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.

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.

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.

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?

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%!)

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.

Believe it or not, there are over 100,000 new blogs created every day. With so many blogs already published and nearly 3 million new blogs every month, how it anyone supposed to make sense of it all, or at least weed out the good ones. BloggersBase is trying to do just that. While there may already be sites like Technorati to automatically rank blogs based on their popularity, and sites like Digg to have users vote on the best content… BloggersBase strives to bring you the best of both worlds. In short, “BloggersBase is a citizen journalism magazine powered by YOU!”

How BloggersBase Works
To participate in the BloggerBase voting system, you will need to signup for a free account at their site. They only as for your email, name and password… so it’s a quick easy setup.

As a blogger you can write your content directly to the BloggerBase web site, or you can add your original blog content to their database. Your original blog content can be added by using an RSS feed, or simply copy and pasting your original work. The pros to duplicating your content, is that you will get more people reading your content. The cons include the possibility of getting outranked in the search engines by BloggersBase in the search engines, or Google possibly seeing the post as duplicate content.

User Feedback and Voting System
Everyone loves to see that people are reading their content, and when feedback is left, it’s that much more important. I think the biggest potential for BloggersBase lies in the future of it’s community.

Right when you visit the BloggersBase site, you aren’t overwhelmed with options or a million different categories to separate blogs into. There are four main categories which are Entertainment, Lifestyle, Technology and World Affairs. Once you select your desired category, it will further group into small categories if you want tighter search results.

Below is a screenshot on how users can rate and comment on your blog postings. Much like regular blogging, the comments and user information are listed below the post, but users also have the ability to rate of agreement, presentation, professionalism and value of the posting. I can see this being very value and effective for anyone starting out in the blogoshere and doesn’t have any money to spend on user feedback and getting people to their own sites.

Prizes and Awards on BloggerBase
One of the big incentives that will drive a lot of people to BloggersBase, is their ability to offer cash prizes and an affiliate program. Each week BloggersBase awards $50 to their top bloggers and a rewards/cash system through their affiliate program. Based on ratings and feedback from the community, the top blogger of the week would receive $40, while the second place blogger receives $10.

The Future of BloggerBase
With so many directories and voting sites out there, it is hard for any new sites to compete. One of the hardest thing to build in any niche market, is a loyal user base. If BloggerBase continues to grow, and user participation stays up, they can be one of the big players in the blog tracking area. A few areas BloggerBase may need to work on, is creating better incentives for bloggers to write or add content to their site. The cash rewards and prizes are a good addition, butare most likely not large enough to bring over any decent sized bloggers. On the other hand, the system is perfect for anyone that doesn’t want to learn wordpress or setup their own blog.

What are your thoughts on BloggerBase and how they can improve their site?

Creating niche based web sites has been really hot lately, and the methods for doing so are also increasing. While many web sites are using programs other programs to build niche theme stores, what happens if you want to list or target more than just eBay auctions. There are so many other products and affiliate programs out there pushing actual product, how can you take advantage of them all. Scott from Store Stacker contacted me about his site at StoreStacker.com. In a nut shell, StoreStacker will build a complete affiliate site for the user, while listing and profiting from not only content on eBay, but also Amazon, ClickBank, OverStock, RegNow (Commission Junction added soon) and RSS feeds. Everything is in the user’s control; how the site is setup, how it looks, and what you are targeting.

How it Works?
Instead of relying on just eBay auctions, with Store Stacker you now have the power to build niche stores with thousands of more products, and ways to generate revenue. Not only will Store Stacker create customized product pages for everything in your store, but you can also include video content (from YouTube) and articles (from RSS). Also included in each Store Stacker site, are automatic seo and content updates. Once you setup your store, it will automatically update itself with the latest content and new products. Worried about SEO for your store? Store Stacker also has that covered, and did the work for you. “The SEO capabilities are the best in the industry – keyword infused urls, keyword tags on every page, related product listings on each page, google sitemaps are automatically created and a new site page is created for every product, video or article that is imported.” For a more thorough and detailed write up on the Store Stacker program, visit their “how it works” page.

You can Create One Big Store, with Access to Millions of Products!

Utilizing the Power of YouTube and RSS
No longer does your niche store have to rely on just product listings, but Store Stacker has the ability to add YouTube Video and RSS content to your sites. With access to over 10 million products from Store Stacker’s partnered affiliate networks (with many more coming over the next couple months), you will also have the ability to import thousands of on-topic videos from YouTube and relevant articles from any RSS source (blogs, news sites, etc). Depending on the size of your site, this can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars by not having articles written to match up with your actual products, not only for a better seo aspect, but user experience as well. New products, content and video are added automatically to your store over time.

Store Stacker Video & Admin Area
I can do a write up on Store Stacker all day, but the benefits of seeing real video of what Store Stacker can do is much more exciting. Scott put together a nice intro video to show the power of his software and how easy it is to setup new stores. Once you are setup with the software, Scott has also created a whole line of video tutorials for you to learn from, along with a full members forum.

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How much does it Cost?
For the amount of functionality and power behind the Store Stacker software, you may expect it to be expensive, but it’s actually only $97 for the full version, which includes eBay, Amazon and YouTube plugins. Each software package comes with 12 fully customizable templates, user manuals, video tutorials and on-call email support. You can purchase other plug-ins such as ClickBank and OverStock for $25 each. If you are having any success with other niche store software, then it would be worth while to try Store Stacker and see what revenue you are missing out on, by not targeting Amazon.com and other merchants. There are not monthly hosting fees or hidden costs, and once you purchase the software, you can create as many stores as you like.

Final Thoughts on Store Stacker
I, like many of you, have had my share of experience in building niche theme based sites, as well as using eBay as their main source of revenue. I feel the best way to succeed with this software is to create your own site using Store Stacker, but don’t let it sit there with an out of the box template. Create your site very tight on it’s niche, then create a custom template and additional content for the site. If you’ve already made money in the past using just eBay, improve your profits by expanding your product sources out to Amazon and ClickBank.

Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions you have on the Store Stacker software and how it compares to other “niche store” programs available.

- Download Your Copy of Store Stacker

I’m sure most of you have already seen Amit Mehta’s blog once or twice over the past few months. If you haven’t, he’s one of the faster growing affiliate marketers in the ppc space and has increased his revenue generation to over $2.4 million dollars with only a few years of search and affiliate marketing under his belt.

So what has Amit been up to lately? In between his speaking appearances and moving from Boston to Florida and back, he’s managed to put together one of the most anticipated PPC learning tools in quite some time. To make the program even more of a success, Amit teamed up with well known marketer Anik Singal. Today is the official launch of the PPC Classroom 2.0, so please feel free to check it out.

If you’ve been fortunate enough to see Amit Mehta speak at Affiliate Summit or any of his other sessions, you already know he has a great passion for what he does and loves to help others. During his sessions he talks about how he went to school and got his fancy degrees, but in the end, he walked away from his high paying job to become a full time internet marketer. As a PPC Classroom member, Amit shares his personal stories and valuable information on how to grab a niche by the tail and replicate the process to improve your numbers across the board.

I first met with Amit at Affiliate Summit East 2007

I could go on and on about what you will find in the program, which is a lot, but you can just click here and visit their home page which shows everything. I just started looking over the program and videos today and it’s setup very well and I’m sure it’s full of content that everyone will find beneficial. The cost is $77, then 30 days free access to the members area.

- Signup for PPC Classroom

It was great to meet up and hang with Jeremy at BlogWorld last week, and I’m actually on my way to meet with him again at SEO Think Tank in San Diego, California this weekend. Everyone knows that Jeremy can produce big numbers and has been making big money for years now… but how does he do it, and what tools does he use? The secrets are finally out, and ShoeMoney Tools is now live for everyone to join. I’ve had the opportunity to log into the service and preview the tools for the past couple of weeks and there is some pretty cool stuff in there, let’s check it out what ShoeMoney has created!

ZacJohnson.com Blog Readers Save 80% Off!
First off, before going over each of the tools available in the system, I wanted to give you the opportunity to save an awesome 80% off in your first month. Instead of having to pay the normal fee of $99 a month, you can try out the program for only $19.80 during your first month! – Just use the code “zacjohnson” when you sign up. If you aren’t happy with the tools available, just cancel your account before the end of the month.

What Can ShoeMoney Tools do for You?
Right now there are 19 tools in the system, and the ability to request more tools and run the ShoeMoney Tools affiliate program… without being a member, you can’t access any of them.

The PPC Tools are my favorite, as they can really speed up your campaign building and group together keywords and generate ad copies for you, while showing how your competition is advertising! The “SEO Tools” and “Link Building Tools” are also pretty cool, especially if you like spying on your competition to see their link building strategies, rankings or to compare rankings.

The Future of ShoeMoney Tools
Once you are a member, you can log into the system and access all of the tools. However, what I am really looking forward too, is what tools will be added over time. As more members join ShoeMoney Tools and more requests are sent in, I can only see this resource getting better and better.

ShoeMoney Tools Video Tutorial
To finish off the review of ShoeMoney Tools, I’ll let Jeremy do the rest. Please watch the video below as each of the tools and the admin area are explained. (Once you are a member, there are a lot more video tutorials to walk you through several of the tools in the site.)

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Please feel free to join ShoeMoney Tools and save 80% off (use coupon code: ZACJOHNSON), and also leave any comments on what tools you think would improve the ShoeMoney Tools service.

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?