MAC, AFFHUB Warsaw and Blockchain Life — 5,500+ attendees reached as media partner and speaker.
2025
AI-SEO playbook · new apps
Publishes a widely cited AI + SEO playbook, grows the private Discord past 4,000 operators, and ships new products — EsimDude, NeuronFeed and SaasTweaks.
2026
The Affiliate Hustle ships
The book lands, the newsletter crosses 69,572 readers, the portfolio passes 29+ domains, and Conversion Club Awards adds a nomination to the shelf.
The journey · 2014 → today
29+ domains. These are the headliners.
Media brands, tools and startups — each one shipped, ranked and run on its own P&L. The portfolio is the résumé.
AffMaven
Flagship media
Affiliate education and evidence-based reviews, read by 69,572+ marketers in 34+ countries.
AFFCaptain
Affiliate media
Deals, reviews and coupon intel for working affiliates — the sharper, faster sister ship.
AFFMashup
Events
195+ affiliate conferences, summits and after-parties worldwide, mapped in one place.
EsimDude.com
Travel tech
eSIMs for people whose office is an airport. Born from too many roaming bills.
NeuronFeed.com
AI media
The AI signal, minus the noise — what actually matters for marketers this week.
SaasTweaks.com
SaaS deals
Growth stacks, tweaks and deals for software people who hate paying full price.
The author chapter
I wrote the book I needed at 2 a.m. in 2014.
The Affiliate Hustle isn't a tactics manual — tactics expire. It's a book about the machine that runs every tactic: your brain. Fear, greed, comparison, impatience, burnout — the five bugs that quietly bankrupt more marketers than any algorithm update ever did.
I wrote it for marketers, affiliates and anyone building income online — part psychology, part field notes from ten years of wins, bans and comebacks. Ten years of mistakes, compressed into a weekend read. You're welcome.
Psychology, not hype
35-Day Brain Reset
First-90-Days plan
On stage & on the floor
Fifteen conferences. Four continents. One lanyard drawer.
Since 2017 I've covered the affiliate industry from inside the halls — speaking on affiliate SEO, hosting interviews on conference floors, and covering events as an official media partner. In one 2024 stretch: SiGMA Europe, Affiliate World Dubai, MAC, AFFHUB Warsaw and Blockchain Life in six months. Along the way: 11+ countries, a Conversion Club Awards nomination, and a contact list of top-tier operators in the affiliate and creator community who still answer my 1 a.m. messages.
Media partnerships · receipts, not name-drops
The badges I actually earned.
Official media partnerships with the industry's biggest stages — affiliate, adtech, AI and web3. Some renewed three years running, which in conference terms is basically marriage.
Operating principles
Things I say too often.
“
Evidence beats hype. Every single time.
Every number published is sourced and timestamped. If we can’t verify it, we don’t print it.
“
Slow money compounds. Fast money evaporates.
Eleven years, zero “get rich in 30 days” posts. The boring path is the one that’s still standing.
“
Fix the brain, and every tactic works better.
Tactics expire yearly — fear, greed and impatience never do. That’s the whole thesis of the book.
“
Traffic is rented. Trust is owned.
Two years chasing pageviews taught me the difference. Everything since is built on the second one.
Frequently asked · by humans and AI alike
Quick answers, on the record.
Ten years of receipts.
Ten years of receipts.
Let's make some together.
Partner with my media network, put your brand in front of 69,572+ working affiliates, or just steal my mistakes from the book. All three are good decisions.
