As you can see I have a new wp theme installed (WooHoo!). Plus I upgraded to the latest WordPress version (just released hours ago).
The design still needs a few tweaks, a bit of validating (ie. hair pulling) and all that jazz. Ummm, I think everyone here knows exactly how that goes .
I hope things [...]
Note: Check this out ASAP, since free access doesn’t last forever!
This Marketing Sherpa interview shows how one top merchant’s managers have developed an affiliate sales force that’s responsible for 50% of sales of the company’s key software line. Real insights on how affiliate communication, internal teams, and the right kinds of creatives can build a high participation - as well as high revenue - program.
Internet Retailer has published some figures from my AffStat 2006 Report…
Affiliate marketing?using one site to drive traffic to another site?is becoming more complex, to judge by consultant Shawn Collins? annual survey of marketers who use affiliates.
His latest report?AffStat 2006?shows an increase in the number of affiliates in the mid range?23% of this year?s respondents report 5,001-10,000 affiliates vs. 13% a year ago, yet 18% report they have too many affiliates to manage…
Berkeley Heights, NJ - January 30, 2006 — The Affiliate Summit Convention will be held July 9-11, 2006 in Orlando, Florida. The Affiliate Summit is presented by Shawn Collins and Missy Ward and provides the unique opportunity for affiliate marketing professionals to gather and learn from one another in a cooperative environment.
The goal of the Affiliate Summit is to create a learning environment and networking opportunity that facilitates the exchange of information about affiliate…
A beta of the new Google Toolbar is now available and worth checking out. It includes time saving features such as online bookmark storage, click-to-send web pages via email, advanced search features, and many other goodies. Check it out here:
If you somehow missed your email copy - or prefer to read it online - here’s the latest issue of our weekly News For Affiliate Classroom Affiliates. If you’re not an affiliate yet, and want to promote one of the highest conversion programs in the industry, sign up here.
Affiliate Classroom - News For Our Affiliates
Read by our 2,884 valued affiliates each week.
Published by Affiliate Classroom, Inc.
Anik Singal, CEO and Founder
Promote the Magazine - Get Results!
As you know we released the January 2006 edition of the Affiliate Classroom magazine around a week ago and it’s a HUGE hit. Passing this magazine around is a great way for you to grab a cookie on Affiliate Classroom. If the person you refer comes back and signs-up, you will get your affiliate credit.
All you need to do is log-in to your affiliate account and promote “Product #6″ under “Links/Ads”
Click here to log-in to your account…
Best Ever Marketing Seminar?
If you’re a serious affiliate who’s ready to rub shoulders with the greats - and learn the REAL secret tactics known only to a few under-the-radar marketers - this is probably the best seminar of the year. I attended this event, hosted by Yanik Silver, last year, and it was worth every penny. By the time you read this, it may be sold out - so hurry to check it out here…
http://blog.affiliateclassroom.com/2006/01/18/great-internet-marketing-seminar-maybe-the-best/
Linkbaiting - “New” Tactic?
The term may be new, but linkbaiting’s been around for a long time. It’s the fine art of viral link attraction, and it’s generated a lot of discussion on some of the web’s most popular search engine blogs, including Search Engine Watch and Matt Cutts’ Blog.
So even though the term may be new, the tactics are timeless - and it’s search engine safe. So if you want to boost your natural backlinks in a hurry, grab some fresh ideas here:
http://blog.affiliateclassroom.com/2006/01/26/linkbaiting-case-study-from-search-engine-watch/
Under-Utilized Adsense Advice
It seems like a lot of our affiliates are also heavily into building AdSense content sites. Which isn’t surprising, since AdSense is a great add-on for article pages that contain an affiliate marketing article or Affiliate Classroom review with inline links.
So here’s a tip that’s worth AdSense gold. It comes from Joel Comm, the master of all things AdSense:
http://blog.affiliateclassroom.com/2006/01/16/under-utilized-adsense-advice/
Speaking of AdSense… Check Out Our Affiliate Marketing Product of the Year
If you want to build beautiful content sites fast… sites that are harmonious with sound search engine principles… it’s time you got learned XSite Pro.
If you’ve used this software the way it’smeant to be used - to build and manage multiple niche content sites incredibly efficiently - then you nwo why Affiliate Classroom consulting faculty and staff gave it the Affiliate Classroom Magazine Product of the Year Award. To read our review of this outstanding piece of software, click here to download your copy of the January issue of Affiliate Classroom Magazine.
Until next time,
Anik Singal
If you somehow missed your email issue - or prefer to read it online - here is the latest Affiliate Classroom Weekly. Sign up here.
Affiliate Classroom Weekly
Read by 35,000 hard working affiliates each week.
Published by Affiliate Classroom, Inc.
Anik Singal, CEO and Founder
Quick Tip: Some Unfamiliar Terms Defined
An Affiliate Classroom student recently asked for definitions of some terms in the latest issue of our Magazine. Since many beginner affiliates may not be familiar with terms like “backlinks,” “organic results,” “ping,” or “upsell,” I posted the definitions here:
http://blog.affiliateclassroom.com/2006/01/24/some-questions-from-the-magazine/
Affiliate Marketing Product of the Year
Seems like every day a new marketing product hits the streets, doesn’t it? Most are so-so, some are useful. But a rare few are absolutely indispensible tools - especially for beginners who are new to the whole online marketing scene.
So this year our Affiliate Classroom consulting faculty got together with the staff of Affiliate Classroom Magazine to choose a Product of the Year. And I honestly don’t think they could have picked a more worthwhile tool - or a more versatile one.
To read our review of this outstanding piece of software, click here to download your copy of the January issue of Affiliate Classroom Magazine.
Recent Usability Studies Can Help You Choose Merchants
When it comes to choosing merchants, it’s important to promote programs that are likely to close sales - after all, if your merchant isn’t doing a good job of encouraging purchases, you won’t make any commissions!
On the Affiliate Classroom Magazine section of this blog, we’ve reported on some recent studies that can help you judge whether a merchant is encouraging your visitors to buy… or just confusing and distracting them. Check out these posts:
http://blog.affiliateclassroom.com/2006/01/18/youve-only-got-3-seconds/
http://blog.affiliateclassroom.com/2006/01/23/does-your-merchants-site-make-visitors-want-to-buy/
Remember This Case Study?
Those of you who are Affiliate Classroom students may remember a case study we featured in the private training area more than a year ago. We interviewed Stephanie Hetu, who had just fired her boss to be a full time affiliate marketer.
Stephanie went from having a website with no traffic at all to over 40,000 visitors a month - all from search engines. But you may also remember Stephanie’s little “horror story” about her first high traffic success:
“I received tons of traffic very quickly, but that traffic DROPPED dramatically 2 months later. I did not panic because I know already WHY this happened. But this is often what people do. They see a change in their traffic, they panic, and they start to change things on their site. This is the LAST thing to do!”
If you remember, Stephanie had some excellent advice about how to not only correct this situation, but avoid it in the future - all by using the one SEO strategy that will never fail you because it never upsets the search engines. It was great advice, and worth reviewing.
We also revisted Stephanie in June, 2005, to find out about a new strategy she was experimenting with - marketing in a foreign language. For those of you who are bi-lingual, you can learn a lot from Stephanie’s incredible success is this area.
If you’re not a member of Affiliate Classroom, click here because we’re still running our enormously popular Trial Offer.
Coalition Forms to Shine Cold Light of Day on Spyware Cheats
If you’re as incensed as I am at the spyware cheats who hijack your hard-earned commissions, here’s some good news. With funding from Google, Lenovo Group, and Sun Microsystems, Harvard and Oxford Universities have teamed up to fight “badware” - spyware, adware, and parasiteware.
Click here to read all about the organization they’ve created: StopBadware.org.
Until next time,
Anik Singal
MarketingSherpa is carrying the AffStat 2006 Report, the fourth edition of this definitive study on the affiliate marketing industry. One hundred eighty-nine affiliate managers from a cross-section of merchants were surveyed on their overall statistics, as well as practical aspects of their affiliate marketing channels.
Areas covered in the 2006 report include: affiliate networks, staffing, affiliate recruiting, and management. The Affstat 2006 report includes a section where affiliate…
One of my merchants, which I sold over $6,000 of products, ignores my e-mails about paying my commissions. They owe me about over $1,400 of commissions. What recourse do I have toward this situation? Any bright idea or experience you may have yourself encounter which could help me?
One thing you should do, if you haven’t done so already, is to review the affiliate agreement for this affiliate program. Check whether the manner in which you promoted the affiliate program is forbidden in their…
Reviewing some January numbers with a merchant today.
Sales: $1,560
Total Amount Sales: 15
Clicks: 1,397
My Earnings/Commission: $80 and change
Funny story: I received a note from the affiliate manager asking if I tried ppc to get more sales.
Well. Tell me. Where’s the incentive? Because I don’t see it.
PPC Scenario: I pay for ppc. Google makes money, the merchant [...]