Inside the Secret Life of a Super Affiliate - Zac Johnson dot Com Let the Reign Begin

Running a business is like creating an Empire! You may be the king of your castle (company), but you can’t run an empire on your own. Everyone living inside the castle has their own job or requirement to make it stronger, how will you build your castle on your own? The answer is outsourcing!

Outsourcing is good for many reasons, the major ones being that is takes the stress and workload off yourself, and that you can focus on bigger projects that make more money. Outsourcing is available everywhere, and for nearly anything you can think of… but finding quality work and reliable outsourcing solutions is the hardest part.

In most cases the best work will come from personal referrals, but sometimes you are left to fend for yourself. In such times, I’ve come across a few reliable sources that I’ve turned back to time and time again. Below is my list of preferred outsourcing solutions I’ve used for design, writing, advertising and everything in between.

Need a Quick Banner Design?
Got an idea for a new ad campaign, or simply want to a few new banners for your site? Look no further than RightBanners. I’ve used these guys several times and they’ve always over delivered. The best part about their service is their turn around time. You should almost always have your design work within 24 hours (usually within 4 hours). If you aren’t happy with your first draft, let them know and something new will be created for you. Banner rates start at $36 each.

Full Time / Part Time Writers
Another great resource I’ve come across is the ProBlogger Job Listings. For just $50 you’ll receive a 30 day listing. ProBlogger is a massive site in itself, but the amount of writers and readers on the site looking for new work is also tremendous. I’ve done a few listings in the past, and on both I’ve received over 20+ resumes looking for work. As the job lister, you decide on what the job entitles, along with pay.

Outsource Your Advertising
When running a blog or web site, one of the major sources of revenue comes from your on site advertising. Two excellent services for managing your earnings, ad rotations and providing a market place for buying and selling advertising is BuySellAds and AdvertiseSpace. BuySellAds has been around for a while and is made up of over 750 successful bloggers and 1,000 quality advertisers. AdvertiseSpace is a smaller site with the same concept. BuySellAds offers more customization and options, but AdvertiseSpace is still new. Both services are recommended for testing for ad buying and sell. BuySellAds charges a 25% commission on all sales, while AdvertiseSpace ranges from 20-30%.

Full Web Site & Logo Design Creation
Since we covered banner, writing and advertising options, let’s finish with the sites that can put everything together. Two of my favorite sites for blog/site and logo design are 99Designs and LogoMyWay. Again, I’ve personally posted jobs on both sites and very happy with the results. In a recent design posting on99Designs I received just over 150 design submissions, and over 500 design submissions when using LogoMyWay. Design postings on both sites vary, but start in the $200 range.

Finding the Right Image
This one isn’t so much outsourcing, but it sure can save you some time. When creating new landing pages, web sites or even just for a blog post… finding the right image to use is key. One of my favorite royalty free stock photo sites is iStockPhoto. They have thousands of high quality photos to use, and it really only costs a buck or two to get a nice size image. Sure, you can head over to Google Images or Bing and do a photo search… but when you need a nice high quality image, and want to keep yourself copyright safe, look no further than iStockPhoto. (Images used on this post are from iStockPhoto)

My list of recommended outsourcing solutions may be familiar to a few, but hopefully not many. This article was written to inform you of the smaller solutions available that have been working for me and the benefits of outsourcing. For more options and outsourcing tasks, you can always turn to bigger sites like eLance, Guru and Freelancer.

Leave a comment about your experience in outsourcing and if you’ve used any of these services.

It happens all the time… you just came up with a great idea for a new site or ad campaign, and can’t wait to get started. You register a domain, throw a site together and are working like crazy. The only problem is, you didn’t do your research first. I’m sure we are all guilty of doing this at some point, and I still even find myself getting excited over a new project prematurely. In the end, it always comes down to doing the necessary market research and finding what works in your niche.

Search any generic phrase on Google and you will likely see a ton of advertisers. The difference between having a successful and failing campaign may be seen in how many advertisers are bidding on that keyword, along with which advertisers are listed. Big name sites like eBay and Amazon can afford to bid on very generic terms because of their massive size, bank roll and user value over time. If you see only these two advertisers bidding on a search term, the “paid” competition may be tough, but if you find your search results coming up with a much diverse set of advertisers, you are more likely to find and create a successful ad campaign.

Using a keyword research tool called iSpionage, let’s choose a broad marker and take a look at the “as seen on tv” niche and see what stands outs.

Once you perform a search on your desired keyword phrase, you are given a full breakdown of top advertisers, ad spend, related keywords and ad copy used. From the results shown above, you can see almost all of the advertisers are from large well branded sites like QVC, HSN, AsSeenOnTV.com and Half.com. With this type of competition and high ppc costs (in the $4 range), it would be tough to break in and make a profit. The summary also shows 1968 related keywords and 224 PPC competitors.

The “As Seen on TV” market is so diverse, it is not a good investment for an affiliate to bid on such a generic word. Instead, you should focus your efforts on an individual product and see what results can be found. Next we will take a look at “patch perfect”, one of the better performing and well branded products in the “As Seen on TV” group.

Now that we are focused in on a tighter keyword we can see better results. Comparing advertiser search results on Google, “as seen on tv” vs. “patch perfect”, you will immediately see a difference in ads. Not only are ad listings now more direct and towards the purchase of one product, but the advertisers are more varied. Smaller independent advertisers are now listed, and you see less of the big name companies. You are targeting a much smaller niche, will less search traffic, but you also have less competition with 44 PPC Competitors listed, vs. the 224 in the first chart. Advertising on the term “patch perfect” will not only cost you less (”perfect patch”  average cpc is in the $2.50 range), but it will also increase your chances on a conversion, vs. advertising on a generic keyword phrase like “as seen on tv”.

This is just an example, but you should now have a basic understanding of how to research, select a niche and break it down to find new keywords and less saturated markets to target.

Using this same thinking process, you can “spy” on an advertiser domain directly to see how they are managing their ad campaigns. Keeping with the same niche, let’s take a look at “asseenontv.com”.

It’s a lot of fun to look at charts from a direct advertiser perspective. While most of the numbers aren’t exact, you can get a good feel with how advertisers are spending their money and trends in search volume/spending. From the keyword list, you can see the advertiser is bidding on “stomach workouts”, then advertising their Ab Circle Pro product/landing pages on Google. A quick breakdown on the top keywords being bid on include cpc rates, search volume and how long the ads have actively been running.

Once you finally decide on your niche market and study the competition, your next focus would be on creating a keyword monitor list and setting up a ppc campaign.

Keyword Monitoring & Advertiser Competition
Using the keyword monitoring services from iSpionage, you can compare your ad campaigns against others in the industry. It’s not enough to know which keywords are bringing in the most search traffic or ROI… but instead, how much of a maximum potential each of these keywords has to offer.

Building a Campaign with What You’ve Learned
With everything now at hand, your collective data and research can be put to work. Create your new PPC campaign within minutes using the custom iSpionage PPC builder. If you’ve done manual campaign building in the past, you know how long this can take. Save time by building your campaign in 4 easy steps; Keyword Research, Clean Up, Grouping then simply creating and uploading the specific campaign for Google, Yahoo or Bing.

This is an overview of how to perform research and see what others are doing to bring in new customers through search marketing. The last thing you should be thinking about, is logging into your account, grabbing a ton of keywords, copying other advertiser’s ad copy and thinking you will make a profit. That simply isn’t the case. The keyword research is available, but you need to put the effort in to create a winning combination of terms, ad copy and landing pages.

To simplify creation of your PPC campaigns, try iSpionage and take advantage of their 7 day trial for only $1.

I’m always working on new projects and half of them are new blog sites, usually in niche markets. When setting up a new blog, I have a separate folder I use for uploading all of my important wordpress plugins. I’m always on the look out for ways to improve spacing, loading times and reader interaction, and many of the plugins do just that. Here is my breakdown on wordpress plugins that every blog should be using.

Stop Spam with Akismet
This one is a given, but it’s still a necessity. Without Akisment, managing your blog and comments would just be a pain. The bigger your site traffic the more comment spam you will get. You may be getting comment spam on your new blogs before even getting a real comment. The bottom line is, Akismet is your first line of defense for cutting down comment spam.
- Download Akismet for Wordpress

Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP)
You spend a lot of time writing your blog content, don’t let your old posts die and get lost for ever. Once a reader gets to the bottom of your post, instead of seeing just a comment form, add in the YARPP plugin and show a list of your older related posts as well. This is a great way to bring new traffic and attnetion to your older posts.
- Download YARRP for Wordpress

Improve Your Chances of a High SEO Listing
Bring your blog’s search engine power to the next level by adding the “All-in-One SEO” plugin. This plugin is at the top of many designers lists as a must have. All in One SEO allows you to add in your own meta description, title tags and keywords for individual blog posts and pages.
- Download All in One SEO for Wordpress

Threading Your Comments is a Must
It wasn’t til recently that I set this blog up with threaded comments. Before then, it was a mess and very annoying to respond to someone, as it would set all comments out of order. The blog is now running of Brian’s Threaded Comments plugin, which keeps everything clean and organized, while actually increasing your blog commenting activity.
- Download Brian’s Threaded Comments for Wordpress

Bring in Free Viral Traffic with Twitter
There are a lot of different options to choose from when adding social media buttons to your blog. I’ve been using TweetMeme for a while now and have been happy with it. In short, this plugin will create a short redirect link and allow other Twitter users to “retweet” your post in a single click. This is great for bringing in free viral traffic.
- Download TweetMeme for Wordpress

WP Super Cache to the Rescue
Any digg, resource or social media related blog already understands and appreciates the value of WP Super Cache. This plugin is responsible for saving a ton of downtime and server crashes for blogs overloading with traffic. WP Super Cache plugin increases the page/post loading time and reduces the resource consumption on your server.
- Download WP Super Cache for Wordpress

Is Your Blog iPhone Ready?
Last year I finally got my hands on the iPhone and there is no going back. Unfortunately many sites just didn’t look that great, or where overwhelmed with content. I came across a plugin called WPTouch, which make your blog completely accessible and easy to read through the iPhone. This plugin is definitely worth checking out. (I also did a full post on this plugin a while back)
- Download WPtouch iPhone Theme for Wordpress

Other top notable wordpress plugins on my list include; Contact Form 7, Subscribe to Comments, Wordpress Automatic Upgrade, Wordpress Backup & Google XML Sitemaps.

There’s hundreds of amazing plugins out there, and I’ve only mentioned a few. Feel free to leave a comment with your favorite wordpress plugin that isn’t on the list.

The first launch of the ShoeMoney System was crazy. Everyone was pushing emails, writing blog posts and getting on the ShoeMoney mailing list. Before the day was over, nearly all spots in the ShoeMoney System were locked up. Once again, Jeremy has opened the gates. If you missed out the first time, you got lucky… because now the program is even better.

Ok, I admit it… I was curious about the ShoeMoney System, so I actually paid the $197 a month to see if the program could live up to all of it’s hype. The first few weeks were pretty slow and introductory. I didn’t signup to pay $197 a month to watch videos on how to join eBay and setup an affiliate program with Azoogle. I wasn’t alone… the ShoeMoney System members talked and Jeremy listened.

Now instead of having  to wait for simple intro videos every few days, Jeremy added everything so you can access them right away! This new category includes 40 videos how “How to Get Started Videos“. If you couldn’t get in last month, you just saved yourself some good money and time. If you join today, you will have full access to these 40 videos instantly, with new videos of core training added every few days.

The new focus is giving new affiliates they need instantly, and for veteran affiliates to pass through the intro videos. Jeremy re-arranged the course material so that you get to make your first $100 before the first 30 days are over and your first $500 before 60 days are up. If not, you have 60 days to request a full refund… it’s that simple.

The ShoeMoney System Promise
The reason why I ended up joining the ShoeMoney System, is because it’s made up of all videos. Other training programs may work, but a lot of them are text and ebook based. With Jeremy’s videos, you can have them running while you work, and actually get a grasp on things as you are watching as it’s done.

As a member, you will also have access to, and the promise of the following:

* 60 day 100% no questions asked money back guarantee.
* $2500 in free advertising money from companies like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook, Myspace… etc..
* The course is a complete training system walking you through the basics of just creating accounts to complex arbitrage and ppc techniques with every advertising system.
* The core training system is delivered 2-3 days a week
* bi-weekly live coaching webinars with me.
* 24/7 support
* Tons of supplemental support content

User Testimonials

In a previous email from Jeremy, he included a few user testimonials and also mentioned it has one of the lowest refund/cancellation rates ever seen from ClickBank (the cc processing company) in their 12 years of operation! This means ShoeMoney System subscribers are happy and continuing their monthly members. Here’s what a few members had to say.

+ “I CANNOT FRIGGIN BELIVE IT!!!!!! In less than 16 hours
with no more time spent than 1.5 hours I have made  my
first arbitrage deal on ebay and made my first $437.00!”

+ “Wow. The arbitrage video series is mind blowing.
I cannot wait for the next video to show up in my inbox”

For anyone who didn’t get in yet, that pretty much sums it up. I’m into month two now and videos are moving into Social Media marketing. It should get more interesting in the next month or so when we see some actual campaigns being setup and have access to some new marketing videos.

If you are somewhat new to affiliate marketing, this is the perfect program for you. If you are experienced and already making some serious money online, it will most likely take a couple months before you see some useful video tutorials. Jeremy goes over this process, member questions and more in each every-other-week webinar.

Reserve your place in the ShoeMoney System.

Want to learn the secrets of affiliate marketing? Sure, we all do… but do you already have a grasp on the basics? Many affiliates are starting out in the industry quickly find themselves overwhelmed with too much information, and trying too many methods of advertising without properly understanding them. Are you already mastered in the art of Social Media, PPC, PPV and Media Buying? If not, Jonathan Volk’s new “Affiliate Marketing 101” guide is what you have been looking for.

Don’t worry about a hidden free trial or monthly billing costs… there are none! Jonathan has spent the time to create a short, but effective 17 chapter guide on affiliate marketing. Also, as a reader, you aren’t limited by having to read on a PDF format, it’s all online. What I personally like about the guide is that it doesn’t drag on, and provide you with wasted reading time. It’s a good read, and will keep you interested while learning.

Affiliate Marketing 101 - Here’s what you get.

Learn the complete how-to for PPC, PPV, Media Buying, And Social Media Affiliate Marketing!

Learn the techniques I have used to personally generate over $4,000,000 in affiliate commissions!

In this guide I go over the who, what, where, when, and why of affiliate marketing. I then take you step by step to learn pay per click affiliate marketing, Pay per view (cost per view) affiliate marketing, social media marketing (facebook ads), and finally media buying.

Download your free copy of Affiliate Marketing 101 Now.

Be sure to signup to receive your copy of “Affiliate Marketing 101″ and also follow Jon at his “Ready. Set. Super Affiliate!” blog.