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Casual Articles - Four Questions Before You Look for Affiliate Programs
Though it is not a new concept, the telephone meeting idea has gone through many technological changes through the years. It started as a simple office conference call among employees in long-distance locations. Today, technology allows the host or presenter to include training sessions, sales and marketing presentations, Power Point Presentations, videos, and much more.They are becoming increasingly popular as people come to realize the cost savings of a teleseminar compared to an in-person presentation. This is especially true of businesses which have locations not only nationally, but internationally as well. The cost savings in travel alone can more than cover the cost of the equipment and the service itself. One company has a conference call scheduled weekly between their Delaware office and their office in Dublin, Ireland. It would be economically unfeasible for everyone to get together in person to have a meeting on a weekly, or even monthly, basis. Colleges have also adapted this practice as part of their distance-learning program. Students dial a phone number furnished by the school and receive the lectu
Do you have textlinks or other advertising on other sites? Do you know the demographics of the visitors from those sites? Have you spoken to the webmaster, owner or manager of the sites on which you advertise and asked him or her about their visitors? Do you know the websites? Have you visited the sites that advertise on the same sites as you? When you investigate all of these things a profile of the visitors to your site should begin to emerge.
Which search engine brings you the most traffic? If it’s Google, the user is slightly more apt to be male, and in the middle (of MSN, Yahoo and Google) as far as propensity toward buying something (42% more likely than the average user). There’s a terrific article on marketingvox.co
Anybody who cares to investigate will quickly find that all top online affiliates tend to have a secret weapon for generating traffic. It is hardly surprising that they will hardly tend to discuss this secret strategy or want to reveal it.Still, many a top online affiliate is able to use their secret weapon to get loads of traffic to their web site or blog site and this is then quickly translated into their high income.Let us look at a few examples of traffic secret weapons used by some top online affiliates. Some top online affiliates are able to get reasonable high traffic through their content and by targeting high traffic keyword phrases. They then multiply this traffic further by joining a number of carefully selected banner exchange sites.Another traffic secret weapon used by top online affiliates is one that I have talked a lot about in my articles. This is link-baiting articles or posts that encourage or provoke other bloggers or sites to rapidly link to the site.Yet another top online affiliate traffic secret weapon is the posting of large volumes of articles at a specific articles d
I went out this weekend looking for content that I could publish here temporarily while I got down to writing. I had a hard time finding unbiased content. Most of the so-called reviews out there are infomercials, and that’s not what I was looking for with this blog. So you’re going to have to bear with me. I’ve been looking and learning and reading and talking, and I’ve got a lot to say. I just need the time to write it down, and I will, starting tomorrow. No, really I will.
In the meantime, you need to ask yourself this — are you ready for an affiliate program, or Internet Advertising in general? I put together four questions you should ask before you embark on your affiliate program or any Internet advertising.
Before I get to the four questions you should ask before you enbark on your affiliate program, I am going to review two concepts that I use often here on Affiliateblog. The first is what I call the macro view of your Internet presence:
Incoming visitors -> Internet Presence < - Sales or Actions
You are really running two campaigns with your Internet presence -- the first campaign is concerned with getting visitors to the site, and the campaign is ongoing. The second campaign is to get those visitors to do something. That something may be just to spend more time at your site, or it may be to sign up for something or buy something.
The other represents the process of Internet advertising:
Impression -> Click -> Action
Most affiliate programs pay publishers in the last part of the process, the Action. I’ll be using both of these concepts in my questions. So here we go…
1. Do you know enough about your visitors?
There are literally thousands of affiliate programs out there. While some affiliate marketing hubs are experimenting with context-sensitive serving of affiliate banners and banner rotation on affiliate sites, YOU will be the one to decide what kind of products and services you want to offer your visitors. This seems like a minor detail, but it is a major factor in your success.
If you haven’t already, take a look at the stats for your web site over the past month or so. Where do your visitors come from? Have you paid for Google, Yahoo or other search engine traffic? What are the keywords that people used to get to you? More complex and specific search terms tend to result in more immediate conversions, while broader search terms may result in sales later. If people get to your site using what you believe to be broad search terms, you need to be sure that the cookie life (the amount of time that passes between someone from your site visiting the affiliate merchant’s site and the sale) is long.
Do you have textlinks or other advertising on other sites? Do you know the demographics of the visitors from those sites? Have you spoken to the webmaster, owner or manager of the sites on which you advertise and asked him or her about their visitors? Do you know the websites? Have you visited the sites that advertise on the same sites as you? When you investigate all of these things a profile of the visitors to your site should begin to emerge.
Which search engine brings you the most traffic? If it’s Google, the user is slightly more apt to be male, and in the middle (of MSN, Yahoo and Google) as far as propensity toward buying something (42% more likely than the average user). There’s a terrific article on marketingvox.com
IMPROVING COMMUNICATION DURING THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: If the employee has trouble getting started on the self-appraisal you might say: “Why don’t you start by talking about the XYZ project?” (Pick a topic that the employee will feel comfortable with, a success rather than a failure.) “It seems to me that the PDQ project was harder than we expected. What’s your perspective on that?” “I know this sort of thing is hard to do. Start wherever you like. I’m eager to hear what these past six months have been like from your point of view.”If the employee dwells on one aspect of the self-appraisal you might say: “I can see that these reports presented you with some real challenges. (Summarize what the employee has been saying.) Let’s go on now to...” “Let’s write down this problem so we can talk about its solution later. But now, let’s go on to ...” “I’m glad you enjoyed working on ABC, Sue. How did DEF go?”PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SCENARIOS: If employee “passes the buck”: “You feel that Richard was really responsible for this problem, Bob, but was there anything you could have done to work around the problem?
Before I get to the four questions you should ask before you enbark on your affiliate program, I am going to review two concepts that I use often here on Affiliateblog. The first is what I call the macro view of your Internet presence:
Incoming visitors -> Internet Presence < - Sales or Actions
You are really running two campaigns with your Internet presence -- the first campaign is concerned with getting visitors to the site, and the campaign is ongoing. The second campaign is to get those visitors to do something. That something may be just to spend more time at your site, or it may be to sign up for something or buy something.
The other represents the process of Internet advertising:
Impression -> Click -> Action
Most affiliate programs pay publishers in the last part of the process, the Action. I’ll be using both of these concepts in my questions. So here we go…
1. Do you know enough about your visitors?
There are literally thousands of affiliate programs out there. While some affiliate marketing hubs are experimenting with context-sensitive serving of affiliate banners and banner rotation on affiliate sites, YOU will be the one to decide what kind of products and services you want to offer your visitors. This seems like a minor detail, but it is a major factor in your success.
If you haven’t already, take a look at the stats for your web site over the past month or so. Where do your visitors come from? Have you paid for Google, Yahoo or other search engine traffic? What are the keywords that people used to get to you? More complex and specific search terms tend to result in more immediate conversions, while broader search terms may result in sales later. If people get to your site using what you believe to be broad search terms, you need to be sure that the cookie life (the amount of time that passes between someone from your site visiting the affiliate merchant’s site and the sale) is long.
Do you have textlinks or other advertising on other sites? Do you know the demographics of the visitors from those sites? Have you spoken to the webmaster, owner or manager of the sites on which you advertise and asked him or her about their visitors? Do you know the websites? Have you visited the sites that advertise on the same sites as you? When you investigate all of these things a profile of the visitors to your site should begin to emerge.
Which search engine brings you the most traffic? If it’s Google, the user is slightly more apt to be male, and in the middle (of MSN, Yahoo and Google) as far as propensity toward buying something (42% more likely than the average user). There’s a terrific article on marketingvox.co
What is your staff doing today?Chances are good that you could probably run down your list of direct reports and provide me with a fairly detailed summary of what each person needs to accomplish by 5 o’clock.However, what if I asked what you wanted your staff to complete by the end of this week, month and year? Even better, what if I asked your staff? Would they have any idea?This month, I am going address the challenge of setting clear and meaningful expectations and ensuring that your staff is consistently focused on your expected outcomes.When I introduce this topic to business owners/managers, I typically get the following response, “CJ, we don’t need to worry about this with my staff, they know exactly what I expect from them.” Unfortunately, after I meet with the staff I usually find that although they have a good understanding of the tactical duties they need to complete each day, they struggle answering the following questions:What is the direction of your department and the company?How do your daily duties affect this direction?In what areas do you excel and h
The other represents the process of Internet advertising:
Impression -> Click -> Action
Most affiliate programs pay publishers in the last part of the process, the Action. I’ll be using both of these concepts in my questions. So here we go…
1. Do you know enough about your visitors?
There are literally thousands of affiliate programs out there. While some affiliate marketing hubs are experimenting with context-sensitive serving of affiliate banners and banner rotation on affiliate sites, YOU will be the one to decide what kind of products and services you want to offer your visitors. This seems like a minor detail, but it is a major factor in your success.
If you haven’t already, take a look at the stats for your web site over the past month or so. Where do your visitors come from? Have you paid for Google, Yahoo or other search engine traffic? What are the keywords that people used to get to you? More complex and specific search terms tend to result in more immediate conversions, while broader search terms may result in sales later. If people get to your site using what you believe to be broad search terms, you need to be sure that the cookie life (the amount of time that passes between someone from your site visiting the affiliate merchant’s site and the sale) is long.
Do you have textlinks or other advertising on other sites? Do you know the demographics of the visitors from those sites? Have you spoken to the webmaster, owner or manager of the sites on which you advertise and asked him or her about their visitors? Do you know the websites? Have you visited the sites that advertise on the same sites as you? When you investigate all of these things a profile of the visitors to your site should begin to emerge.
Which search engine brings you the most traffic? If it’s Google, the user is slightly more apt to be male, and in the middle (of MSN, Yahoo and Google) as far as propensity toward buying something (42% more likely than the average user). There’s a terrific article on marketingvox.co
Many people in the last decade have experienced either a layoff or termination in their lives or the lives of somebody they know. While many of these people affected have experienced outplacement-consulting services, some have not and they may be in for a rude awakening - corporations no longer “take care of you”. Managing your career in these times require you to have a game plan and an understanding of yourself and human behavior. That is why outplacement consulting and career coaches have become so popular and are being sought out by individuals, not just corporations. A career coach can help you manage more than just your career, they can help you communicate better and get along with others better.1. Know Thyself Most people don't know what they really want in their careers. They have a degree and they went out into the world. 20 years later, they don’t have a clue why life sucks. There are some very good assessment to determine personality types, preferences, skill, attitudes and interest. An honest assessment of what you like to do in the style you prefer and with whom you want to do it with, goes alo
If you haven’t already, take a look at the stats for your web site over the past month or so. Where do your visitors come from? Have you paid for Google, Yahoo or other search engine traffic? What are the keywords that people used to get to you? More complex and specific search terms tend to result in more immediate conversions, while broader search terms may result in sales later. If people get to your site using what you believe to be broad search terms, you need to be sure that the cookie life (the amount of time that passes between someone from your site visiting the affiliate merchant’s site and the sale) is long.
Do you have textlinks or other advertising on other sites? Do you know the demographics of the visitors from those sites? Have you spoken to the webmaster, owner or manager of the sites on which you advertise and asked him or her about their visitors? Do you know the websites? Have you visited the sites that advertise on the same sites as you? When you investigate all of these things a profile of the visitors to your site should begin to emerge.
Which search engine brings you the most traffic? If it’s Google, the user is slightly more apt to be male, and in the middle (of MSN, Yahoo and Google) as far as propensity toward buying something (42% more likely than the average user). There’s a terrific article on marketingvox.co
10 Ways to Boost your ProfitabilitySo many business owners work hard - really hard - just to break even or keep afloat. Each one of us deserves reward for our efforts, whether that be financial or personal. The question to ask yourself is whether you are directing your effort in the right places, to get the reward you want?Of the businesses I’ve seen and worked in, there are plenty of ways to mis-spend effort - that is, to work hard - but on the wrong things. Here are ten of the most common areas where the return on your efforts can really be ramped up.1. Marketing InconsistentlyOnce you have committed to owning and running a business you must be equally committed to marketing and selling the products and services of that business. It is difficult, if not impossible, to stay and remain profitable without a commitment to ongoing concerted marketing.To get more out of your marketing, create a simple marketing plan that includes marketing activity every day, every week and every month. Marketing plans combine formal activities (such as advertising, promo
Do you have textlinks or other advertising on other sites? Do you know the demographics of the visitors from those sites? Have you spoken to the webmaster, owner or manager of the sites on which you advertise and asked him or her about their visitors? Do you know the websites? Have you visited the sites that advertise on the same sites as you? When you investigate all of these things a profile of the visitors to your site should begin to emerge.
Which search engine brings you the most traffic? If it’s Google, the user is slightly more apt to be male, and in the middle (of MSN, Yahoo and Google) as far as propensity toward buying something (42% more likely than the average user). There’s a terrific article on marketingvox.com if you want to see more details. You can also find some interesting demographic info on the major search engines from AQABA.
You should pay particular attention to the domains of your visitors. If you have a lot of AOL traffic for example, you should consider that the profile of the average AOL user is 35 or older (77%) and married (62%).
If you have trouble with textual representation vs. graphical representation (as I do), there is a terrific product called VisitorVille that takes your web logs and animates them. The text is represented as pictures (buildings, people, buses for the search engines, etc).
After all this you should be able to sit down and come up with the profile of a typical visitor. This profile should hopefully include estimates of age, country of origin, education and income.
Try to think like your visitors. Try to anticipate their interests and the products and services they might want to purchase. Affiliate programs raise the bar from PPC — your payment comes at the end of the Internet marketing process (the Action) rather than at the beginning (Impression or Click) like Google Adsense or Doubleclick. You need to apply more brainpower to the process, and you’ll make more money if you do it right.
2. Is your site perfect?
You’re asking someone to buy something from your site. If the pages have sloppy html code, broken links or instability from a bad Cascading Stylesheet, it makes you look cheesy. We’ve all been uncomfortable buying something off a cheesy website. You don’t want to be that website.
Let’s start with the html code. Are you sure there are no errors in it? Have you used an html checker like the one at W3C? I find mistakes in my code all the time. Unless you check your code on several browsers in several resolutions you might not catch an error. The validator will. If you use Cascading Stylesheets you should also visit the CSS Checker.
Speaking of validators, you should check your links often. W3.org also has a link validator.
The site should also be optimized for search engines, be easy to understand and navigate, and should have a sitemap for people (and spiders) to find their way around. You should have had ten of your closest friends take a look at the site and give you their feedback, and you should always listen to unsolicited comments from users with an open mind and place value on them. If someone takes the time from their busy day to send you an email about your site, they feel strongly about it and you should take a close look at what they’re talking about.
Understand that if your Incoming Visitors campaign is not working right, you’re wasting your time with your Sales or Action program.
3. Do you know what kind of ads you’re going to use, and where the ads are going to go?
People have been ignoring banners for ten years. That’s why they shake and make sounds (someday I’ll tell you about the screaming m
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