Bad Companies | Affiliate Marketing Tips from Super Affiliate Zac Johnson

Verizon Wireless Sucks

If you’ve been following me on Twitter over the past week, I’m sure you’ve seen at least one of my posts on how Verizon is giving me a hard time with replacing my phone. This is more of a rant than anything else, but I wanted to make this post, so anyone else out there with Verizon Wireless problems, can share their experiences.

Here’s how it all went down… the other day I went out in my friends boat and they put my LG Voyager in their back so it wouldn’t get wet. Unfortunately some water drained into the back of the boat where the back was, and the LG Voyager sucked in the moisture (but wasn’t wet). At this point I wasn’t able to get my phone working, or even turned on.

Later that night I went to the mall to visit the Verizon Wireless store and talk with my sales manager there. The only reason why I am still will Verizon, is because my sales manager is awesome and can always get stuff done. So I went to the store and my guy was there, showed him the phone and he immediately asked, “what kind of liquid did you get in here?“. He could see that the charger area was already corroded. So at that point he said there was nothing he could do, mainly because I didn’t have insurance on the phone. (You know, whenever you actually get insurance you never need it… but the one time you don’t!)

So I went home, without a new phone and hoping my LG Voyager would dry out and come back to life. Later that night while watching TV I heard my phone start beeping… it came back to life! Everything is fine on it now, except none of the QWERTY keyboard keys inside work the phone. So I called my sales manager up and let him know it came back on, he then said I could get a replacement phone and battery for $79. Awesome, right!? Unfortunately he wouldn’t be back til Thursday (it was Sunday night this happened).

Monday came and I went to the mall to tell them my situation and that my sales manager said I could get it replaced. The person at the Customer Service desk started giving me a hard time and saying “we don’t do exchanges”… I told her I was in the previous day and talked with my sales manager, then she went and talked to her manager. She then came back and said it could be done, but they wouldn’t have the LG Voyager phones in till Thursday. However, she did make a note in the system that I would be approved for the exchange for $79.

Thursday comes and I head over to the Verizon Wireless store again. My sales manager left early, so I have to deal with the people in Customer Service again. I get the same attitude and story again… that they won’t replace or exchange the phone. I told the girl it was in the system, and she still didn’t care… her response was “well, that just means some one wrote it, and we don’t always acknowledge that”… so wtf does that mean! I knew my sales manager would be in the next day… so I just left.

Now it’s Friday, I call Verizon Wireless and make sure my sales manager is there so I don’t waste my time yet again, he’s in! I head over, talk to him and I’m ready for the exchange. He talks to his manager then tells me that “management” yelled at everyone yesterday and told them to “turn in their badges if they give any discounts or deals”. So once again… I’m screwed… after being promised by a customer service worker and my sales manager that I could get my phone exchanged for $79 instead of buying a whole new phone.

So I asked what my options were… my sales manager went to his manager a few more times and he was finally able to get me an LG Voyager for the price of a one year contract… which came out to $270 (-$50 rebate. So now I have to pay the $270 instead of the $79 I was initially promised.

In addition to everything I’ve written and gone through… here’s my breakdown of why Verizon Wireless Sucks!

- Horrible Customer Service Staff / Department
If you’ve ever been to a Verizon Wireless store, the Customer Service Department is usually crammed into a corner and no one ever has a smile on their face. The worst part is, these people have the worst attitude and everyone thinks they are a god. Because they were dealt with a poor position for a job, they seem to take it out on their customers… usually not solving most peoples problems.

- Upper Management Doesn’t Care About You
While employees and sales managers are doing their best to signup and help new customers, the upper management either stays in the back room never to be seen, or not at the Verizon Wireless locations at all. Again, the only reason why I am still with Verizon is because my sales manager is awesome. Now his job is being threatened by Verizon for trying to help customers, like myself, with phone problems and staying a member. I pays over $250 a month for the several phones on my plan, which comes out to $3,000+ a year…. but Verizon doesn’t care, I’m just a number among millions to them.

This was my rant and as long as it was, you get the point of how frustrating it has been. We all conduct business online and know what expectations we want others to have of us, and I would be mortified if someone felt this way about my business.

Are you with Verizon Wireless and have you had any complaints with them?

07 September, 2008 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Bad Companies, Blogging, Zac's Life

Ashley Madison wants You to Have an Affair!

In what may have been one of the outrageous exhibitors at not only Affiliate Summit, but any other conference I have attended… AshleyMadison.com takes the cake. “Life is Short. Have an Affair“… that’s the slogan behind AshleyMadison.com, which is a dating network specialized towards people looking for “extra-marital affairs“. Instead of on the exhibit floor, maybe this one belonged in the “Ethics of Affiliate Marketing” Panel? I know I wouldn’t have wanted my $4,995 booth next to theirs!

While looking up more information on the company, I found another article on their business of making millions by connecting cheaters. For the CEO of the company… breaking up relationships is purely business.

“This is just a business to me. This is a market need, just like any other business that’s successful. There’s huge demand for it,” says Chief Operating Officer Noel Biderman, who is married with children. Biderman says he is faithful to his wife, but he doesn’t object to the fact that cheaters have helped his online business make more than $20 million since it started in 2002.

Flyers handed out at Ashley Madison Booth
“Thou Shall Make Money from Adultery”

I’m sure they would have had a lot more attendees at their booth if they had fellow adulterer John Edwards in the house… so, what are your thoughts on AshleyMadison and their attendance at Affiliate Summit East 2008?

14 August, 2008 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, Affiliate Summit, Bad Companies, Blogging, Marketing

Help! My Affiliate Manager Sucks!

In continuing with the “Five Reasons Why Your Affiliate Network Sucks” series, today we will focus on “Affiliate Managers“. The best way to think of an affiliate manager is like the coach of a sports team, they “should” be there to provide input when you are looking to improve your marketing (game), and most definitely there to notify you on the latest offers available and what’s hot. Lastly, but most important… they are your life line to the network and the easiest/fatest way to getting premium pay outs.

Here are a few ways you can tell if your current affiliate manager sucks, and what you can do about it.

- How about a Booost?!
In my last post on “My Affiliate Network Pays More than Yours!“, I focused on the different payment structures from all the networks. The public payout rates varied heavily, yet they were all for the same offer. You affiliate manager is your inside man to get you the best payout rates on an offer. I’ll tell you right now, my affiliate managers at MarketLeverage (Erick) and NeverBlueAds (Tina) are the best. On some of these other networks, affiliate managers want to see “some volume” first, before giving you a higher payout… of they will give you an increase, but you know they still have so much more room to offer. While this makes sense for affiliates and managers that do not have any prior business, or massive lead volume… it’s really just a time waster for the affiliate and the affiliate manager, when you know you are dealing with an affiliate that can deliver.

- This is the Internet… Be Available Online!
This is soo crucial… affiliate managers NEED to be accessible online, and I’m not just talking about email. While some affiliates like to pick up the phone and chat for a while, many don’t. All affiliate managers should be available by either AIM Instant Messenger, GMail Chat, MSN Messenger or whatever… just don’t rely on email. No only will this make your affiliates happier and not have to wait for an email response, but it will also grow your personal relationships with your affiliates. I talk to my affiliate managers several times a week, whether it be about network offers, or just to see how they are doing.

- Newbie Affiliate Manager
While the majority of affiliate managers I have come across are seasoned and have a pretty good idea what internet and affiliate marketing is, I sometimes feels bad for the networks and affiliates that are using/working with newbies. Every one has to start somewhere, but when you have to explain marketing methods or how other networks run and work with higher payouts, its frustrating. Your job is to market and make money with the network, not train any new affiliate managers in the process. Networks… make sure you have well trained and knowledgeable affiliate managers!

The majority of affiliate managers out there on the well known networks are really great… from time to time you will come across a newbie or someone that just isn’t as good as they could be. In a situation like this, you can ask who your friends or other business contacts that are working with at the company, if they like their manager. If you end up with a nice recommended affiliate manager, simply contact the network and ask nicely to be changed. In most cases you shouldn’t have any problems.

[This post is covering part one of the “Five Reasons Your Affiliate Program Sucks” series, and is focusing on “Bad Affiliate Managers“.]

23 July, 2008 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, Bad Companies, Blogging, Make Money, Marketing

Five Reasons Why Your Affiliate Network Sucks

A great deal of the money generated in the affiliate marketing space, is done through many of the affiliate networks out there. With so much competition among the networks, it’s a surprise how some networks let themselves be seen. Over the next 5 days, I will be outlining a few of the top reasons why some affiliate networks just suck. If you are currently an affiliate network and reading this blog, make sure you stay tuned during the week to see where you might be slacking off, and how obvious it really is to some affiliates.

Here are Five Reasons Why Your Affiliate Network Sucks!

1.) Low Public Payout Rates
- Is your affiliate network paying higher or lower than your competition?

2.) Bad Affiliate Managers
- You affiliate managers are the blood and lifeline of your business. Make sure they are working for you!

3.) Same Offers as other Networks
- What good is an affiliate network if they all offer the same thing?

4.) Direct Deposit / Wire Transfer & Paypal
- Affiliates want their money fast, especially if they are spending a lot of money (ppc) to make money!

5.) Network Running Off DirectTrack
- Is it time you moved onto your own network platform?

Remember, this was just a quick outline of the where many affiliate networks are slacking and potentially losing thousands (if not millions) of dollars in commissions. Affiliates are the key to your success, and when we have so many different networks and options to turn too.. you will only get so many chances to make a first impression.

Where does your favorite affiliate network stand?

The next post in the series will focus on the “Low Public Payout Rates” from many well known affiliate networks. You know other networks are paying more… so are the networks paying a few bucks less, pocketing your profits???

21 July, 2008 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, Bad Companies, Blogging, Make Money, Marketing, Web Developement

The Emergence of PepperJam Network

It was no surprise when MarketingSherpa released their latest reporting, basically stating “Pepperjam Network Explodes onto the Affiliate Marketing Scene with Unprecedented Growth and Industry Support“. In the report from MarketingSherpa, they break down some heavy numbers on the largest affiliate networks in the game today, and it’s no surprise to see PepperJam Network giving the big players a run for their money. Here are just a few of the big numbers we are seeing from PepperJam Network after just 5 months from their network launch date. (Results from Partnercentric surveyed top partners)

Networks with Active Affiliates
In the first chart, we clearly see all of the big players in the game which have had networks for years, and it’s really no surprise to see these names listed. However, in the fifth position, PepperJam Network is quickly gathering market share and soon enough, may even pass some of these well known affiliate networks.

Where Affiliates Make Money
The next chart shows which of the top networks affiliates are also working with. All of the same affiliate networks listed in the first chart appear again, but not in the same order. Shareasale affiliate activity crushes Linkshare, even though they have a larger following… and the same can almost be seen with Performics and PepperJam. Performics has a higher following in the top chart, but nearly tied with PepperJam Network in affiliate activity.

Why Affiliates Choose Some Networks Over Others
We are all members of different affiliates networks, but the majority of us only make money with a couple of the many we are affiliates with… why is that? As part of the survey, affiliates were asked the same question and their response was the following:

For more details and the full report, be sure to head over to MarketingSherpa. I’m sure in the followup report, we will see even more promising numbers from PepperJam Network.

What’s New at PepperJam Network?
Based off the report from MarketingSherpa, PepperJam Network is showing some very promising numbers. In addition to their growth in the affiliate space, I also wanted to keep you updated with some news surrounding their network.

- Make Money with eBay: If you ever made money with the eBay affiliate program, you were probably making it through Commission Junction. On April 1st, the eBay Partner Network launched as they removed themselves from Commission Junction. Just recently, eBay and PepperJam Network teamed up to offer affiliates another alternative for advertising their network. Now you can run eBay directly through PepperJam Network. (For all affiliates running Build a Niche Software, the ability to run and track through PepperJam is now available)

- Tons of New Offers: Since going live, PepperJam Network has added an amazing amount of new advertisers to the network. Now with over 250 offers, they are quickly becoming the prominent network to make serious money with. Keep in mind, the 250 offers I mentioned are each their own web site and brand name!

- $10 Signup Bonus to New Affiliates: With the explosion of growth PepperJam Network is seeing, they are only pushing harder to make this growth continue. If you aren’t currently an affiliate with PepperJam Network, join now and you will receive $10 in your account once you are approved as an affiliate. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you join the PepperJam Network. If you’re already an affiliate, be sure to login and see what offers were recently added to the network.

As an affiliate, what makes you choose certain networks over each other and what would make PepperJam Network or any of the other networks mentioned, be your network of choice?