Search Results for: ask shawn collins

Q: My latest question is from an affiliate manager. It’s actually not really a question, but more of a solicitation. It’s a bit long, so I’ll excerpt some of it:

Hello Sir/Madam,

Greetings!

I’m Savitha from the affiliate team of Knowledge Online services!
I was browsing through your website and we found that we could partner up to work together.

We invite you join our affiliate program!

A: The submission goes on to explain all of the attributes of their affiliate program. The problem here is that they submitted this “question” as AskShawnCollins.com – the site is solely dedicated to accepting questions on affiliate marketing.

This affiliate program pitch totally untargeted. There is a profound disconnect between what they are selling (educational services) and what I’m doing (answering questions on affiliate marketing).

I think this is a prime example of a bad attempt at affiliate recruiting.

On a positive note, it’s something all affiliate managers can learn a lesson from, especially Savitha. Invest the time and energy to find quality prospects that make sense for your affiliate program.

Don’t just go out there with a shotgun method where you address people as Sir/Madam. Make an effort to reach out to an individual and understand what their site is about. Then, endeavor to make a real connection, instead of this sort of spam.

Personally, I’d never join an affiliate program that marketed to me in this fashion. Try picking up the phone or sending a note by mail to affiliates who you’d like to recruit into your affiliate program.

Just don’t bring your affiliate program down with this sort of lazy, counter-productive tactic.

Q: I drive affiliate traffic through pay per click search engines straight to affiliate links without a landing page. How can I track which keywords are converting best?

A: It’s actually a fairly easy method. I’ll tell you what I do to track the effectiveness of my pay per click keywords in affiliate campaigns.

I use sub-IDs for each keyword. Most any affiliate network ought to offer the ability to do this – it’s a string of alpha-numeric characters that you add on to your affiliate link. I would suggest using each keyword as a sub-ID, so you can evaluate the reporting quick and easy.

For example, here is an affiliate link through Commission Junction to promote 1&1 Internet Web Hosting:

http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-1544023-10365666

If I were running a pay per click keyword campaign to promote this affiliate program, here is an example of a link with a sub-ID I could use for the keyword “web hosting”:

http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-1544023-10365666?SID=web_hosting

The structure of the sub-ID varies for each affiliate network (CJ calls it SmartRewards), so check with the respective affiliate network about how to create sub-IDs for their links.

Q: What is your perspective on the recent interview over at New Media Age magazine with Nick Robertson, CEO of ASOS?

A: First, let’s start with the quote that’s gotten the UK affiliate blogs stirred up…

“Next year we’ll reintroduce affiliate marketing but as it should be, as opposed to affiliates as they were. [There’ll be] no silly commissions being paid to grubby little people in grubby studios growing income at our expense, getting in the way of genuine sales.”

Now unless there is some sort of language barrier there, and I don’t think there is, apparently Nick is a little confused or something.

I can’t really imagine what the motive is behind that statement, but if he really anticipates relaunching the affiliate program with that perspective, I think he’s in for a rude awakening.

I don’t think affiliates are going to be willing to promote ASOS, and in all likelihood there will be some sort of boycott against the brand and affiliate program by affiliate marketers.

I think this new way of affiliate marketing he has in mind is going to be nothing but a mirage.

Q: I have been affiliate marketing for several years for my travel site. I have had success by dealing directly with key affiliate programs versus going through ad farms like CJ. I am wanting to add to my affiliates in the area of cruises. I’m aware of Orbitz, IAN, and some others. The most I’ve seen is just over $20 per cruise or a set percentage. Who pays the most in cruises?

A: I get variations of this question frequently – not only which affiliate program in a given vertical pays the most, but which has the best conversion rate, longest return days, best EPC, etc.

The short answer there, and likely not the one you were hoping to hear, is that you will need to check out what’s available on the affiliate networks, as well as indie affiliate programs to determine which affiliate programs pay the most in your sector.

All snarkiness aside, I’m here to answer questions on how to do things in affiliate marketing to help you grow and succeed. I’m happy to assist with tips, suggestions and ideas, based on my past experience as an affiliate and affiliate manager.

But I’m not going to do the busy work that you don’t feel like doing.

As far as which affiliate programs have the best EPC, conversions, and the like, there is one solid practice for gathering this information: TEST.

Test drive the affiliate programs in your vertical and allow for natural selection to determine which affiliate programs work best for you.

Q: I have an eBook I plan to sell online. Which service do you recommend to both deliver the eBook and manage affiliate commissions?

A: I’ve got two companies I would suggest checking out for selling your eBook.

ClickBank is probably the biggest seller of eBooks out there, and they will pay the affiliates for you. In my opinion, it’s the place where you will have the most presence and get the most sales.

The last time I sold anything there, and this may have changed, but I was responsible to handle the fulfillment after the sale. That’s going to be a hurdle if you’re not capable of doing that.

Another option is PayLoadz, and they provide an all in on solution. You upload whatever it is you’re selling, and when somebody makes a purchase, the file automatically gets delivered to them.

It’s a nice, carefree system and it runs through PayPal. The one thing with PayLoadz is that you have to handle the payments to your affiliates. Not so much of a burden, unless you’re selling a crazy volume of your eBooks, in which case you could always pay somebody to handle those sorts of administrative duties.

I’ve been very happy with PayLoadz in the two or three years I’ve been using them, and I currently sell my AffStat reports through them.

Q: I am a new affiliate and I want to add content to my blog. Are there any places to get free content?

A: One option you’ve got is to go to a site called EzineArticles.com. They’ve got a variety of articles on all sorts of different subjects.

You can reprint those articles provided that you adhere to their terms of service.

Also, you can syndicate people’s RSS feeds. When somebody has a blog, they typically make an RSS feed available that enables anybody to republish their content in whole or in part.

I would suggest taking a look at two sites to see what’s available for different subjects: Technorati and the Google Blog Search.

After you come up with some blogs you’d like to syndicate, there is a tool called CaRP that is a converter of RSS to HTML. This enables you to get the SEO benefits of having the actual content on your site and in your code.

Q: Got any tips for being a full time affiliate at home?

A: The first thing I would suggest is to pick up a copy of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen.

It’s a great book. It will give you lots of tips on streamlining the way you do things. I’ve found it to be incredibly helpful in increasing my productivity.

Second of all, since one of the great things about working from home is not being tethered to your desk, I’d say my Blackberry is invaluable. Get yourself a Blackberry or similar device, so you can go around and do your thing and still have access to e-mail, the Web, telephone and everything.

Lastly, one of my most important things is caffeine. I get that from two sources and I alternate them throughout the day.

One is my Keurig Elite 40 coffee maker. It enables me to have different gourmet coffees in single cups. It’s a great little machine.

And, of course, I need a nearby refrigerator to house a supply of my Diet Dr. Pepper.

Those are my secrets to being productive and efficient throughout the day. Good luck with being a full-time affiliate.

Q: What are some examples of affiliate sites that sell consumer products and are appealing to the eye?

A: One example I would mention is FlamingoWorld.com, an established coupon site, as well as ClubMom.com, a rewards site.

In the case of both of them, in my opinion, they are very clean, intuitive sites. I am, by no means, a usability expert, but I think they are easy to use.

I think that’s ultimately the most important thing. I’m not really sure what you are looking for aesthetically, but these are affiliate sites that a great many consumers are using to shop.

Q: How do I make money as an affiliate marketer?

I received this question from Mark of 45n5.com via a video on YouTube.

He went on to elaborate on his question with a scenario for a typical affiliate marketer. He poses the question from an affiliate described as the following:

• He’s a forklift driver worked eight to ten hours a day
• In a little bit of debt
• Has limited time on the weekends and evenings
• Lots of passion to make an affiliate marketing business work

He also has a general understanding of Web site, as he has put up a couple sites, but hasn’t been able to figure out how to convert visitors to buyers through affiliate links.

So if I was starting fresh tomorrow, how would I do it?

First of all, the most important commodity is passion, and that doesn’t cost a thing.

But there is a minimal amount of money I would suggest spending to get things started. You will need a domain and Web hosting, and you should also get an account with an e-mail service provider.

Check out 1&1 Internet for hosting. Their 1&1 Business account is $9.99 a month and it includes the registration of three domain names.

And for e-mail, get an account with AWeber. This will run you $14.95 a month (if you pay a year in advance).

Next up, 1&1 includes a lot of cool tools, one of which is a WordPress blog that’s really easy to set up for your account. I set one up at http://www.blogaff.com via 1&1 in less than five minutes.

This blog will be your Web site, and the home base for your affiliate earnings. Now you’ve got to brainstorm about the subject.

Write down a list of three or four things you really care about – sports team, book, make of car, movie, etc. Decide on one that is your true passion and commit to make this your focus.

Then search for the shortest domain name that evokes your passion, but doesn’t violate any trademarks. Don’t dwell on this too long – find something decent in ten minutes and go with it.

When you’ve got a topic and domain name, then it’s time to start writing. Don’t try to write like a scholar – write in your voice like you’re talking to friends.

I know your schedule is tight, and you can’t afford to sit around your computer on nights and weekends brainstorming about what to write in your blog.

Take advantage of other times. As a forklift driver, use time at work and during your commute to think about things for your blog. It will make your work and drive time go faster and save your precious time at home when you want to be productive.

One thing I do when I have an idea is to call myself on my cell phone and leave myself a message. No fussing with scraps of paper. Then go home, listen to your message and pump out some words.

Your blog posts don’t have to be articles – be consistent and short. Better to provide two to three paragraphs and new information daily than a long weekly post.

After you’ve posted five to ten times to your blog, check out the affiliate networks for some relevant offers to promote. Don’t fixate on the EPCs – rather look for what is most relevant to you.

Pick two to three merchants that you like and would endorse that relate to your topic and join their affiliate programs. Put up a couple or three ads on the blog and monitor which ones are getting clicks and sales. Test everything and if it’s not working out, try something else.

In addition to some banners and text links as ads, work an affiliate link into your posts if it comes natural – don’t force it.

When you’ve followed all of these steps, add your AWeber account into the mix. There are three things you should try out with AWeber: follow-up e-mails, broadcast e-mails and feed broadcast e-mails (the AWeber site details how to use these).

Also, two free resources to sign on with to help promote your blog and monitor the performance are FeedBurner (RSS feed distribution tool) and Openads (free ad server).

The key to all of this is to be patient and passionate. Don’t be discouraged if the checks don’t roll in right away. It takes some time to get traction for your site and build in audience.

In time, you’ll start getting noticed, and those past posts will get indexed in search engines. One last thing to do within your 1&1 account to help with this process – go into your control panel and click on Google Webmaster Tools and set up a Google Sitemap.

Give this all a couple months – if you don’t see some progress in your bank account, you’ve still got two domains available in your hosting account. Consider starting from scratch with a new idea or changing the angle of your existing blog.

Good luck.

Q: What is Web 2.0 and how can it be leveraged for affiliate marketing?

A: Web 2.0 is more than another meaningless marketing buzzword. It’s the next generation of Web-based resources, services and tools with a focus on collaboration and sharing among users.

There are a lot of things that fall under the umbrella of Web 2.0, such as wikis, social networks, widgets, video tools, and other applications tools being used online – some can help directly or indirectly with affiliate marketing.