Associate Programs Newsletter #214
Here’s a really meaty edition for you today…
It looks at Rupert’s SBI case study, Froogle, No.1 rankings in Google, defamation scares, scumware and more…
CONTENTS:
1. At last – Rupert’s Site Built It! case study
2. Froogle is stunning, but you can beat it
3. How a friend of mine gets No.1 rankings
4. Defamation case affects us all everywhere
5. Amazon to pay directly into bank accounts
6. Three networks sign Code of Conduct on scumware
7. Here’s a good affiliate success story
8. CDNow ends its affiliate program, and other news
9. Survey of affiliate managers
10. Have you tried SpamCheck yet?
11. I answer questions on affiliate programs
12. Merchants who pay via PayPal
13. Thought for today: Affiliate marketing
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1. At last – Rupert’s Site Built It! case study
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Here’s the report people have kept asking us for.
My assistant Rupert has completed his Site Build It! affiliate marketing case study.
In it Rupert, who describes himself as a “regular guy” who “doesn’t know much about affiliate programs and even less about marketing” tells you how he built a successful affiliate site.
Apart from his hobby – being a dance music DJ – Rupert is probably like many of you.
* He works from home (usually about 1,000 miles from me).
* This was a part-time project.
* He’s largely unsupervised, doing his own research and making
his own decisions.
If that sounds like you, you’ll find Rupert’s case study fascinating, a road map to follow.
If you’re an affiliate merchant, you’ll quickly see how this case study will boost your affiliates’ sales. All you have to do is tell your affiliates to read it.
If you’re a super affiliate or a Site Build It! veteran, no doubt you’ll be able to see many ways in which Rupert could improve what he’s done. After all, he is an affiliate novice.
I’ve just checked Rupert’s stats. His first Site Build It! site has now generated $35,639 in sales and his second site $80,135 in sales. We earn a commission on that.
That’s not bad for a novice who knew nothing about affiliate programs or marketing when I hired him about a year ago.
Throughout the case study, I’ve added a few comments in red that I hope you’ll find helpful.
At the end, I’ve added a section titled “8 ways Rupert could increase his monthly commissions.”
He’s already racing ahead and making his second SBI site better than his first.
Enjoy the case study. You can read it here:
Affiliate marketing case study using SBI
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2. Froogle is stunning, but you can beat it
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Have you seen Froogle – “all the world’s products in one place”?
(If you’re selling ANY product, make sure yours is listed, free.)
I think Froogle has stunning, MASSIVE potential, and at first glance that might be a little scary for affiliates.
If you know exactly what you want to buy online, it looks as though Froogle is going to be THE place to go to check prices.
What can you do about this sort of competition?
Remember that people who are about to buy something want more than a list of products and prices. They need HELP in deciding what to buy.
Add your opinions to your site. Be useful. Be different. Be memorable. Help your visitors decide which product to buy.
That’s exactly what Rupert is doing. Read Rupert’s Site Build It! case study and learn how.
Affiliate marketing case study using SBI
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3. How a friend of mine gets No.1 rankings
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I’m suspicious when I see claims by people who say they’ve discovered a way to get No.1 rankings in search engines.
It’s the sort of claim often made by charlatans.
However, when a friend of mine, Jay Stockwell, says it in a new book called “Microsite Miracles”, you can believe him.
Joanna and I have known Jay and his family for many years. We usually stay with them when we’re passing through Brisbane, Australia, on one of our trips to or from New Zealand. The family are all committed Christians.
Jay’s father, Blair Stockwell, is an Olympian cyclist and three times Commonwealth Games medalist.
From his father, Jay has inherited a love of cycling, an inquiring mind and a fair amount of discipline.
At the age of 17 he represented his country in road cycling. He has two degrees, one in behavioral science and the other in multimedia.
After Jay built a web site that wasn’t attracting visitors he applied his inquiring mind to the challenge of search engine optimization.
Instead of merely rehashing other people’s ideas, Jay has produced his own software, EasySEO, which has enabled him to “reverse engineer” hundreds of high ranking web sites.
As a result of those studies, he’s produced his own formula of strategies for scoring a bunch of No.1 rankings in Google and other search engines.
One of his test cases in 12 months went from zero to more than 1 million pageviews a month.
Rest assured, he’s not using any shady tricks.
In “Microsite Miracles” Jay describes a real world case study, starting right from the beginning, where he has an intriguing way of choosing keywords.
Although I’ve been studying search engines and reading books on the subject for years, I quickly picked up three tips from Jay that I hadn’t read anywhere else.
For example, you’ll love his explanation of what he calls “foundation keyword phrases” and using keywords in internal anchor links.
I was given a draft version of the book to review and apparently I wasn’t the only person who asked Jay to provide more proof. His fantastic No.1 rankings ARE a bit hard to believe.
In response, a few days ago Jay added another chapter, titled “More Proof”, with more case studies.
Right at the end of the book is a surprise bonus.
What I like most about “Microsite Miracles” is that Jay isn’t regurgitating other people’s stuff.
Perhaps he tends to under-estimate the importance of off-page factors. Perhaps he can’t achieve the same results with extremely tough keywords. However, I know one thing for certain – he gets very impressive rankings.
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4. Defamation case affects us all everywhere
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Do the words you’ve written harm someone’s business? If so, that person could sue you – in a foreign country.
In a landmark ruling, Australia’s highest court, the High Court, has given a businessman the right to sue for defamation IN AUSTRALIA over an article published in the United States and posted on the Internet.
Here’s the news:
https://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37437-2002Dec10.html
For more details, do a search for “Joseph Gutnick” at
https://news.google.com/ .
Here’s a complicating factor. Want to understand Australia’s defamation laws? The laws DIFFER from state to state.
As a general guideline, Australia’s defamation laws are more restrictive than America’s.
(I’m not a lawyer and I’m no expert in defamation. In another life, I did a little tutoring in journalism and had to study this stuff. It made my head ache trying to understand the subtle differences in Australia’s state laws.)
Here’s a good summary of Australia’s defamation laws:
https://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/defamation.html
Trying to figure out what all this means? It means things are suddenly riskier for anyone who publishes a web site.
One avenue you might consider exploring – Joanna and I have already done this – is to seek advice on how to protect your assets in case you’re sued. (For example, if you sue me for everything I own, you won’t get the house I’m sitting in as I write this. Ask a legal eagle how that’s done.)
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5. Amazon to pay directly into bank accounts
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Amazon.com will charge an $8 processing fee per check to encourage its U.S. associates to use a new Direct Deposit feature and have commissions paid directly into their bank accounts.
The minimum payment threshold for direct deposit payments will be lowered to only $10. However, if you want to continue to be paid by check, the minimum payment threshold will rise from $25 to $100.
The $8 charge doesn’t apply to associates with billing addresses outside the U.S. Direct Deposit isn’t available to them.
More than 900,000 web sites have joined the Amazon associate program.
I like direct deposits into my bank account, but charging an $8 fee for those who don’t seems a bit heavy handed.
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6. Three networks sign Code of Conduct on scumware
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Three affiliate networks – Be Free, Commission Junction and Performics – have signed a Code of Conduct on predatory advertising.
The code applies to the use of “downloadable shopping software applications”, commonly referred to as scumware because of unethical practises that include hijacking commissions.
It aims to give “guidance” to merchants, affiliates and “technology providers”.
The code says that no “publisher” (affiliate) may “interfere with or seek to influence improperly” (hijack) referrals. Publishers must not modify the content or appearance of another affiliate’s web pages.
“Publishers’ use of technology to circumvent fair business practices will be in violation of the code of conduct and will not be allowed,” CJ explains.
“The document is a good first step, but it all depends on enforcement,” says Wayne Porter of AffTrack, who played an important role in the discussions. “I have a feeling that the networks will be enforcing it quite hard.”
LinkShare didn’t endorse the Code of Conduct.
LinkShare had already added an anti-scumware addendum to its Affiliate Membership Agreement –
https://www.linkshare.com/resourcecenter/addendum.pdf and says it already includes a code of conduct and “gives our partners the type of protection they truly need”.
Companies that have signed LinkShare’s addendum include:
WURLD Media/Buyer’s Port (Morpheus)
TopMoxie (and their 9 clients, including eBates, Upromise, etc.)
ShopAtHome Select
FatWallet
LinkShare CEO Stephen Messer issued a statement published here:
https://iafma.org/gm/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1122
(requires registration to IAFMA and also forum registration)
Minutes of the Performance Marketing Summit that led to the Code of Conduct agreement:
https://www.afftrack.com/summit/
This issue will still require close monitoring. Affiliates aren’t likely to trust companies that thought hijacking commissions was acceptable behavior.
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7. Here’s a good affiliate success story
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Bing Wen likes using coupons to shop with discounts, so she launched U-Coupons.com to share her finds.
Her site is now a highly successful affiliate-driven business.
In an interview for Corey Rudl’s private site, she explains how the site turns 45% of its visitors into repeat visitors.
Bing’s interview is just one of the many on the private site where “mom and pop” businesses describe how they earn $100,000+ a year. New interviews are added every month.
I’ve been a subscriber since the first issue. It’s a “must-have”.
As a special deal you can get free access here, but do it now because I don’t know how long it will last:
[UPDATE: This private site is no longer available. Here’s another really good source of Internet success stories.]===============================================
8. CDNow ends its affiliate program, and other news
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Online music retailer CDNow has discontinued its affiliate program and instead is directing people to Amazon.com.
https://news.com.com/2100-1023-975332.html
Google has restored SearchKing’s ranking in search engine results (it is again No. 1 if you do a search for “searchking”). However, the PageRank remain the same: 4 out of 10.
https://www.pandia.com/sw-2002/40-google.html
Gator is being sued again
https://www.clickz.com/res/analyze_data/article.php/1547791
Stamps.com is being sued again
https://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/1551841
Affiliate hi-jinks: UK-based mobile phone retailer Phones4u is considering action against The Carphone Warehouse after discovering that people visiting phones4you.co.uk are being directed to a site advertising the services of its arch rival.
https://www.demys.net/news/02_nov_18_phone.htm
A hyperactive Amazon spider is upsetting some associates
https://forums.prospero.com/am-assocdevxml/messages?msg=1184.14
How many pay-per-click search engines is too many? Nathan Power now lists well over 400 and has a Top 10 list:
https://www.PayPerClickSearchEngines.com
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9. Survey of affiliate managers
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Shawn Collins is surveying affiliate managers on their over-all statistics, staffing, planning, management etc. Affiliate managers who complete the survey will receive a summary of the AffStat 2003 Report.
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10. Have you tried SpamCheck yet?
===============================================
I sent a copy of this newsletter to…
…remembering to put TEST in capital letters at the beginning of the Subject line.
The SpamCheck report gave the newsletter a nice low score of 1.6. That means it should get through most filters.
SpamCheck is an awesome free service. It uses Spam Assassin software, which is really strict, so if you’re approved by SpamCheck your email should stay out of junk folders.
A bonus – this service teaches you how to write to avoid filters.
You can learn more about it here:
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11. I answer questions on affiliate programs
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Jason Anderson asked some good questions when he interviewed me for his newsletter, Achieve Net Profits.
Here’s a sample of the questions he asked:
What has been your worst mistake in affiliate marketing?
What did you learn (and change) from that mistake?
What do you think is the best way to promote an affiliate program?
What are your thoughts on mini-sites and themed sites?
If you were starting from scratch with affiliate marketing today, what steps would you follow to achieve the same success you have today?
I’ve been earning a good living from affiliate programs since 1998, so I hope that means you’ll find my answers useful.
You can read them here:
https://www.achievenetprofits.com/archive/issue014.html
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12. Merchants who pay via PayPal
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I promised to publish a list of merchants who pay via PayPal. Sorry, I’m still working on it.
A good one who does is Neil Shearing –
https://www.associateprograms.com/scamfrees .
He has good products and an unusually high conversion rate.
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13. Thought for today: Invest in self-education
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“I can tell you without hesitation that I would NOT be where I am today if I hadn’t invested heavily in self education over the years. And I believe you’re making an incalculably costly mistake if you don’t do the same.”
– Marlon Sanders
Try Marlon’s 30-day trial
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==> REMINDER…
Check out Rupert’s SBI case study.
It shows you how to add another revenue stream – easily.
Affiliate marketing case study using SBI
All the best
Allan Gardyne
[UPDATE, 2013: SiteSell, the creator of SBI, has launched a WordPress Plugin called bizXpress, which provides you with all the brainstorming, research, keyword tools, comprehensive training, and support you would normally get with SBI, PLUS the ease and simplicity of the hugely popular WordPress system. BizXpress is now my No.1 recommendation for affiliates. Here’s my bizXpress review.]
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