[Editor's Note: Big changes have been made to the affiliate site FrozenPenguin since this article was written, but the lessons you can learn here are still extremely valuable.]
For web aficionados with a little extra time and some motivation, unusual marketing opportunities continue to spring up across the Internet. Nobody knows this better than Brian Kuss. His website, FrozenPenguin.com, has done extremely well with the 800.COM affiliate program.
Brian turned his interest in home theater systems into more than a dozen pages of electronics content. These pages drive more than 500 click-throughs per day to 800.COM, creating a fair share of product sales and affiliate commissions.
With 800.COM, affiliates are given the flexibility to design their site to meet the unique demands of their audience. Affiliates are paid the maximum commission amount to link to any of the products available through Be Free's Reporting.net, unlike some programs that only pay on a direct link. This allows affiliates to cater to the needs of their audience, which is critical in establishing a loyal customer base. With over 250,000 electronics, movie, music, and game titles, affiliates have an infinite number of ways to effectively merchandise their site.
Brian began his foray into the Web world in the fall of 1997, when he started his first site, which he launched to teach himself Web design. In the process, he discovered affiliate programs. Brian built a successful shopping mall site.
Next, Brian built a Star Wars fan site filled with lots of Star Wars news, along with a small affiliate store. The excitement over Star Wars Episode I helped the site to become an instant success. But with the purchase of a new house looming, the upkeep on the two websites became burdensome. Brian decided to unload the sites, eventually selling both via eBay.
After settling into their new house in the fall of 1999, Brian got the itch to start another site. But he didn't want another high maintenance project. He knew all too well that creating original content can be a time-intensive process. The new site had to be as maintenance free as possible. Brian knew he wanted a portal look, with plenty of content; it had to be more than just a shopping mall. The turning point was when Brian hooked up with iSyndicate to provide free content, including news and advice articles.
Frustrating process
Coming up with an original website name was a frustrating process. Name after name was taken. After trying scores of domain names, Brian came to the conclusion that perhaps the domain name didn't matter. On a whim, he tried frozenpenguin.com - a name inspired by his wife's collection of stuffed animals. The name stuck.
Brian discovered a variety of free automated processes available to help manage his site. From a search engine submission program to iSyndicate's news feeds, FrozenPenguin became an overnight success. "There's a relationship between the time you put into a site and the amount you get out of it," says Brian.
What does Brian do with the time he's saving? He keeps on top of what's happening in the home electronics field, scouring the mail lists, searching for the hottest products.
"The key is making as many pages as specific and detail-oriented as possible," Brian says.
Highly focused pages
Once he identifies a hot piece of gear, he builds highly focused pages using graphic product links created with the Be Free link generator. Most of the product links lead directly to the product page on 800.COM. These techniques are the hallmark of many successful affiliate sites, as they lead the visitor directly to a page where they can make a purchase decision.
Keeping track of the traffic is essential. Brian checks the site's click-through and sales data on Be Free's Reporting.net every day or so. The ability to quickly see this data on a regular basis allows him to check his actual server statistics just once a week.
Brand recognition and customer service are two crucial factors in making the sale. 800.COM has achieved brand status. And with free shipping and handling, their fulfillment experience is excellent. "800.COM always sends me a free bag of popcorn with each DVD," says Brian. "I like that!"
I've spoken to a great number of affiliate site owners over the course of writing The Complete Guide to Associate and Affiliate Programs on the Net (McGraw-Hill 11/99), and in writing these columns over the last six months or so. The more conversations I have, the more I see the same themes repeated over and over. Successful affiliates build sites that focus on a topic of the site owner's interest, using merchant programs with real potential. That's the case with frozenpenguin.com and 800.COM. Shouldn't it be for you too?
Cheers,
Dan
PS: Click here to join Be Free enabled affiliate programs.
[Editor's Note: When 800.com shut down, CircuitCity.com bought the company's customer list and phone center.]
Daniel Gray is the owner of geekbooks.com and the author of "The Complete Guide to Associate and Affiliate Programs on the Net - Turning Clicks Into Cash" (McGraw-Hill), "Looking Good on the Web" and "Adobe ImageStyler In Depth" (The Coriolis Group), and a host of other books on graphics- and Internet-related topics. He's been honored as an Amazon.com Featured Computer Book Associate, PlanetRx Affiliate of the Month, and Refer-It Affiliate of the Month.
