Marketing | Affiliate Marketing Tips from Super Affiliate Zac Johnson

Offline Business Models Must Adapt… or Fail

Some people just don’t get it. Online advertising works, and those who realize they need to adapt to these changes are the ones who will succeed. When I visit my local mall, I continually see new stores opening up and going out of business just a few short weeks after. If they don’t go out of business, they are sometimes moving to different and smaller locations in the mall… but still getting the same result.

Two stores in particular that come to my mind are a small funny tshirt store and a replica jewelry stand. First off, the traffic flowing through the mall is dead… and I rarely ever see anyone shopping at these locations. Then you have the monthly rent cost, which we can guess is at least $1,000 to 2,000 a month depending on location. On top of that you have the inventory issues, paying a staff or if you are working the place, the time you are wasting just to break even. I just can’t see how either of these businesses are making money… and usually they aren’t.

What they should be doing is removing their business from the mall and bringing it online, it’s really so much more effective and will completely turn their business around! The problem is most of them simply don’t know how, or take the time to research it.

Years ago I bought a replica jewelry web site that was doing a few hundred dollars a month in sales. After I took it over I had it doing around a thousand a month. Not bad for picking up a site, improving the business model and creating some ad campaigns. Instead of having to hold inventory I also had a drop shipper for the site.

I was selling the same exact stuff (and more) that the kiosk in the mall is selling. The only difference is my product prices were lower, the process was nearly automated, and I didn’t have the insane renting costs they have to deal with each month.

I got focused on other projects and slowly moved away from the jewelry site, though it still gets a lot of volume and has some nice page rankings. I recently decided I would put some time back into the site and get it running again, but this time I would outsource the management of the site.

Since it’s been a while since I last ran the site, I needed to set it up with a new shopping cart system, and I decided to go with Volusion. They are one of the biggest and best names around for setting up an online store, and they have a great staff and can customize an online store for any needs necessary. They also have a cool infographic to help you choose the right shopping cart for moving your business or store online.

In all honestly, I can have the exact same products that a kiosk in a mall is selling within a few days, if not less. Through drop shipping and wholesale distributors online, it’s too cheap and easy to build your own store and business online. Instead of spending the few thousand a month in rent, put that towards an online store, affiliate program and advertising.

The point I’m trying to make is that the offline business world needs to adapt. There is a reason why more and more stores and businesses are going out of business. The days of having to sell products for half of the month just to make a profit are over!

Sure, people will always go to the mall and shop for the experience and buy clothing and food, but when it comes to so many other products, you can get much better discounts and deals online.

Keep the offline business model, but slowly progress and build a presence online. You will soon find that your online business starts to pass your offline model.

Is your business model focused only on offline marketing and transactions? If it is… you are missing out big time, and potentially headed toward failure.

16 June, 2011 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, Marketing, Web Developement

Haters Gonna Hate. Rebecca Black Laughs to the Bank!

It’s easy to hate on success… and no one becomes popular, has a voice, or even finds success without a flood of haters behind them. Without haters, there would be no gossip, trash talking and spreading of what people disagree and talk about. More than anything else, it’s all about how you deal with haters than having them effect your way of life. Rebecca Black knows about haters all too well.

It’s Friday, It’s Friday! Well, it’s not actually Friday, but that simple little phrase has taken Rebecca Black from being unknown, to one of the most viewed videos in YouTube history… and most hated as well.

The Friday video has an amazing 156,218,178 YouTube views… but even more amazing is the 3 million plus DISLIKE votes the video has received. The video went viral and received so much publicity from people hating on it, that it’s now become one of the most success YouTube videos yet! With so many views, there is no doubt that video is serving up advertising and mega impressions. When I checked out the video just now, there was a pre-video for Yahoo Mail, along with a sponsor ad on the top right side as well.

But is Rebecca Black making any real money?

Sure, YouTube can bring you a massive amount of fame and exposure, but how many people have actually made a career and fortune off of it? Not too many.

The quick story behind Rebecca Black and the “Friday” release, is her connection with ArkMusicFactory.com. AMF is a music entertainment business that essentially creates videos and music stars… Rebecca Black being their biggest success yet. For a few thousand dollars, you or your teen sensation can have a video created and uploaded to YouTube.

A Forbes analysis estimated Black’s income from “Friday,” based on YouTube views, iTune downloads, advertising and sales, is around $63,000. For a $2,000 investment from her parents to Ark Music Factory, this is a fairly impressive return.

Rebecca Black has already appeared on “Good Morning America” and is quickly becoming a household name. Other appearances and products such as “What Day of the Week Is It” t-shirts might be generating additional revenues for the teen singer. There is also a Rebecca Black website.

In this case, Rebecca Black can thank the haters, as she probably never would have had the same success if so many people didn’t tell their friends about how “silly” and “horrible” the whole thing is. Riding off the success of her “Friday” release, Black is also launching her own debut album in the coming months.

The success of Rebecca Black isn’t just catching the eye of YouTube users, but also high level celebrity profiles like Lady Gaga, Simon Cowell and Conan O’Brien. O’Brien made a spoof video of his own called “Thursday“, while still giving Rebecca Black world wide recognition through his late night show. That type of exposure is priceless!

What’s Next for Rebecca Black and Her Reaction Towards Haters?

In a statement to inspire budding artists around the world, Black refuses to let “negative Nancies” and “bullies” bring her down in her quest for stardom. “It was really upsetting. These people don’t know me and it really hurt at first. I cried a little bit, I’m only 13. But I call them negative Nancies. They can try to rain on my parade, but as far as I’m concerned they are raining on their own parade. Just face it – it is a catchy song. It gets stuck in my head.” (source)

In addition to all of the current YouTube, iTunes and television success, Black will be releasing her debut album in the coming months. According to The Daily Beast, Black also plans to donate a portion of her profits to “Japan relief organizations and school arts programs.” Overall, quite an amazing amount of success and exposure for the few thousands of dollars that were actually invested into this venture.

Will lightning strike twice for Rebecca Black… or will she fall into the YouTube one hit wonder category?

02 June, 2011 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing

The Importance of Having a Great Domain Name… or not?

Whenever I start a new web site, I always spend a lot of time on the domain name and the name of the site. While it’s very important to me to come up with a great name, or brandable domain name, is it really that important?

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular web sites and companies that have branded themselves off of an “exact match” domain name:

- FreeCreditReport.com
- Money.com (CNN)
- Dictionary.com
- Cars.com
- Weather.com

Now let’s take a look at a few amazingly successful companies that started off with domain names that really mean nothing, or not relevant to their overall business model at all.

- Travelocity.com
- Amazon.com
- Facebook.com
- MySpace.com
- GoDaddy.com

I ran through the list of top 100 Alexa US sites and it was surprising how many of the top 100 sites were NOT exact or generic word domain names.

Before stressing over the idea of trying to get an exact match domain name or something close for your new site, just remember it all comes down to the content, brandability and end product/service of your site.

What other exact match and crazy non-relevant domain names can you think of that have turned into mega million dollar companies?

28 May, 2011 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing, Web Developement

The Rise of Ecommerce

It’s no secret that online shopping is starting to catch on with shoppers all over the world. Both consumers and business owners are exploring what ecommerce has to offer, and they like what they see. Whether it’s a deal on new shoes or the chance to make money, there’s no ignoring the rise of ecommerce.

Even while other industries struggle through the economic downturn, ecommerce continues to boom. Clearly, the opportunities are ripe for you to capitalize on this rising industry.

Still unsure about diving in? Keep reading to discover some of the amazing numbers we have to look forward to in the coming years when the rest of the world relies on the internet for research and buying products online.

Ecommerce is Where the Money’s At

Ecommerce in the US is projected to be a $279 billion industry by 2015 (Forrester). Who wouldn’t want a piece of that pie? With the growth of technology like smart phones and personal tablets, it’s no surprise that people would rather shop from home instead of heading to a crowded shopping mall.

In fact, 61% of shoppers begin their research for purchases online (Website Magazine), and many of those end up buying online as well. Even more startling, by 2014, 53% of total retail sales (online and offline) will be affected by the Web, as consumers increasingly use the internet to research products before purchasing (Forrester).

In 2010, ecommerce growth astonishingly outpaced retail growth, with 14.3% YOY ecommerce growth and only 6.3% YOY growth for retail. Changes like this simply can’t be ignored.

In other words, if it’s money you’re looking for (which most entrepreneurs are), then jumping onto the ecommerce wagon is worth looking into.

Ecommerce is a Business Necessity

You would be hard-pressed to find a business in the 21st Century without an online presence of some sort. It’s not hard to start a website using a simple builder or free software. A company website is just a basic, must-have marketing tool for anyone trying to run a successful business. (Entrepreneur)

It’s also important to know that ecommerce is much different than a static website. An ecommerce site allows you to make money directly from your customers in real-time and levels the playing field between you and your largest competitors.

Additionally, an ecommerce site allows for heightened customer relationships and referrals. Any successful online store owner would tell you that they see money and orders come in when they listen to their shoppers and make them happy. After all, 84%of consumers said they were more likely to check online for reviews prior to making a purchase, compared to twelve months ago, according to a recent survey by Brand Reputation (Retail Bulletin).

Ready to Get Started?

Now that you’ve seen the facts of ecommerce growth, how do you capitalize on it? If you don’t want to run your own online business, there are other ways to jump into the industry.

One great way to get your feet wet (and get paid) is by becoming an affiliate for an ecommerce platform. Many platforms like Volusion offer great payouts while letting you take advantage of their support and other resources.

Whatever route you take, if you aren’t into ecommerce, then you’re missing out on some big payouts. So stop waiting around, and let’s get to work!

This guest post was written by Volusion, an excellent example of a SaaS model that incorporates all of the SaaS benefits. They have an affiliate program that is supported by the company itself and it’s easy to get connected with them. For more information about Volusion and their affiliate program, click here.

17 May, 2011 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, Marketing

Fighting Your Way to the Top of a Niche

With so much competition everywhere you look online, how are you going stand out from the crowd? Simple… be the best at what you do, the replicate it in different smaller niches. A while back I did a review on a new design contest site called LogoMyWay. Since that review, Joe Daley, the creator of LogoMyWay has went on to build a very established marketplace for designers and clients. The site also won first place in the $25,000 Kodak / Entreprenur Prosper contest!

After having so much success in the design area, Joe decided to replicate his success and take on two different niche markets; tshirt design and mixed martial arts/fighting. With MMA and other fighting organizations just keep getting larger, the demand for apparel and new designs just keeps growing with it. FightClubTees.com combines the power of selling tshirts, with the designer aspect of creating new and awesome designs for customers to purchase.

You can purchase shirts through the T-Shirt Shop, or submit your own unique tshirt designs. Designs are then voted on by site visitors and customers. Winning designs will receive a $200 prize, then an additional $500 to $1,000 for every extra 1,000 shirts sold through the site. A winning combination for both FightClubTees.com and the designers who partake in the site.

This is a perfect example of taking a great idea, then breaking it down and expanding to different niche markets. While it’s a smaller site and probably won’t grow as fast as LogoMyWay, it can quickly become the leader in fighting/mma niche by advertising and partnering up with sites that have a direct customer match for the site.

Joe will be watching the comments section for any questions or comments about the site, as he is quite excited about the initial response and thoughts on the concept. Check out FightClubTees.com and let us know what you think.