MIVA Pay Per Click Marketing

I’ve worked with Miva for many years now on the affiliate site, but after seeing a bunch of promotions and banners for their pay per click marketing, I figured I’d give it a shot. In addition to having an affiliate program, they also offer $25 in Free Bonus Credit to anyone that advertises through their network. Since I just became an advertiser on Miva, I don’t have that much information to back up the quality of their traffic, but setting up an ad campaign is very fast and simple. If you are not currently advertising through MIVA, I will outline the simple process of setting up a new campaign.

1.) Creating an Account
Setting up a new advertising account is very simple. All you need is to enter your contact information, then you are on your way to setting up the campaign. As a new advertiser, you will go through the whole process of setting up your ad campaign, before having to submit your credit card / payment information. This is a plus, because if you don’t like the way their system or setup looks after creating your ad, you won’t be forced to submit a cc or deposit and can just leave the process.

2.) Setting up Your Ad Campaign
Keeping with the process of simplicity, the first step is to add your web site / campaign information. In the example below I filled out the campaign information as if I was running a campaign to promote this blog.

3.) Selecting Your keywords
After completing your campaign web site information, you are asked to setup your keywords. You can select and import your own keywords, or you can use the “Suggestion Tool”. For this example, I used the MIVA Suggestion Tool for the keyword “affiliate marketing”. A list will then be shown with suggested keywords. You can then “Add” your desired keywords, or select “Add All”.

4.) Keyword Bid Amounts
Now that you have your selected keywords, you will need to setup bid amounts. You are requested to put in your “maximum auto bid”, which I set at .15 per click. A chart will then show all of your selected keywords and where your ad campaign placement will be shown, based on your maximum click amount. You will also be giving the cost per click for each keyword, your rank and the placement of your ad and/or competitor ads for spots 1 through 5.

5.) Review Your Ad & Payment
The last step of the process is to review your ad setup and place payment. To go live with your account, you will need to submit a payment. Payment options available are Credit Card, Check, Money Order or Wire Transfer. (I recommend using an American Express Business Card as they provide great business benefits.) Below payment information, you will see a final review on your ad campaign and you maximum bid and average rank.

6.) Your Account is Now Live
After filling out your payment information and reviewing your campaign, your account will now be live. Now that you have an active account, you can log into the system where you can track and view all statistics of your campaign.

I am in the process of setting up multiple ad campaigns and will have a follow up post in the next week or two on the performance of traffic from MIVA. I know there are sometimes issues with the smaller search engines and quality is lacking, so I am looking forward to seeing the results from MIVA, especially since their ppc rates are a lot lower than Google, Yahoo and MSN. Minimum bids on the network are .10 per click. If you are new to MIVA and setting up a campaign, I would start with low bid amounts and watch your traffic closely. If you are currently advertising with MIVA Pay Per Click, feel free to leave any feedback on your experience.

Try MIVA’s targeted, cost effective Pay-Per-Click advertising solutions. ($25 FREE CREDIT)

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Affiliate Network Rewards Programs

With so many affiliate networks out there, they all have to work really hard to get your business. To show their appreciation, a lot of network have their own rewards programs. Let’s take a look at a few programs and how they are rewarding their Top Affiliates.

Market Leverage REWARDS PROGRAM
In addition to a whole new site design, a new rewards program was recently added to Market Leverage. The network now boasts that they have “The Highest Paying Cash Rewards Program in the Industry“. With the Market Leverage rewards program, you would receive an American Express Cash Gift Card worth 1% of the amount you earned in that monthly reporting period. The minimum commission to each an American Express gift card is $1,000, which is much lower than many other networks.
Minimum Commission to Receive Reward: $1,000
Commission to Reward Ratio: 1%

- Join Market Leverage Affiliate Network

CX Digital MEDIA REWARDS PROGRAM
Taking their rewards program to another level, CX Media Digital has a pyramid format and rewards in actual prizes and gift cards. To reach the first level of rewards point, you will first need to earn $15,000 in commission with the network. Rewards available on level 1 are in the range of $100.Once you’ve earned over $300,000 with the network, you can receive rewards such as a Panasonic TH-50PX60U 50″ Plasma HDTV valued at $2799.99.
Minimum Commission to Receive Reward: $15,000
Commission to Reward Ratio: Less than 1%

- Join CX Digital Affiliate Network

Rocket Profit REWARDS PROGRAM
Every month you earn over $5,000 with Rocket Profit, you can receive at least a $25 gift card, or all the way up to a $500 gift card. Rocket Profit offers a wide selection of gift card to choose from, whether it be Barnes and Noble, Home Depot or clothes from the Gap.
Minimum Commission to Receive Reward: $5,000
Commission to Reward Ratio: Less than 1%

- Join RocketProfit Affiliate Network

Copeac REWARDS PROGRAM
Increase you monthly earnings with Copeac by earning a gift card each month based on your performance. With a rather high minimum, an affiliate must generate $25,000 to earn a $50 gift card. If you are pushing some nice volume through the company and surpass $100,000 in commissions, you’ll walk away with an additional $500 gift card.
Minimum Commission to Receive Reward: $5,000
Commission to Reward Ratio: Less than 1%

- Join Copeac Affiliate Network

AFFILIATE NETWORKS REWARDS BREAK DOWN

From the chart shown above you can see a break down of each affiliate network rewards program based on the minimum commission you must make to receive a Level 1 reward and the Level 1 reward amount. The last % Ratio column is a break down of how much each rewards program actually “rewards” you, based on your earnings. For example, for every $100 you earn in commissions with Market Leverages, you would receive $1 in rewards value, or 1%. Taking that same example and applying it to COPEAC network, you would earn .20 for every $100 in commissions earned (.20%), towards a reward.

Which affiliate program rewards program works best for you, and have you received any rewards lately?

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Hidden Gems of Niche Marketing… What are people searching for?

Looking for a new niche market, or tired of your current ad campaigns? Spice your marketing up by aiming what people are searching for. Below are just a few resources you can use to target and search out new niche markets and hot products.

What are people buying on eBay?
One of the best and most in-depth resources for accurate and up to date “hot search” for products is through eBay’s Express Top Search. Not only does eBay break down their top 10 categories, then provide the 10+ more top searches for each, but they also provide network wide search queries. To top off eBay’s Express Top Searches, at the bottom they also list the Top Bestselling Movie Artists, Music Artists, Authors and Top Products.

Lycos Top 50
One of my longtime favorites is the Lycos Top 50. In addition to breaking down the Top 50 search terms, they also list categories and write ups on what’s hot and why. Ever wonder what was hot last year at this time or even further back? Use the Lycos 50 “Archives” and you can see what was HOT all the way back to 1999! Other great features of the Lycos 50 are their blog and Movers & Shakers lists.

These are just two of many resources you can use to find what people are searching for around the web. Get creative and see if you can incorporate some hot topics into your marketing campaign… you may just find a way to double or triple your existing revenue!

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Awesome Marketing Books from Awesome People

Maybe it’s something in the air, or just great timing… but a bunch of my good friends all recently came out with new books (both ebooks & paperbacks). Though I much prefer to listen to audio books on my ipod, (since I can work at the same time) these books are just killer and have to be read. Most of you already know that I’m not a big fan of ebooks, because so often they are filled with recycled material that doesn’t help the majority of us, but the two featured ebooks on this post have been very useful and I find them worthy of promotion. As for the paperbacks, I’m still waiting on their arrivals and releases. I approve these books and I’m sure you will too!

101 Wines, by Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary is the star of WineLibraryTV.com and has amassed a huge cult following over the past couple of years. What started with his own father’s liquor store, has turned into one of the most watched and visited Wine & Entertainment sites online. So why am I talking about wine on a marketing blog? Gary is amazingly emotional and passionate about what he does and gets this industry. Gary is a celebrity among wine enthusiasts, internet marketers and every day people, this is nothing to not like about this guy. Gary will also be the keynote of Affiliate Summit West 2008, just to give you an idea of how awesome he is. (I’m currently waiting on the arrival of this book, so I can start reading it)
- Buy & Read Gary’s Book through Amazon.com

Search Engine Optimization: Your visual blueprint for effective Internet marketing, by Kris Jones
Easily one of the best speakers and marketers I’ve ever known, Kris is a master in his field and one of the best in the world. Through his blog, you can read more on how Kris was contacted by Wiley Publishing and the massive efforts he put forth to make sure this book deserved to have his name on it. As Kris intended, this book not only covers SEO, but also has two chapters on ppc marketing and talks briefly on Google Analytics, Monetizing Site Traffic and Social Media. I’m also waiting on the arrival of this book to start reading, and is now available through Amazon.com and can also be found in most book stores.
- Buy & Read Kris Jones’ Book through Amazon.com

AdSense Secrets 4, by Joel Comm
As much as I don’t like ebooks, Joel Comm is one of the masters at writing and knowing Google Adsense, and he is one of the few out there that gives ebooks a good name. I’m still making my way through this 232 page ebook, but have already gained a bunch of ideas and plenty of motivation to start trying a few of his ideas out. I just printed out the ebook on 50+ sheets of paper (4 mini pages per paper), so I can write notes on everything that I like and want to implement. I definitely recommend picking this ebook up, especially since it’s only $9.95. It would be hard not to make back your initial investment several times over with this one. (eBook comes with a $29.95 monthly subscription, unless you cancel within 30 days)
- Buy & Read Adsense Secrets 4 on PDF ebook

Killer Domains: a Resource for Finding the Perfect Domain Name for Your Blog, by Daniel Scocco
Daniel from DailyBlogTips.com just released his ebook which focuses on finding the perfect domain name for your blog. It’s funny the book was just released, because I’ve spent a lot of time over the past two weeks looking into domains and trying to pick up some older ones through expirations and domain auctions. Through “Killer Domains” you’ll read about the process of thinking up a name for your blog and doing the proper keyword research to target towards your audience. You’ll also discover plenty of resources on where you should purchase your domains and how to secure your name in the long run. I’m still reading through this 55 page ebook, and for those who aren’t heavy readers, this ebook is compiled with pictures, data keyword charts and is written extremely well and makes it a very easy read.
- Buy & Read Killer Domains on PDF eBook

ProBlogger Book: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income, by Darren Rowse & Chris Garrett
Even everyone’s favorite money making blogger, Darren Rowse, now has a book of his own out. What’s the book about, as Darren says on his site… “the title really says it all“. The book is still waiting to be released, but you can pre-order your copy through Amazon.com, or signup to the official book web site and read the first chapter for free! I’m looking forward to the release of this book as well.
- PreOrder ProBlogger Book through Amazon.com

Just writing this recap and review on five books that came out, it took well over an hour, so imagine how long it would take to read through them all! As I read each of the books, I will try and come back with more tips on what was covered and what new discoveries I received from each book. Check back soon as I may have a few of these up for grabs in the next couple of weeks! If you have already read any of these books, or are in the process, feel free to leave a comment and let others know what you think.

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American Express Business Card 5% Savings Program with Yahoo! Search

American Express and Yahoo! have teamed up for a great new promotion available to American Express Business Cardholders. American Express is now offering discounts of 5% on all Yahoo! Search Marketing & Yahoo! Small Business Solutions. I’ve personally had an American Express Business Gold Card for years now and absolutely love their service and rewards program. I’ve been running ppc campaigns with Yahoo for quite some time now, so this is just a nice bonus for myself and everyone using the program, and that have their own Amex card.

Imagine spending $1,000 a day on Yahoo Search, then getting 5% back? That would be amazing, as it would heavily increase your profit margins. Unfortunately there is a cap on the program from American Express, which is a “Maximum annual combined savings across YSM and YSB of $500.”. Even though the program is capped, $500 a year in savings is still great, and will make it that much easier to find a profit margin on Yahoo search campaigns. In terms of ppc listings, you could also look at it as, increasing your ppc rate .01 for ever .20 you bid. Higher bids = more traffic.

If you don’t already have an American Express card, I highly recommend you apply for one. The rewards and perks offered by the company are pretty sweet. Other discounts available to business partners through the program are:

Travel and Dining
- Delta(R): 3% off flights (plus 2% with co-branded Business Cards)
- JetBlue(R): 3% off flights (plus 2% with co-branded Business Cards)
- eSkyGuide: 20% off digital flight timetables
- Hyatt Hotels & Resorts(R): 3% off hotel stays
- Hertz(R): 5% off car rentals
- Courtyard by Marriott(R): 5% off hotel stays
- Fairfield Inn by Marriott(R): 5% off hotel stays
- SpringHill Suites by Marriott(R): 5% off hotel stays
- Wingate(R) by Wyndham: 5% off hotel stays
- Ruby Tuesday(R): 5% off dining

Supplies and Services
- Yahoo! Search Marketing: 5% off internet marketing
- Yahoo! Small Business: 5% off internet business tools
- FedEx: 5% off express and ground shipping
- FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Centers(R): 5% off business services
- 1-800-FLOWERS.COM(R): 5% off flowers and gifts
- American Express Incentive Services: 5% off prepaid cards
- Symantec: 10% off security software

Business Building Tools
- BizFilings: 20% off incorporation services
- Ceridian: 20% off payroll services
- Constant Contact(R): 5% off e-mail marketing services
- ExpensAble: 25% off expense management software
- Logoworks by HP: 15% off logo and graphic design

If you aren’t already advertising on Yahoo, in addition to your 5% discount from American Express, you can receive a $25 credit towards your PPC ad campaigns.

I will soon write a follow up post on incentives and rewards I’ve earned from American Express over the years. If you are going to be spending thousands upon thousands of dollars a year in advertising for your business, you should use a credit card that’s going to reward you! Do you have an American Express card, or another credit card which helps reward your business?

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