Associate Programs Newsletter #106

Declan Dunn made me half an hour late for a doctor's appointment today.

I was driving along, concentrating on Tape 3 in the Affiliate Boot Camp series, in which Declan describes why some websites get the sale and some don't.

Whoops! I just noticed the road sign to Nambour, miles down the road from where I was supposed to turn off.

Sorry, Doc. I was listening to Declan. He sure is an entertaining speaker.

It's good stuff.

[UPDATE: Those tapes aren't available any more.]

CONTENTS:

1. Why I've grabbed another little niche
2. Places to get ideas for a niche
3. Affiliate Union is a good idea but . . .
4. Dispute Resolution Service
5. Hey bosses! Those pages should be secure
6. Be Free's Channel Cash works like a charm
7. Easy way to publish your own newsletter
8. Vstore goes international
9. Combining e-mail marketing with an affiliate program

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========================================
1. Why I've grabbed another little niche
========================================

I've just been having a look at the online statistics for one of the two-tier associate programs I've joined. It's disappointing to see how many of my sub-associates have achieved only ONE sale this month, or no sale at all.

I know it's a good program. The products are excellent, they're great value for money, and I know that the company's website is designed to sell - because it does for me. The company also offers plenty of excellent advice to associates to help them achieve sales.

So what are so many of you doing wrong?

There could be many reasons. You can't manage to find the time, you haven't learned how to get the traffic you need, or you haven't properly identified a marketing niche.

Judging by websites I've seen, too many of them are trying desperately to make money, instead of building a useful, interesting website, with which they can earn money.

Over and over, I see websites which scream at me: "THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE MONEY!" or words to that effect. The only niche these websites are in is "Get rich quick" - and I suppose they're surprised when they don't.

I've been successful partly because I identified a fast-growing niche - associate programs - and set up a website aimed at people interested in them. It's now a hugely crowded field, but because I entered it way back in January 1998 I have an advantage over my newer competitors struggling to be noticed in the crowd.

"It's all right for you," I've been told. "You're lucky."

Well maybe. However, reading a lot and keeping alert for opportunities has helped, too.

I've just grabbed a new niche. I could be wrong, but as far as I know I'm the first in this little niche.

Here's how it happened.

Like me, you've probably tried paying for rankings at GoTo.com. It's a highly cost-effective way of buying targeted, very cheap traffic. However, because it is so good, many search terms have become too expensive for most of us to buy, so we've begun looking for GoTo.com competitors.

This is a hot topic. This week and last week, I-Search Digest e-mail discussion list - audettemedia.com/i-search/ - has published special editions discussing pay per click search engines.

I looked for a directory of pay per click search engines and couldn't find one.

So I've started one - http://www.PayPerClickSearchEngines.com .
(Yes. That's exactly how I started AssociatePrograms.com, too.)

PayPerClickSearchEngines.com is brand new and needs improving, but it lists every pay per click search engine I can find - 12 of them - and also a few pay for placement engines (ones which don't have a pure cost-per-click payment system).

I've briefly reviewed the search engines and would really appreciate your comments.

This new website will be a little surprise for Nathan, who is on holiday. It's going to be his job to improve the site and keep it updated.

PayPerClickSearchEngines.com also has links to two articles describing step-by-step how to get the most out of advertising on GoTo.com. It's excellent, detailed advice which applies to all the pay per click search engines.

If someone else has already launched a site devoted to pay per click search engines, my apologies. I spent quite a while looking for one and couldn't find one.

If you'd like to link to http://www.PayPerClickSearchEngines.com I'd really appreciate that. Considering all the search engine experts out there, I imagine it will be tough work getting ranked in the main search engines.

==================================
2. Places to get ideas for a niche
==================================

If you're looking for a niche on which to base a new website, here are some ideas to get you started:

Choose a topic in which you are already passionately interested.

A topic in which you can BECOME passionately interested.

A topic in which other people are passionately interested, and can be encouraged to provide material for your site.

Problems to which you can supply solutions.

Slice and dice. Watch for niches which are growing too large. Then bite off a little chunk on which you can become an expert.

It has been predicted that there will be more than 1 billion wireless users by the end of 2004. Perhaps there's a little niche in there for you?

It helps a lot if your target audience is willing to spend money.

Sites to help give you ideas:

http://www.BestEzines.com - lists of ezines discussing a huge variety of topics.

http://www.ForumOne.com - online message boards.

http://www.audettemedia.com/i-help/ - an email discussion list where people who have problems often ask questions.

http://digest.bcentral.com/ - LinkExchange Digest discussion list - another good source of ideas and advice on a wide variety of topics.

Here's a good article by Sean Carton on niche marketing clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/cz/tle/tle.html?article=1604

Annette Hamilton reveals five secrets hidden in your favorite bookmarks - and the top 10 "special interest" sites in March. zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2550798,00.html

[UPDATE: Here's a long list of niche website ideas Niche website ideas ]


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===========================================
3. Affiliate Union is a good idea but . . .
===========================================

Harith Al-Jibury of http://www.danex-exm.dk is keen to launch a union for affiliates.

"We are doing our best to get all the good people involved," he says.

Harith envisages a completely volunteer online organization in the spirit of early Internet "open standards committees".

He would like to see a "certification standard" for affiliate merchants.

Brian Clark breaths extra live into the proposal here:
revenews.com/advice/strategy/blueprint.html

It's an idea which has immediate appeal. Affiliates often feel helpless when they promote products and aren't paid, or when they read clauses in ghastly contracts which mean "We can do whatever we like whenever we like."

Affiliates need a voice.

On the other hand, I've seen affiliates who have been far too quick to label a company a "scam" simply because a check hasn't arrived on time.

I've also seen critics do huge potential damage to reputable companies by making unsubstantiated, ill-researched claims. The Affiliate Union would need to ensure that anyone denying a merchant the union's stamp of approval did so only after taking the utmost care and checking all the facts.

Affiliate merchants need a voice, too.

Investigating affiliates' complaints can be extremely time- consuming. I fear that if Harith gathers a group of volunteers they will find that they have taken on a task larger and more complicated than they ever imagined.

For example, Associate Programs.com lists more than 2,500 affiliate programs - not counting all the submissions which failed to meet our standards. If a volunteer spent a mere 20 minutes on each program, evaluating them all would take more than 830 hours. That time does NOT include any time spent writing to companies and affiliates seeking comments and additional information with which to make an intelligent, informed decision.

Beware. There are murky waters to navigate.

Making judgements on companies isn't easy. For example, when I began promoting one particular company I received a couple of friendly warnings from affiliates who had promoted the product with little success. They both believed that the company was not paying all the commissions earned. I don't know if what they say is true. However, affiliates using the AssociatePrograms.com directory have publicly given the company a low rating.

Should a low rating automatically mean that a company is rejected for certification? Careful! How are you going to ensure that the company's competitors aren't skewing the ratings?

Shawn Collins, who has experience from both the affiliate's and the affiliate program owner's point of view, has offered to help the new union. That's a great start.

Sometimes when people complain to me about a company I suggest that they should post their complaint on the Associate Programs Message Board - and tell the company that they have done so. Merchants usually react very fast when they are publicly criticized. Bad publicity is a powerful weapon.

You can read more about the proposed Affiliate Union at AffiliateUnion.com and have your say on a message board.

=============================
4. Dispute Resolution Service
=============================

Richard Trask, President of the Revenue Sharing Association - Revenuesharingassoc.com - which was formed some time ago but has received little publicity, has announced a free Dispute Resolution Service for the revenue sharing industry, in partnership with iLevel.

"The Dispute Resolution Service provides a free non-legal forum to address these matters in a formal process," Richard says. "We handle the communication between the parties with a goal of a win-win conclusion. We provide a work out period of 30 days to resolve the matter. After the 30-day processing period, the member filing the complaint can post the matter in our public schedule if the dispute is not resolved. We believe public opinion and adverse publicity can provide sufficient incentive to cause most parties to want to resolve the conflict as privately as possible."

[UPDATE: This site has disappeared.]

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===========================================
5. Hey bosses! Those pages should be secure
===========================================

Affiliate program owners have upset Gary Hudgens, who writes:

   Allan,

    The only reason I did not sign up just now with aWeber under
    you is because I don't ever type my Social Security Number
    anywhere on the Internet unless it is under a secure
    environment. AIS, on the other hand, did provide the security,
    so I signed up.

    I also signed up for CarPrices, even though it was not secure,
    but I put 999-99-9999 for my SSN. Then, when I finished, I
    wrote them and asked them to make a change so that at least the
    SSN is done in a secure environment.

    Looks like to me that ALL of these guys nowadays would be
    sensitive to our needs. We do NOT want to take the chance that
    someone will steal our identities, now, do we?

    Gary Hudgens

UPDATE, November 23, 2000:

   From Tom Kulzer:

    I was just reading a couple back issues of the
    Associate Program Newletter and saw a comment about our
    service. The Affiliate sign-up page does ask for a SS # but
    at the time Gary tried to sign up it was not required.
    It is required now for all US citizens but the sign-up process
    is encrypted from start to end now.

    http://www.aweber.com/signup.htm

    You'll see that page comes up as secure even if someone
    tries to go through it through the regular HTTP connection.
    It checks and makes sure it is secure. If it's not
    it redirects to the secure page.

   Cheers,
    Tom Kulzer
    President/CEO
    AWeber Systems, Inc.

[UPDATE: The AIS Media program has closed.]

============================================
6. Be Free's Channel Cash works like a charm
============================================

Be Free has announced Channel Cash, a free tool which allows MS FrontPage 2000 users to drop affiliate links into their pages easily without visiting Reporting.net.

Eldon Sarte, editor of the Dirtsmart Netpreneur Ezine, says Channel Cash "lets you easily integrate a merchant's promotional banners and links into your site from within the FrontPage environment - eliminating the need to do the typical cutting-and- pasting from an external browser session - helping to not only minimize the possibility of error, it makes the whole process as painless as possible".

It works like a charm, Eldon says.

Be Free announcement:
befree.com/docs/news/press65.htm

Eldon's review:
dirtsmart.com/cgi-bin/ez/go.cgi?096rev

Download Channel Cash free:
http://www.websunlimited.com

========================================
7. Easy way to publish your own newsletter
========================================

ROIbot, the web-based affiliate tracking tool with extra features, has been improved yet again.

Version 4.0 includes a new feature for ROIbot Pro users, the ROIbot Newsletter Server.

"As you know, running your own e-mail newsletter is a prerequisite to success on the Net," says Stacie Dufresne of ROIbot.

The ROIbot Newsletter Server is an application you download which turns your PC into a newsletter server. It completely automates and schedules the management and mailing of e-mail newsletters.

"If you've been thinking about starting a newsletter, or are not happy with your current solution, you should definitely check this out," Stacie says.

[UPDATE: ROIbot was sold to the innovative Nitro guys -

http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/nitro

============================
8. Vstore goes international
============================

Vstore now offers its "Vtailer" service internationally. "Whether you live in Montreal, Madras or Manila, you can open a personally branded, fully stocked, online store in minutes," Vstore says.

I was asked yesterday if I earn a percentage of affiliates' commissions from Vstore for promoting it. No, I don't. How I could earn a commission from a link which looks like this - http://www.Vstore.com - I have no idea.

However, I DO earn a commission if you buy "Right On The Money" - Patrick Anderson's book which is very useful for Vstore affiliates, or any online marketer.

[UPDATE: Vstore closed. This old classic is no longer available. For the latest resources I recommend see Affiliate Resources ]

=======================================================
9. Combining email marketing with an affiliate program
=======================================================

I should have known better. If you quote someone who claims to be the first to do something, there's a good chance someone else will pop up and say, "Hey, we're already doing that."

I received this letter from Rachel Doletzky of KowaBunga! Technologies:

I wanted to take a minute to comment on the article "A viral
marketing tool you can use" that ran in Newsletter #103
( Viral marketing tool ).

This is an excellent article! I was really excited to see you
explaining the benefits of combining email marketing with
affiliate program marketing.

Here, at KowaBunga! Technologies, we offer a complete Email
Marketing Software package that is completely integrated with
The Affiliate Program Software and our new solution My  Affiliate
Program.

Our Email Marketing Software does exactly what you've talked
about in your article - and a lot more! The software includes
features like:

Guestbooks for the affiliates and the merchant - The merchant
places their guestbook in their Empowerment Pack/Additional
Linking Methods where affiliates can easily grab it by logging
into their admin areas.

Multiple lists with multiple fields - All fields can be
queried to find and mail to specific groups. Each field can be
merged into any outgoing message. This includes the referring
Affiliate's ID number in all links and as "phone extensions",
"department numbers", etc.

Scheduled mailings (the "spaced repetition" in action) -
Sends messages "x" days after the recipient signs up for the
list.

A special "Rapid Reply" e-mail address that works just like
the Guestbooks - send an e-mail to the address and you're added
to the list. You'll receive an auto-reply message and all
scheduled follow up mailings. Plus - your affiliates get their
own ID-encoded e-mail address which adds their affiliate ID
number to the record.

List Statistics - You can obtain statistical information
about your recipients to determine your audience's needs, give
your advertisers information about your readers, etc.

Sorry to burst Neil's bubble ("Believe me, other people will be
selling scripts like this soon. Act now while there is NO
COMPETITION!"), but we've actually had this software in place
since late last year. At this time, we have over 100 accounts
successfully using this software.

The E-mail Marketing Software is included in My Affiliate
Program at $795 and $50 per month. With The Affiliate Program,
the E-mail Marketing Software is an additional $399 and $25 per
month.

The software is great! We use it for all of our follow-ups,
auto-replies and newsletters. Since the software was created by
our inhouse programmers, we're able to offer our clients ongoing
updates and new features - much like we do with My Affiliate
Program Software.

Rachel Doletzky
KowaBunga! Technologies
http://www.myaffiliateprogram.com

The viral marketing tool which Neil Shearing is using, with an associate's code built into each message, is Smart Personalized Autoresponses. It costs $199. For details see:
Viral marketing tool

Thanks for telling your friends how to subscribe. You're wonderful! You've helped us reach the 14,000 subscriber mark.

All the best

Allan Gardyne