Associate Programs Newsletter #178

CONTENTS:

1. Discover the truth about affiliate programs
    ...a new training manual for affiliates
2. Get tough - and get paid - by non-paying merchants
3. "Surely, Sponsorships.net can pay me?"
4. Be Free still can't decide on eZula
5. My symbolic gesture against CJ
6. ClickBank lowers maximum commission
7. Will we see you at the Boot Camp?
8. FREE trial download - part of "MYSS! 2002"
9. Google's traffic soars, and other news
10. Relax in your favorite chair and enjoy Seth's book
11. Useful free resource: PC help, reference and test sites
12. Thought for today: Marketers' odd behavior

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==============================================
1. Discover the truth about affiliate programs
    ...a new training manual for affiliates
==============================================

Here's some great news for affiliates and affiliate merchants.

Marlon Sanders has just launched a training manual that shows you step-by-step how to get traffic and make sales.

While I was reading Marlon's book last night I kept thinking of an angry man on the Online Ads Digest discussion list, Pesach Lattin.

Pesach reckons "no one" is making any serious money from affiliate programs.

Better informed people have jumped in to defend affiliate marketing and talk about the money it generates, but Pesach has his head stuck in the sand and won't listen.

I kept thinking last night, "Someone ought to send him Marlon's new book. Then he'd understand how successful affiliates earn their money."

Marlon's new book is unlike any you've ever seen. This is cutting-edge, right-up-to-date stuff that works.

"A recent survey of resellers, affiliates and associates revealed the main complaint was the lack of tools and methods for getting traffic and making sales," Marlon says.

His "Associate Program Marketing Handbook" solves that problem. It gives you 25 ways to get traffic, resell products and promote an affiliate program.

There's also a list of useful resources.

You can use the manual yourself, or train your affiliates with it. Reprint rights are available - surprisingly cheaply - for a limited time.

You will find complete info at:
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/affiliate-manual

Here are just a few of the things you'll discover:

How to promote programs using 404 error pages - plan 23.

How to get rid of those long, irritating reseller URLs and track your hits to sales ratio - plan 22.

How to buy instant traffic cheap via "co-regs" - plan 18.

A lot of affiliate programs don't give you a way to track the clicks on ads you run, links and promotions. There's a simple way to do this with any program. It's easy and really works.

How to increase your sales by using the survey/e-mail method ("This is a new method I don't see anyone using," Marlon says) - plan 21.

How to instantly double your visitors and traffic - plan 20. This is a clever method almost no one uses.

The amazing traffic finder robot that has built sites to one million visitors per month. It works while you sleep. (This is NOT spam in case you're wondering.) Plan 15.

And much, much more.

The "Associate Program Marketing Handbook" comes with a 100% money-back guarantee, so you have absolutely no risk.

It also has a VERY low price. It's excellent value.

You can get it here:

http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/affiliate-manual

=====================================================
2. Get tough - and get paid - by non-paying merchants
=====================================================

If you're angry and frustrated because an affiliate merchant is refusing to pay you, here's some good news.

If you get tough, you're more likely to get paid.

That's what Bill Bultas, owner of Puzz.com Puzz.com and AssociateLeads has done.

Bill urges affiliates who haven't been paid to hire the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) collection agency - http://www.dbrms.com .

"I have successfully used them to collect on one company, and have two others in process (one who has declared bankruptcy)," Bill says.

"Aside from a relatively small annual fee, their only fees occur AFTER the collection."

Bill says he receives nothing by making this recommendation, "except that I believe if enough people begin to actually take action against these deadbeats (sorry, that's what they are), they'll be less likely to pull the same tricks again.

"Word will get around... plus these claims will go on the companies' credit reports, working as a red flag to other affiliates, etc.

"I think too many people figure they don't have enough money to go after non-paying companies, or it won't work or whatever, and that is EXACTLY what these jerks want.

"Too many times I have been told by the company executives that they just can't pay me this month, or we'll have to sign a release and accept 50%, then be done with it, etc. DON'T do that - turn them over to D&B. I learned this the hard way. These guys assume you DON'T know what to do, and will happily take advantage of that fact."

Bill says CoolSavings owed Puzz.com more than $23,000 going back into 2000 and was totally unco-operative.

"When I told them I was going to sue them, they basically said 'Go ahead'."

He says he waited months with false promises given and no results.

"We turned it over to D&B, and had 100% within a week! (Well, they got 100%, I get about 83% after their cut - still much better than ZERO)."

Bill says Impower - the company that ran the Transact! network - declared chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 3.

"They owe me close to $50,000. This is in bankruptcy court, but D&B handles everything, including having an attorney on all D&B client creditors' behalf at the creditors' meeting, which is in another state, and would be costly for me to attend. They say that they collect over twice for their clients what most people get who 'go it alone' through the proceedings, plus save you a lot of time and research that would be needed to avoid mistakes, etc."

MatchLogic - aka FastFreeFun, aka DeliverE - a subsidiary of Excite@Home that ran a lot of sweepstakes promotions - is another company which Bill says owes him money.

Last week he turned the matter over to D&B, seeking just over $11,000.

"They would not give in to threats, and will not even reply to e- mails, etc. I believe that D&B will get the majority of that for me. They evidently owe a lot of money to Be Free and I think others too."

Bill says that when you file a claim for payment with D&B it goes on the company's credit report IMMEDIATELY and stays there for six months. D&B evidently puts a lot of pressure on non-payers.

"If nothing works, they also have an attorney referral service, so you don't have to hunt down a lawyer.

"I was referred to them by a network at least 20 times our size, which I will not name (they may not want to be named - I don't know), but who we work with and which has been around for years."

Bill obviously feels very strongly about non-paying companies, referring to them as deadbeats and jerks. However, companies who aren't paying you can also be innocent parties, simply unable to pay you because they haven't been paid and don't have the money.

Using Dun & Bradstreet sounds like a good way to find out if a company has the money to pay you.

Bill's contact at D&B is Bob Short (e-mail:
ShortB AT DNB.com
and phone: 856-642-4307).

"He is very knowledgeable and helpful," Bill says.

Bob says that D&B is able to handle any account size down to $100.

Dun & Bradstreet Receivable Management Services
http://www.dbrms.com

Lots of free advice on collecting debt
dnbcollections.com/kresources.htm  [UPDATE: This link is obsolete.]

[UPDATE: AssociateLeads has merged with OffersQuest.com.]

=========================================
3. "Surely, Sponsorships.net can pay me?"
=========================================

Last week I reported that some Sponsorships.net affiliates are owed thousands of dollars and the parent company, iBoost, says affiliates won't receive any cash.

"I am one of those affiliates who are owed thousands of dollars," says Mark Southgate. "This is a big blow to me after putting in a great deal of time and hard work."

Some affiliates feel they are unprotected because the Sponsorship.net affiliate agreement says:

"In the event iBoost fails to receive payment(s) due from third party advertisers it shall have no obligation to pay you."

However, Mark says:

"What I do not understand is that some of the advertisers on Sponsorships.net (for example Fastweb, StoneAge) are still running campaigns on other networks (for example OnResponse; Cyberbounty). As I have been paid for these leads by OnResponse and Cyberbounty, this must mean that they were paid by these advertisers? And surely that means that these advertisers also paid Sponsorships.net/iBoost? If this is the case, then surely Sponsorships.net can pay me?"

It looks like another case for Dun & Bradstreet.

In comparison with the Sponsorships.net agreement, the AssociateLeads contract looks much better for affiliates.

"We have a more specific statement in our contract that we can DEFER payment for those clients that do not pay us although we often pay on those anyway... but we must pay for all other commissions that are collected," says Bill Bultas of AssociateLeads.

"Still, I don't think this iBoost statement removes any obligation," Bill says.

======================================
4. Be Free still can't decide on eZula
======================================

Is eZula's predatory advertising unethical?

You know it is. I know it is. It's a dirty tactic.

In fact, many commentators have gone much farther, describing it as theft because it overlays advertising links on your web site without your permission.

However, if you're a large affiliate network the issue isn't nearly so clear.

As I reported last week, Be Free's new Acclaim Program has "acclaimed" ConsumerInfo, ignoring the fact that the company uses predatory advertising.

I think that's disgusting. So I wrote to Be Free.

MY QUESTION

It's good that Be Free is encouraging merchants to improve.

However, I'm sure many affiliates will be appalled to see Be Free has acclaimed ConsumerInfo, one of the companies which persistently uses eZula to engage in predatory advertising.

I'd be very interested in your comments...

I believe predatory advertising is unethical. Do you disagree?

BE FREE'S REPLY

"You pose an interesting question. A question, in fact, that we've already given careful thought and attention to here at Be Free and will continue to look at as we move forward. It's for obvious reasons that new technologies like Gator and eZula have caused quite a stir within the advertising and affiliate marketing industry," says Jennifer Roy, Director, Corporate Communications.

"1) We do not support customers or partners involved in illegal activity. There is a great deal of industry debate right now, however Gator & eZula have not been identified as breaking any laws. The debate is more of an 'ethics in marketing' dialogue focusing on where the moral line should be drawn in the sand. It is not clear at this date that any laws have actually been broken, no known lawsuits have been brought against eZula or Gator and no judgements have been rendered.

"2) We have a contractual agreement by which we provide our customers (of which ConsumerInfo is one) with BFAST technology and services to do business. Just like a phone company or an ISP, we don't break our customer contracts unless there is a breach in the agreement or there is a question of the legality of the activity conducted through the channel.

"3) Be Free is not currently weighing in with an official or moral judgement on this issue. There isn't enough information or industry consensus yet. However, we do not utilize any of these services for our own marketing purposes.

"4) With specific regards to the Acclaim Program, we strictly enforce the Acclaim criteria, and only use the criteria for judgement in the program. Currently, the use of eZula's technology is not one of the Acclaim Criteria and is, therefore, irrelevant to their Acclamation Status."

Be Free says there's no industry consensus on this. In comparison, I haven't been contacted by even ONE PERSON who thinks predatory advertising is a fair business tactic. If you think it is, I'd like to hear from you.

=================================
5. My symbolic gesture against CJ
=================================

Commission Junction has always been very helpful whenever I've wanted useful facts for this newsletter.

However, on predatory advertising, the answer I've received is: "No comment."

I think that's really poor.

As a little symbolic gesture, I've removed a CJ button from the main page of AssociatePrograms.com.

(I still have other links scattered throughout the site.)

I'm hoping the CJ executives will change their minds and tell me their side of the story.

I guess the problem is my question:

"I believe predatory advertising is unethical. Do you disagree?"

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======================================
6. ClickBank lowers maximum commission
======================================

Allan Wilson of http://www.instantebookbusiness.com has a warning for ClickBank merchants.

Allan recently advertised in the Associate Programs Newsletter an affiliate program using ClickBank and paying $229.33.

Unfortunately for him, ClickBank has a maximum commission of only $100, recently lowered from $150.

"As the merchant I set my affiliate program to 50% in the members' section - where there is no warning of a maximum payout," Allan says.

He discovered the problem when an affiliate made a sale (although the purchaser had used a stolen credit card so it was a no sale).

"My case is rare as most ClickBank accounts are for products under $50," Allan says. "However, this may be a good warning for affiliate managers who have higher limits, that they cannot pay affiliates any more then $100 (per sale) using the ClickBank system."

"I e-mailed all of my affiliates immediately on learning this and while most are understanding you can appreciate that some are none too happy.

"Hopefully you will be able to warn other would-be affiliate managers using ClickBank and save them the drama and the embarrassment that I have just had to go through."

Here's the page explaining ClickBank's rules:
http://www.clickbank.com/ranking.html

====================================
7. Will we see you at the Boot Camp?
====================================

Several people have asked me if Joanna and I are still going to fly to the United States for Jay Conrad Levinson's Guerrilla Marketing Boot Camp on October 6.

Of course we are. It's going to be a fantastic event.

We're looking forward to it and to meeting some of the movers and shakers in Internet marketing. In my experience, just one tip picked up at a conference like this can be worth many thousands of dollars.

We also love the idea of having a tax-deductible vacation in Las Vegas - a truly awesome city.

The Boot Camp promises a "proven blueprint for generating five- figure profits for ANY business every single month".

You wouldn't want to miss that, would you?

There are great deals on air fares and hotels at the moment - another good reason to choose right now to take your business to a new level and leapfrog over your competitors.

Check it out here:

AssociatePrograms.com/gmarketing 

Here's a gift certificate giving you a big discount.
Number: GC6823

[UPDATE: This offer has closed.]

=============================================
8. FREE trial download - part of "MYSS! 2002"
=============================================

Are you still wondering whether you should get Ken Evoy's "Make Your Site SELL! 20002"?

You shouldn't be, because it's absolutely superb - the essential manual for anyone selling anything on the Net.

However, if even rave reviews and money-back guarantee haven't convinced you, try a FREE sample of the ebook.

Ken has arranged for me to give you a free trial download. To get it, click here:

http://makemy.sitesell.com/freetrial/

(It's a self-extracting file. Mac users will need Stuffit Expander.)

To get the whole book, click here:
http://makemy.sitesell.com

[UPDATE: After more than 100,000 sales, Make Your Site Sell! is now free.]


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================================
9. Google's traffic soars, and other news
================================

An IPO may loom for Google, the search engine everyone loves. With the company handling 120 million Web searches every day, Google's traffic has leaped 73% so far this year, making it the top pure search site on the Web.
businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_39/b3750036.htm

Excite@Home says it will close one of its subsidiaries, marketing firm MatchLogic, by the end of the year. Last week, Excite sold BlueMountain.com to American Greetings for $35 million.
siliconvalley.internet.com/news/article/0,2198,3531_891581,00.html

Here's a scary story: Experts warn that it wouldn't take much to disrupt and even immobilize the U.S. satellites upon which the country's military, government and commercial interests are increasingly dependent. Countries said to be capable of doing this include Iran, Iraq and Pakistan.
newsfactor.com/perl/story/13738.html

For affiliate merchants, it's absolutely critical to provide members of your "sales force" with the tools and support they need to succeed, says Jim Gribble. He explains ways to do this effectively even if you have thousands of affiliates.
clickz.com/aff_mkt/aff_mkt/article.php/891751

Amazon.com is looking more and more like the store which sells everything. It has opened a new travel store in conjunction with Expedia, Hotwire and National Leisure Group's The Vacation Store.
internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_892091,00.html

======================================================
10. Relax in your favorite chair and enjoy Seth's book
======================================================

Do you want to highlight, underline and dog-ear sections of Seth Godin's "Unleashing the Ideavirus"? If so, you're in luck.

The hugely popular "Unleashing the Ideavirus" - the world's most downloaded ebook - has just been published in paperback.

The book provides you with examples of successful ideavirus marketing and then shows you how to concoct your own ideaviruses.

I've ordered my copy and can't wait for it to arrive.

You can get the paperback - so much more convenient than reading an ebook - for under $10 now at Amazon:

http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/ideavirus

===========================================================
11. Useful free resource: PC help, reference and test sites
===========================================================

The Best PC Help, Reference, And Test Sites:

Fred Langa's goal is to compile "the definitive list of outstanding online computer resources", with additions by readers of his newsletter, The LangaList - http://www.langa.com/info.htm

You'll find plenty of resources to bookmark here:
informationweek.com/story/IWK20010916S0021

==============================================
12. Thought for today: Marketers' odd behavior
==============================================

"According to recent studies from CyberAtlas and iProspect... most marketers spend less than 0.5% of their budgets on search engine optimization even though it can bring them up to 75% of their site traffic!"

- Anne Holland
http://www.sherpastore.com

All the best

Allan Gardyne