Associate Programs Newsletter #46
CONTENTS:
1. Web Cards tries dumb spamming software
2. Strange but true – good FREE advice ignored
3. Outpost.com offers $5 bonus for new memberr
4. Leo hides his program under Join button
5. Anaconda version – no CGI scripts necessary
6. Calling all revenue sharing program managers
7. Snippets
8. What you can find at AssociatePrograms.com
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1. Web Cards tries dumb spamming software
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“Spamming,” says Dana Blankenhorn, “is standing on a street corner and kicking everyone who walks by in the shins, then handing them an ad flyer.”
One person who sent me a couple of targeted spam emails recently was Adam Stanhope of Getanaconda.com. However, he told me this week that he doesn't plan to send out more.
“I tried it once, found it to be quite successful from a sales perspective but a terrible mistake from a reputation perspective,” Adam says. “Some people react terribly to unsolicited mail. I underestimated this reaction. I learned my lesson and am reformed. I won't be doing this again.”
React terribly? Surely that's not me he's talking about? All I did was call him a greedy, selfish, thoughtless oaf.
I've seen some weak arguments defending bulk unsolicited email, along with advice such as: “Just hit the delete button” or “Use your email software filters.”
Only someone with mud in his eye or mush for brains cannot see that spam is a problem. If it's not a problem now, when will it be – when you receive 100 junk emails a day, or 1,000 a day? Or when Europe, India and Asia enter the fray?
Spammers know that their recipients are likely to find their messages offensive, so they often try to disguise what they are doing.
One silly technique I've seen was a simple request for my site's advertising rates. When I replied, an autoresponder sent me a get-rich-quick promotion.
Spam I received recently tried to sell me software which gathers URLs and email addresses from search engines and “personalizes” spam by inserting your URL, so that the spam won't look like spam – or that's the theory.
It wasn't long before I received an email apparently using this technique. The writer said: “I just checked out your site, www.associateprograms.com/directory-A.html. Here is something I think you should check out…”
Whoops! He visited my site called
www.associateprograms.com/search/directory-A.shtml
I wrote and told him that dumb software produces dumb letters.
Web Cards, which has an excellent product but a shortsighted staff member, has been experimenting with the same dumb software, or something similar.
Definitions of spam vary widely, but the kind I received in February from Web Cards was the worst kind – it had a fake email header.
I wrote to Joe Haedrich and complained. It was all a horrible mistake, apparently, involving the use of an outside firm and an “opt-in” list that wasn't really an opt-in list.
“You can't imagine what wrath you incur from the Internet community when you are involved in spam – inadvertently or otherwise,” Joe told me in February.
“Our policy has always been and will always be not to involve ourselves in spam in any way – and to send anything under a fake email is totally unethical.”
I agree with you, Joe. It's just a shame you haven't been able to convince your staff.
Now Jim Reardon of https://www.freecenter.com has received two spams from Web Cards, also apparently using dumb software.
“Web Cards spams again,” Jim said. “I just got two messages, one for my About page, one for my Advertising Rates page, and they refuse to remove me from their mailing list…”
The following sentence in the Web Cards spam was a sure giveaway that the sender knew his bulk email was likely to offend:
“If I have contacted you in error, please hit ‘Reply'
and type ‘Remove' and I will eliminate you from our
mailing list.”
I usually earn more than $100 (US) a month from Web Cards, and I like promoting its excellent products, but I don't want to promote a spammer, so I complained to Joe again. Joe asked staff member Chris Corsaro to explain what he did.
Here's part of Chris's response:
I am the webmaster at Web Cards and have on several occasions sent out broadcast e-mail both to test its viability and demonstrate its effectiveness. I've also tested software that personalizes messages.
We have either purchased email addresses from list brokers or have had part-time help find email addresses on business web sites that could be potential customers. Each time we have done so, we prominently listed who we were and gave removal instructions as required by some state laws.
We do not make it a practice to spam. One of the problems we have at Web Cards is that our two main competitors use spam consistently… Part of the reason I used the broadcast email was to see how effective the techniques of the competition are.
In fact we get much of our business from their dissatisfied customers. The problem is that with spam they get there first. I have been trying to get Web Cards to use this technique but the “higher ups” – including Joe have said no. The problem is that it works – we've had two or three complaints but the experiments I have done have yielded a 10% response rate with a huge order rate. We ask only in the email whether the webmaster would like some samples and our brochure.
While I know that Web Cards will never agree to using spam, I have demonstrated that it can be a very effective way to market as long as it is done openly and with proper notification.
I'm sorry that Jim Reardon has found the letter I sent offensive. I doubt whether I will be sending any more unsolicited email but if I do I will be sure to make sure his name is not on any of the lists we purchase or get from any other source.
Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. We do value our relationship with AssociatePrograms.com.
Sincerely,
Chris Corsaro
Webmaster
I'm not quite sure whether I ought to wipe Web Cards from the AssociatePrograms.com directory or not, because I'm receiving one message from Joe and a contradictory one from his staff member.
My policy is not to list spammers' programs but I do list programs run by reformed spammers.
What do you think? Should I dump Web Cards – or give Joe one more chance?
Have your say at the Associate Programs Message Board
https://www.associateprograms.com/discus/index.php
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2. Strange but true – good FREE advice ignored
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Corey Rudl, one of the Internet's most successful marketers, includes a lot of useful free tips and tricks in his monthly newsletter.
However, something surprising is happening. Corey says that many people who sign up as associates don't bother signing up for his free monthly newsletter.
If you are one of those people, here's what you missed seeing in the April issue of “The Internet Marketing Tips Newsletter” – More than 35 pages on the theme, “Should I Become Part of an Associate Program?”
Corey gives an excellent overview of revenue sharing programs, what to look for when joining one, rules to consider, how to become a successful associate, why associate programs are “the ultimate back-end”, why you should join one even if you have your own program, etc, etc.
For people trying to figure out how much traffic they need to make money from revenue sharing programs, Corey offers this formula:
“2000 visitors to your site X 5% click-through rate = 100 potential customers X 1% buying ratio = 1 buying customer.”
Experiment with the figures. Let's assume you have only a 1% click-through rate. You're going to need five times as many visitors to achieve one sale:
10,000 visitors to your site X 5% click-through rate = 100 potential customers X 1% buying ratio = 1 buying customer.
Normally only subscribers see Corey's newsletter but he gave me permission to tell you the URL:
https://www.marketingtips.com/newsletter/issue13/
In the newsletter, Corey is subtly warming you up so that he can sell you something. Even if you learn nothing else, you'll find it fascinating figuring out exactly how he does that.
Corey has the biggest-selling marketing course on the Net. It's a two-tier program, paying $65 on sales you make and $20 on sales made by your sub-associates.
He is making major changes to the course – including adding 100 pages this month – and his online tracking software is being replaced by “really cool stuff”.
https://www.associateprograms.com/corey
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3. Outpost.com offers $5 bonus for new members
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From today, Outpost.com is launching a Member-Get-a-Member drive. Outpost.com will pay you a $2.50 bounty for every new member you get to join, and an additional $2.50 when each new member makes his or her first sale.
I went to LinkShare.com and signed up, and created the following extremely l-o-n-g link, which is said to be suitable for use in email:
[UPDATE: Unworkable L-O-N-G link deleted.]That's a joke, right?
You can join at https://www.associateprograms.com/linkshare
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4. Leo hides his program under Join button
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Leo Sheiner's advertising network Safe-Audit had me fooled. It told members it had launched a partners program – but Leo's web designer hid the details under a button called Join. Because I had already joined ages ago, I had no reason to click there.
Leo says he received lots of complaints – but he is used to that. Safe-Audit has grown at fantastic speed, this week acquiring its 25,000th member. Along the way, it has also acquired a band of disgruntled webmasters who complain of checks going astray and emails going unanswered. Leo does an expert of job of publicizing Safe-Audit but however much he does in adding new servers and new email systems, they never seem to be enough to end the complaints. I imagine the unhappy people are only a small minority among the 25,000.
Safe-Audit is now setting up its own moderated discussion list. Details will be on the Safe-Audit site this week. (If you can't find them, perhaps they'll be under the Join button.)
Here's how the partner program works.
“Safe-audit earns 20% ($20 out of every $100) for revenue generated by member host sites. Safe-Audit also charges 20% to advertisers. In both cases Safe-Audit will pay you a minimum of 2.5% of our revenue forever for each introduction,” Leo says.
Bonuses for big traffic sites can push that commission as high as 22.5%.
I've used Safe-Audit in a small, experimental way as a host. I received checks and didn't have any problems.
Note the word “forever” in Leo's description. Despite its growing pains, Safe-Audit is doing well and Leo has ambitious plans. Imagine if you referred an advertiser who turned out to be the Amazon.com of the future. You could earn 22.5% commission – forever . . .
Become a host:
safe-audit.com/partner_register_host.cfm?PartnerID=211
Become an advertiser:
safe-audit.com/partner_register_advertiser.cfm?PartnerID=211
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5. Anaconda version – no CGI scripts necessary
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If you would like to use the Anaconda script – which turns Amazon.com 5% links into 15% links – but don't have access to a CGI server, you can use a new free service called eboz Collator.
“By linking to the Collator script, which is a specially modified version of the Anaconda script, associates can turn their Amazon search form links into hard-links paying a possible 15% commission,” says Michael Wong.
You can see the Collator script working at
eboz.com/collator.shtml
Anaconda Partners has created an Anaconda! Hot 100 CGI script. It dynamically retrieves the Amazon Hot 100 listings from Amazon, and inserts them into your pages instantly. It also changes all individual book links to hard links with your associate code as well.
You can see it in action at
https://www.anaconda.net/
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6. Calling all revenue sharing program managers
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Declan Dunn just keeps on producing new good stuff:
THE PROBLEM:
Declan continues to hear from affiliate program managers that they are understaffed and have no time for training their affiliates.
THE SOLUTION:
“To that end, we have created a FREE training program for program managers to make available to their affiliate networks,” says Declan's partner Patrick Anderson.
I've set up a web page which explains the free training offer.
[UPDATE: That old page vanished in a site reorganization.]By the way, one merchant told me this week that he knew Declan Dunn's “Winning the Affiliate Game” was very good, but he was “too busy” to promote it.
If you're in that situation, please consider this: Declan makes earning those 25% commissions (plus 10% on sales THEY make) remarkably easy. He provides all the marketing material for you – just cut and paste, and change a few words to suit.
“Winning the Affiliate Game” is a runaway best-seller, spreading like wildfire. It would be a shame to miss out on something so good.
[UPDATE: This fairly old book is no longer available. Here are the affiliate resources I now recommend: Affiliate Resources ]===========
7. Snippets
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$5 bonus on sales
Electronic Newsstand it will pay its normal 10% commissions on magazine subscription sales, plus a $5 bonus for each subscription sale (for the top 15 magazines) till May 1, says Tom Palmer of enews.com. Perhaps you could promote magazine subscriptions as Mother's Day gifts?
https://www.enews.com
CJ.com error
My current account balance at the revamped Commission Junction site was showing zero sales this week but another page there said I did have sales. Janelle Kopp of CJ.com says the problem is now fixed.
Opt-in email marketing
Seth Godin of Yahoo (formerly of YoYoDyne) has written a book on opt-in marketing. You can get the first four chapters free.
https://www.permission.com
Cheating advertisers
If you are an advertiser paying per click, this story about cheats will have you worried.
thestandard.com/articles/display/0,1449,4192,00.html
A tool for tracking down spammers
kryten.eng.monash.edu.au/gspam.html#tools
Never more than 5 ads…
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