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???

Popularity: 8% [?]

32 Comments » subscribe to my feed

Was it as good for you, as it was for .Me?

We are now past the first 24 hours since the release of the new .me domain extension. I completely forgot about the .me domains going for sale yesterday, then a couple hours after their release I saw everyone talking about them. I headed over to GoDaddy and started looking for some good names and to see what I could find. I managed to pick up a few good names, and amazingly enough, all of them went through and are confirmed.

Below are just a few of the domains I managed to secure yesterday. I have no plans for development of them yet, but may throw something together in a couple months.

Zac.me
SuperAffiliate.me
NicheMarketing.me
AffiliateNetwork.me

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the majority of domain buyers out there. With the new buying spree of .Me names, everyone wanted the to make cool names out of the new domain extension… such as HIRE.ME, LA.ME, AWESO.ME, and of course, the much sought after FUCK.ME. After many complaints from numerous people on Twitter, and many blog posts, it seems that many people were able to register these domains, but were then given a notification from GoDaddy, that the domain was already taken. Because of the horrible response from .Me and GoDaddy sales/processing… the whole ordeal is seen by many as a big FAIL.

If you haven’t made an attempt to buy any .Me names yet, I’m sure there are still millions of good names still available. While the higher price of $19.95 per year may shy some buyers away, it may be a good opportunity for you to come across some generic names which may help with your search listings, should you create a site around the name. At the least, you might be able to grab a good or creative name, then flip it few a few hundred bucks down the road. Early in the day I was able to come across a lot of available names, then looking them over last night, almost all were taken. A great majority of celebrity names were all taken as well.

I’m really not a big fan of all the domain extensions out there, and most of them are nothing compared to .COM and .NET… but it’s still fun to grab a couple names every once in a while. So, in the end… did you walk away with any new .Me domains you were looking for?

Popularity: 10% [?]

36 Comments » subscribe to my feed

How to Promote a Web Site or Product without an Affiliate Program

What if you have a product that you really like and want to tell others about it, or even create a web site around it and attempt to try and earn a few dollars in the process. The first thing you would do, would be to visit their web site and see if they have an affiliate program. Let’s use Myoplex (energy / protein drink) for example. Before or after going to basketball everyday, I make sure to grab a Myoplex. I love the drink, so I don’t mind giving them some promotion… but when I visit their web site, I see that they don’t have an affiliate program…. what’s a blogger/site owner to do? Here are a few choices you have.

1.) Find another Site with an Affiliate Program
Myoplex is growing in popularity fast, and one of the most popular places to buy the high protein drink is through GNC stores. Let’s head over to GNC.com and see what they have available. As expected, they have over 35 different products for sale on Myoplex. They have the product, but now we need an affiliate program to make it work. Yes, they have one! Now you can earn a nice 11% commission on every referred sale. Now, instead of that free promotion you were just going to give to Myoplex, (or any other desired product), you can now be earning a nice commission on all referred sales. (and not just on myoplex)

2.) Contextual Advertisers
Myoplex was a great example and luckily for this case study, the largest provider (GNC.com), had an affiliate program. What if you can’t find any sites with your product that have their own affiliate program? Visit Google.com and do a search for your desired product. When you search on “myoplex” you will see a ton of advertisers on the page. Instead of promoting an affiliate program directly, you can run Adsense or Yahoo Publisher Network. Based off your heavy content site, Adsense or YPN should trigger exact or related ads. (If you search “myoplex” on Google, you will see both GNC.com and the parent company, EAS.com, both advertising through Adwords. You may not be able to promote EAS.com directly through an affiliate program, however through adsense you can promote them on a per click basis.)

There are many retailers advertising on Google Adwords for “Myoplex”

3.) Direct Contact
If all else fails and the product or company you are looking to promote, doesn’t have an affiliate program and there are no relevant advertisers on Adsense… try contacting the company directly. The only thing you have to lose by contacting the company, is that they don’t reply back or they say “not interested”… and you are back where you started anyway. On the other hand, if they are interested, you can sell them advertising on your site, possibly work out a deal for any referred sales, or at the least, ask them to send you samples or some freebies for your time and promotion.

There is nothing better than a web site that offers a true testimonial. I have no problem telling others about the Myoplex protein shake because I actually use it and would recommend it to others. With the combination of a real testimonial site and information to back it up, the ability to push traffic and sales to the related advertisers should not be a problem at all. Not only is there a high demand for Myoplex out there, but since they don’t have a “direct” affiliate program, it may make it that much easier for you to succeed with promotion. Now think about what other type of products and programs are out there that you can take this same method to and apply it.

Popularity: 9% [?]

25 Comments » subscribe to my feed

Stay Motivated and Get Out of that Slump

One of the big advantages to making money online and running your own business, is that you are in total control of your schedule and work hours. Likewise, you are also the one deciding how much work you put forth and how much money you earn. Over the past several days I found myself not that motivated to be online, work or even write a blog post update. This can also be seen just by how many people have asked me what’s going on, or why there hasn’t been any new blog posts over the past few days. (Don’t worry, I have some great new posts on the way!) It wasn’t so much that I wasn’t motivated, but my interests and time were spent elsewhere.

Many writers and bloggers out there experience “writer’s block“… the same hold true for business owners and entrepreneurs, except it may be more of a lack of motivation, interest or getting worn down. For those times when you feel in a slup, here are just a few ways you can get yourself motivated and back on track again.

Past Projects
- If you feel you are in a slump and just don’t feel like working on what you have going on, take a step back and look at what you’ve done in the past. What previous sites, ideas or marketing campaigns have you run that made money. Try and incorporate any old ideas with your new or existing plans and see what new ideas you can stir up.

Connect with Others
- One of the best ways to get some ideas flowing, is to talk with your friends or other marketers online. Not only do you have instant chat access through programs like AIM or GMail chat, but you can see what thousands of people are talking about on Twitter.

Reward Yourself!
- You are your business, and how you work and reward yourself will reflect in your progress and earnings. A couple weeks ago I went out and purchased a new 24-inch: 3.06GHz iMac. I have it right along the side of my Sony Vaio PC. While I mainly use a PC, it’s still cool to have a new computer and I love working with a Mac as well…. but even more so, it was a new motivational item which increased productivity. Is there anything you would like to reward yourself with?

These are just a few ideas on how to get yourself motivated or pumped up, if you are in a slump. If I was stuck home and had to work on the computer all day, or had to manage a full staff… I would probably go crazy or get stressed out enough to effect the overall progress of my business. I play basketball at least 3-4 times a week and it’s one of my favorite benefits to running my own business and not having to work for the man… I get to work and play, or do whatever, whenever I want. Luckily, I enjoy making money online almost as much as basketball… so it all works out.

How are you managing your working schedule, while keeping yourself motivated and not overloaded at the same time.

Popularity: 8% [?]

26 Comments » subscribe to my feed

Where Top Affiliate Challenge Went Wrong

When Joel Comm took the leap to make the first “affiliate marketing” internet reality show, he had a ton of skeptics, but in the end it went well. Joel was the first to pave the way for an affiliate marketing reality show over the internet. With the release of Top Affiliate Challenge, by creator Thor Schrock… expectations of the show were anything but consistent. While Thor was able to pull together some well known marketers in the affiliate marketing space, without these guys, the show would probably have no viewers or media at all. Unfortunately, as much as some of us would like the show to succeed… many viewers (and even some contestants), are just surprised at how poorly the show is being run.

Here are just a few of the reasons why Top Affiliate Challenge is lacking. Should there be a season 2 for Top Affiliate Challenge, or any new affiliate marketing reality shows in the works… please make sure you cover yourself from failing again at the following.

Horrible Video Editing, Taping & hosting:
With the amount of companies and affiliate networks pulled together to sponsor Top Affiliate Challenge, I am continually surprised at how poorly the show is taped. At times the show ranks at the level of quality of being recorded on a $150 Flip Video camera. There is no reason for the lack in video quality, when you have this much sponsorship money and exposure on the line. On an ending note, how often is the video chopping, the host is cut off during mid sentence, looking at queue cards and notes on the floor.

As for hosting… once the first episode was released, it took nearly an hour and a half of constant buffering for me to view the whole 30 minute episode. (also noted by John Chow) Top Affiliate Challenge finally decided to move their videos over to Google Video. A better decision would have been to team up with a higher quality and brand able video host in exchange for exposure on the show. As of right now, you can view all past episodes on TAC… though episode 5 doesn’t seem to be working at the moment?

Location: Why Nebraska?
One thing that internet marketing and a reality show have in common, is that you can run both of them anywhere. Drop any of us off in the middle of a desert, and as long as we have a laptop and an internet connection, we can start making money. Likewise, reality shows take place all around the world… whether it be “The Apprentice” in New York, or “Survivor” on a tropical island. The point is… why Nebraska, I’m hoping it wasn’t purely for the convenience factor. To make the most of this affiliate reality show, this should have taken place at Florida, New York and California… three well known internet hot spots in the US.

Non-Relevant Awards & Prizes:
Once again… the show is called “Top Affiliate Challenge“…. not random sponsor games. Why are non-relevant prizes being awarded to affiliate marketers. For instance, in episode 4, why are Power Tools and Drill Bits being awarded as prizes. I know these prizes are from the sponsored networks, but this should be a learning experience. Give away search marketing tools, ebooks, coupons, vouchers or anything relevant to affiliate marketing!

Unknowledgeable & Untrained Host:
No offense to the host, Monica Durezo, but I think they should have a more experienced and well trained host in the affiliate marketing space. I can only imagine how hard it is to host a reality show, especially when the staff, gurus and contestants don’t have an idea about what’s going on. When is the last time you watched a reality show on TV and the host wasn’t a well known celebrity. It would have made more sense for one of the “gurus” to host the show, as they are a more prominent figure in the affiliate marketing space.

Bad Affiliate Marketing Intelligence:
In addition to the host, which may or may not have an deep background in affiliate marketing… it seems the show itself does not have the necessary knowledge as well. Just off my head, from the past couple of episodes I can think of two instances where the incorrectness of this show is just silly. First off, when one of the contestants is talking about CPM, they say it’s “cost per thousand visits“… when the standard in affiliate marketing is “cost per thousand impressions“… and this is a HUGE difference. Also, I’m would not want to be a sponsor of the show, paying thousands of dollars to unhappy viewers… then to see my affiliate network being misspelled in the ending credits. It’s a little mistakes, but shows lack of detail and professionalism. (Copeak???… I thought it was Copeac..)

This is Really The PepperJam Show
Before the show event started, John Chow and ShoeMoney were the well known gurus listed on the show. They already had the exposure and branding in the affiliate space, while many had no idea who Ken McArthur were. Luckily for PepperJam Network, Ken McArthur is the Guru for their team and he is just destroying the competition… so much so, that during episode 6, Kris Jones, of PepperJam even provides money for his team’s competition. Either way, it’s good to see PepperJam getting their sponsorship money’s worth out of the show.

Unhappy Contestants and Gurus:
To top things off… during episode 3 and 4 we start to see disgruntled affiliates/contestant ready to leave the show and start voting for themselves to leave the show. Not only does this put themselves in a bad position, but it makes the show look bad too. Ian Fernando wants off the shoe, as he also made clear on his blog. ShoeMoney has left the show due to the birth of his new baby girl. Contestants are apparently having to spend their own money to make revenue for the team challenges… In the end… I’m not sure who is happy with the show.

Unfortunately for Top Affiliate Challenge, this seems to just be the tip of the iceberg of problems and complaints around the show. While the show was in audition phrase, I had a lot of people asking if I was going to apply for the show. After seeing the results from the show so far, I can say I’m much happier on the other side as a viewer and critic. With the loss of my friend Ian Fernando (though they never seem to send anyone eliminated actually home) and co-Guru ShoeMoney from the show… I can only imagine other viewers will also continue to lose interest fast.

What are your comments on the show and is it any more or less than you initially expected?

Popularity: 14% [?]

54 Comments » subscribe to my feed