Site Reviews | Affiliate Marketing Tips from Super Affiliate Zac Johnson

UPrinting Die-Cut Business Card Giveaway

If you only had 30 seconds to tell someone about your business in an elevator and never see them again, would they remember to contact you? Better yet, would you have an impressive business card to give to them, that not only has all of your information and what your business is about, but leaves a lasting impression? You should!

How many times have you gone to conference even and collected a ton of business cards, then look through them when you get home and find that most of them are boring and only a couple actually stand out? Wouldn’t you like to be one of those cards that stands out? Of course you would!

Through a special promotion with UPrinting.com, we are giving away a free set of die-cut business card designs. The winner will get a chance to upload their own existing business card design and have them printed out on high quality die-cut business cards, or can create their own cards from scratch using the UPrinting designing platform.

How to Enter to Win Your Own Die-Cut Business Cards

I wanted to make this contest ridiculously easy for anyone to will, so all you have to do is leave a comment on this post, along with your idea on what makes a killer business card. One winner will randomly be selected on January 15th, and they will receive the business card package below.

Also, be sure to “Like” UPrinting.com o Facebook and you will be entered to win one of 3 iPod Touches and an iPad 2! Winners are chosen weekly.

Prize Details:

- 250 pcs Die Cut Business Card Printing for one(1) winner

Sizes to choose from:
2 x 3.5″ Rounded Corners, 2×2″ Rounded Corners, 1.75×3.5″ Rounded Corners, 2×3.5″ Leaf, 2×3.5
Rounded one corner, 2×3.5″ Half Circle Side, 2×3.5″ Oval, 2.5″ Circle

Paper to choose from:
14pt Cardstock Gloss / Matte / High Gloss (UV), or 13pt Cardstock Uncoated,
6 Business Days Turnaround *Free shipping

In addition to business cards, UPrinting provides a ton of other online printing services. Be sure to check out their web site if you are looking to have any printing and design services done.

20 December, 2011 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Site Reviews, Web Developement

Buy and Sell Websites through Rouper

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Rouper for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Recently, all the buzz has been about buying and selling web sites. Over the past couple of years, the process of buying and selling web sites has become a lot easier through the use of online marketplaces. No longer do you have to search through old forums, or try and contact web site owners directly. Here are just a few of the problems you may come across when it comes to buying or trying to sell your website outside of using a third party or market place.

Annoyance of finding contact information
No medium for actual value of web site
Accepting or actually getting paid
Fraud, scams and denial/refund of payment

The list can go on and on, which leads to why we need a marketplace for buying and selling web site. Flippa has shown us the importance of having a marketplace where buyers and sellers can connect and they are pushing some massive volume the amount of web sites trading hands on a daily basis… however, there is plenty of room for competition.

Rouper.com, a new marketplace for buying and selling web sites has caught my eye recently. I’m starting to see their banners appear on many familiar web sites, and as I’ve been watching their web site over the past weeks, I am seeing more people listing web sites and using the service. Though the marketplace is new, I think if they play their cards right, they can be a top competitor in this unsaturated game. In the screenshot below you will a preview of one of the site listings.

If Rouper.com wants to compete in this competitive space, they will need to be offer something the top players in the game aren’t. I also think some extra work into their site design is needed. Right now the site is a bit too plain and could use the following upgrades to their site:

Main page shows full directory, and not option to choose to BUY or SELL
All listings with in directory should include screenshots
Minimum amount of listing information and text required
Provide all web site information/stats/seller info etc on listing page (no tabs)
Increase overall activity and attract some big site sales

As mentioned earlier, the marketplace is new, but that doesn’t mean they should be overlooked. You never know who may come across Rouper.com and find a web site they really like, and end up purchasing. As for listing fees, you can see the Rouper.com rates below, which are listed in their terms and conditions.

Success Fee. Payable upon any sale.	5% of the dollar value of the sale net of any taxes. The minimum success fee is $100.
Success Fee (upfront option)	Instead of paying the 5% success fee upon sale completion you may choose to pay a non-refundable $499 success fee upfront when creating your listing.

It will be interesting to see how Rouper grows and continues to develop their marketplace in the coming months. It would be healthy for competition and the business of buying and selling web sites, to see a few more big resources and names pop up in the industry.

List Your Web Site on Rouper

Now that you have an idea on what Rouper is all about, why not list a web site and see what happens? From now til October 31st Rouper is offering a coupon “64W0SJ87“ that will allow sellers to list for only $1 instead of the regular $49 price. In the meantime, whether you are a buyer or seller, keep Rouper.com on your radar and check out their site listings for any hidden winners.

20 October, 2011 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Blogging, Site Reviews, Web Developement

The Early Days of Affiliate Networks

As the internet has rapidly changed over the years, so has the way we do affiliate marketing. In the early days (1997-2001 era) of online marketing, it wasn’t so easy to start up an affiliate network, and DirectTrack tracking systems weren’t yet available, so most networks needed to create their own tracking, which cost a lot of time and money. Though it wasn’t easy, it was the networks that strived to succeed in the beginning, that put us where we are today.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at a few of my first affiliate networks I worked with, and where they are today.

WebSponsors.com (WebClients)
WebSponsors was one of the main starting points for where I saw the potential in affiliate marketing. I had already been making money with the Amazon.com Associates Program, but that was on a percentage basis from sales. Once I came across WebSponsors, I found a whole new set of offers where I could start making money. I no longer had to make a sale to receive a commission, but instead could have someone join the MyPoints.com mailing list and earn .50. Through the offers on WebSponsors, I would go on to create several large free stuff sites and mailing lists.

Where are they now? While in their prime, WebSponsors seemed to be everywhere. I also met up with them occasionally at events like AffiliateForce. In 2005, ValueClick acquired WebSponsors for $141 million.

OnResponse (formerly Bach Systems)
One of my first and most successful affiliate networks was OnResponse. I was able to quickly generate some high numbers for the company on new lead/survey offers with the site, which then lead to meeting and becoming a good friend with the founder, Joe Auerbach. The company was started by Joe and his brother, then sold to ValueClick a couple years later.

Where are they now? I’m sure Joe and his brother are enjoying the good life, after selling to ValueClick. As for the site and domain, it’s just a redirect to ValueClick Media now. In 2000, ValueClick aquired OnResponse for $800,000 and 750,000 shares of VCLK for the company.

FineClicks & Shareasale
Two smaller networks that really helped me branch out in affiliate marketing were FineClicks and Shareasale. In addition to using both of these networks for CPA offers, I was also an advertiser on both networks with several offers. Both of these networks were new and came out at roughly the same time, and because affiliate marketing was so new, I was able to generate full demographic and geographic form leads for less than .15 each. I was then able to mail to these opt-in subscribers and manage their data for several years after.

Where are they now? Shareasale is now one of the largest and most successful networks around. Brian Littleton started the company and still has only a handful of employees running the company, which has thousands of merchants and affiliates. FineClicks was a fun network while it was around, but the founder of the company didn’t stick around too long, and sold the company to Shareasale.

CommissionJunction (CJ)
I always like to refer to CJ as my “turning point” company. Along with having offers and sites running on FineClicks and Sharesale, I also had them placed on CJ. While running as a merchant at CJ, I had paid out over $250,000 in commissions in less than two years. In 2000, CommissionJunction held their first conference, which was called CJU (Commission Junction University). Just a few days before the event, my father and I decided to fly across the country and see what happened. It was my first (and most memorable) internet marketing event. All of the big web site names were there, and for an internet marketer, it was like being at the Oscars in Hollywood. I went on to make some amazing contacts that helped me along the way, and the decision to attend that first CJU event jumpstared hundreds of new ideas and the dedication and inspiration that got me to where I am today.

Where are they now? Whenever I came across a successful affiliate networks, there was almost always a common tread… the company would get bought up by ValueClick. That is also what happened to CJ in 2003, when ValueClick bought he company for $58 million in cash. CJ still remains the same company and network site it was before the purchase.

With the ease of DirectTrack and new tracking solutions becoming available often, we are seeing new affiliate networks popup every week. It no longer takes investment money and a custom backend to build a network, but instead the ability to run a trusted network that makes money for affiliates and builds up a reputation to fly above the competition.

Did you get a chance to work with any of these networks in the early days? If not, what was the first affiliate network you signed up to?

17 June, 2009 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, Blogging, Make Money, Site Reviews, Web Developement

Make Killer Landing Pages with “Affiliate Theme” for WordPress

I’ve been working with Unique Blog Designs for a couple years now, and am very excited about their latest work, the Affiliate Theme. After talking with Nate and the rest of the team, they’ve been telling me about the “Affiliate Theme” for quite a while now, and I’ve anxiously been awaiting to get my hands on a copy. What makes this theme so great, is that so much time was spent on putting it all together, and building all of the plugins to make the Affiliate Theme a perfect solution for affiliates looking to build landing pages and mini sites.

Amazing Built-In WordPress Themes
What are the hottest affiliates offers out right now that are making an amazing amount of money. The top offers are easily Grant/Stimulus offers, Dating, Acai/Weight Loss and Make Money from Home. Even if you aren’t a master at WordPress, the Affiliate Theme has you covered. There are over 30 custom niche header graphics built into the Affiliate Theme package. It literrally will take you less than 5 minutes to have a new customized site up and running. Take a look at a few of the designs and built in layouts available with the Affiliate Theme.

I Hate Wasting Time Editing WordPress Theme!
I love working with WordPress theme sites, but it costs time and money to always go with a custom theme. Then whenever I use a free theme, I always end up editting the template and removing sidebars, etc… it’s just not fun. With the Affiliate Theme, you won’t find yourself wasting time with editing, because it’s already all done for you in the plugins and settings area of WordPress. Don’t open a sidebar.txt file to edit your landing page! Instead go to settings and check off a box to remove that sidebar!

Affiliate Theme Preview & Pricing
Unique Blog Designs put a nice video together showing some of the features and how to maximize use of the Affiliate Theme. You can view the video below.

The Affiliate Theme ranges in price from $97 for a single use package, up to $197 for the “Super Affiliate Package”, which includes 31 pre-made header graphics, higher payouts through their affiliate program, and access to new graphic headers every month.

Next week I will write a follow up post and give a few examples of sites I’ve created using the Affiliate Theme.

In the meantime, take a look at their site and grab a copy for yourself! (Use Coupon Code “5255D15E05” and Save 15%!)

17 March, 2009 Posted by: Zac Johnson Filed Under: Blogging, Make Money, Marketing, Site Reviews

OfferVault – Compare Affiliate Network Offers

How many affiliate networks can you name? Most likely it’s a bundle, but as many as know, I’m sure you will still forget to mention a few. Personally, I sign up for a network whenever I come across one. No matter the size or age of the network, you never know if one of them might just have that next perfect offer that will make you a ton of cash.

However, with so many affiliates networks, how are you supposed to track them all and see who is paying the most? The latest solution: OfferVault.

OfferVault has created an excellent site for searching out over 10,000 offers among over 30 different affiliate networks. Best of all, it’s free.

How OfferVault Works
Using OfferVault couldn’t be easier. Once you signup for your free account, you are greeted with a selection of affiliate networks that are compatible with OfferVault, along with a search feature to browse a compare affiliate rates. Simply type in any offer name or topic and the results will come right up. I did a search for “crush“, which is one of the best performing cell-submit offers across many networks. With this given result, you can see the difference in payout rates. You can also see that “AU – My Luv Crush Mobile” has two listings… one with CPAEmpire, and another with GlobalDirectMedia, but there is a difference of $1.70 in commission. Which network would you be running this offer through? As always, networks will argue that they pay more and that these are just “public” rates, but it’s still a good reference list.

Networks Listed on OfferVault
In addition to the major networks you already know about, OfferVault also has a selection of networks that many affiliates might not already be signed up with. Having a system that allows for comparison across a wide variety of networks is key. There are currently over 30 networks listed, but it would be great to see this list expanded to include even more networks, such as Advaliant and PepperJam Network. (and I’m sure more network options are being added) Other than that, they have most of the major networks listed.

A Free Resource & How OfferVault Makes Money
With such an awesome service, you might wonder how they can offer it for free? To access the full search capabilities of the site, you have to sign up for a free account. After signing up, you with have the option to buy an affiliate site template package. This is in no way required, and just an upsell for anyone interested.

The power and long term revenue generator for the site is it’s potential to send new affiliates to the networks it has listed on the site. Imagine how many people search for an offer, then see it’s highest payout is at a network they’ve never seen before. In most cases, the affiliate will click on over to that network and sign up. OfferVault would then receive credit for the referral.

Is OfferVault Worth Using?
I don’t see any reason why someone would pass up the option on using OfferVault, or at the least, just trying it out. With everyone always trying to make a quick buck, it’s nice to see a decent resource site with such value and not having to enter your cc info. There is no cost to use the system, and you may just find another network that is paying more than your current network. Not only is it important to not cut yourself short, but it’s always good to know what network have what offers, and how much they are paying out… along with how much they are banking on margins. The most successful affiliates always know what’s going on in the industry and keeping your networks in check is key!

Take a look through OfferVault and let me know what you think.