It never seems to amaze me with the extent some will go to monitize their blogs.  Sure, there are exactly TWO (2) advertisements on this blog (rotating).  And they do fairly well.  But I digress….

I submit for your approval the following screenshot of an article aptly named “WhatYou Don’t Know About Affiliate Marketing” (Site Name and URL removed to protect the #FAIL):

Now, I’m no stranger to cattle (I raided cattle in my youth), but when your subject is Affiliate Marketing it seemed a little odd to have AdSense placements of Miniature Cattle and Cattle Management Software on the page.  The dating ad on the right is a little goofy as well.

But Wait, it gets better…..

The “author” of the article touts themselves as being  “a Mobile Marketer, an Internet Marketer, Publisher and Entrepreneur.”  Which appears to be true.  But obviously in need of help.  Selfishly, I would say if they submitted their site to the AffSpot Performance Marketing Affiliate Forum that an equal share of “What the Hell are You Doing” and “Try this to Fix Your Site” would be offered.  And most of the advice would be pretty good.

Maybe I need to put this together for a presentation I’m doing later this summer…  But really, having advertising everywhere isn’t monitization…  It’s just counter productive.  And although I love AdSense for certain sites, not testing your site and seeing if the advertisments are relevant to your content is just plain lazy.

Here’s what this poor soul should do to fix their site.  The content isn’t bad.  It’s not the greatest, but it’s not bad.  But the conversion rate must be horrid.  I would get rid of the AdSense and change the offers to be relevant to the content.  An advert for a Wordpress plugin, a hosting company, a network and/or affiliate programs themselves would convert at a much higher rate.

But the shame of it all is that technically the site is build fairly well.  A reasonable template, the site is connected to Twitter and Facebook.  An admirable effort at in-site SEO was done.  With the right niche targeting and relevant offers this would be a good site.

But as it is now…  This is a Blog Monitization #Fail which equals Poor Affiliate Marketing.

]]> http://blog.affspot.com/2010/05/blog-monitization-fail-poor-affiliate-marketing/feed/ 7 http://blog.affspot.com/2010/02/affiliate-opportunity-knocks-from-a-press-release/ http://blog.affspot.com/2010/02/affiliate-opportunity-knocks-from-a-press-release/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:43:19 +0000 scottm http://blog.affspot.com/?p=318

Opportunity knocks in the strangest ways sometimes.  Being a big believer in Luck = Preperation + Opportunity I have retained several domain names over the years.  Mostly of places I’ve lived, activities I enjoy, etc.  And I maintain them mostly through automation and a brief posting every few weeks or so.

Then, over this past weekend..  the Opportunity component came into play for one of them.  You see, I live outside of a small town.  The town is just big enough to support a couple small lite manufacturers, a couple gas stations, a couple resturants, a grocery store and a few churches.  The town is quiet and the schools are good.  But then over the weekend Opportunity Knocked.

There has been some talk over the past few months that “something big” was coming to town.  But nobody knew what it was.  Only that it meant jobs.  And in this economy, that brings alot of interest.  Over the weekend the official city website had a press release…  A gathering at a larger auction house in town to announce a new industry moving in.  Along with the opportunity for up to 3500 new jobs!  This is big news.  And a big opportunity.

And what did I do?  You guessed it…  a couple domains where I’ve built local focused sites that garner some traffic are now on the front burner.  And I’m choosing the Affiliate Programs I promote very carefully.  I’ve joined the affiliate programs for every local franchise business.  Auto Parts, Movie Rental, etc.  Dropped in a couple other programs that are represented “brick and mortar” in the neighboring towns, etc.  Over the years these sites have grown very authoritative for the City name (it’s a good thing the local paper has no concept of SEO).  So when the news hits…  My sites are prepped and ready to take advantage of the traffic boost.

Oh, but it’s not only that…  I’ve sold advertisements to several local businesses (who will be linking to the site as well), and added even more solid original content, information, and a news channel.  And the traffic is already building…  Can you imagine what it will be when the news hits, and my little site is #1 in Google / Bing / Yahoo for a sleepy little podunk towns name?

Affiliate Gold is what that is..  And it’s an example of thinking longer range, building sites slowly over time, and striking while the iron is hot.

AffSpot went to Affiliate Summit West 2010 in Las Vegas this past week.  My first representing AffSpot.  And about the umpteenth event of this type I’ve attended over the past 20+ years or so.  After you’ve gone to more than a few of these things there is alot that’s the same… And alot that is different.

For me this was both a good and awful trip.  A printer messing up a flyer for AffSpot (but they look fabulous on cardstock instead of catalog slick), the worlds worst flight cancellation in history (I will NEVER fly with United ever again) and staying awake for nearly 37 hours so I could do a little charity thing called “Bowling for Boobs” notwithstanding.  The pluses far outweighed the minuses.

I had the opportunity to meet in person with many of the AffSpotters that contribute most to AffSpot.  Renewed friendships with a few people I’ve known for years.  And was able to meet many more people in much less time that would be possible in any other way.  And was able to articulate my own personal vision for AffSpot that I’ve been holding “close to the vest” while all the pieces were put into place over the past six months or so.  And no, I’m not going to tell you anything you don’t already know about AffSpot quite yet..  But very soon.

The biggest lesson for you that I can provide is that you MUST HAVE A PLAN for an event of this type.  There is too much going on to just let yourself drift and go with the flow.  I had made appointments with many, some more “loose” plans with others.  And, a list of people that I hadn’t made appointments with but I would be able to introduce myself to when the opportunity arose.

The high points?  Dinner with Sara and Brooke from Hayneedle, meeting Simon with Spotcher, getting to spend some seriously good time with Brad of Marketlite Affiliates, Wade Tonkin of GTO Management, Jamie Birch of JEB Commerce, Heather Paulson of PMG, Jivan Manhas of MediaTrust, Jen Goode (an AffSpot Moderator BTW, Michael Vorel of VastPlanet, Roger Snow and Randy Norton of Snow Consulting, and on, and on, and on….  And yes, there is no way I could namedrop everyone…  With the exception of Trisha Lyn Fawver.  She was everywhere and always busy, and always laughing.  Maybe that something I need to tell her in person will wait for ASE10.

Another thing was that Greg Hoffman (of Greg Hoffman Consulting), Matt Enders (of MGE), and Todd Crawford (who just announced ImpactRadius) and I kept running into each other all over the place.  Greg Hoffman accused me of stalking…  I attribute it to “Great Minds Think Alike”.  And we all kept laughing at the absurdity of it all and introducing each other to other people we know.  Kinda like “old home week”.

Some things are always the same.  Everyone is constantly contemplating everybody else’s navel.  ID Badges tend to hang a little low, and they’re really big, and they end up covering your navel.  When your looking for someone you tend to look at badges (as not to embaress yourself) and end up embarassing yourself because your looking at peoples navels instead of their faces.

Different?  No matter how big Affiliate Summit seems to get, there is a familiarity, and intimacy, that Affiliate Summit hangs onto that other events just can’t pull off.  Only one other event I’ve attended has been able to maintain “the feel”.  And it went away along time ago.  Affiliate Summit is special this way.

It was a good event for AffSpot.  And for me personally as well.

Amazon is doing the unthinkable over in the UK right now. Remember PPC going away in the US a few months ago? Well now they’re doing it in the UK and it does not bode well for US Affiliates (This Means You)!

In an article at SearchEngineLand they’ve quoted the UK Amazon letter ending PPC for Affiliates. And an additional paragraph has been added. Here it is:

In addition, as of February 1, 2010 we will no longer pay referral fees on purchases made by customers who are referred to www.amazon.co.uk or www.javari.co.uk via Free Search Results. Free Search Results are links containing an Associate’s tag displayed in a search engine’s free, natural, or organic search results in response to a search query which send customers directly to an Amazon site without the customer first being sent to an Associate’s site and the customer clicking on a link to arrive at the Amazon site.

So, you’ve built out sites with quality content, even localized in many cases, did some decent SEO, have your newsletter going out, etc. Things are pretty nice now that your site is on the first page of Google, Yahoo, etc. And the link to a specific product on your site that sets your tracking and takes a customer to Amazon happens to show up on that search term. You’d think that was good. You’d think that your hard work and smart execution of your plan would bring you a commission.

You’d think that since your efforts brought Amazon that sale you’d get paid for it. But no.. Not if it’s after Feb1 in the UK. And don’t think it won’t start happenning here as well. I’m not a huge predictor of specific things but this is starting to fall into a disturbing trend. PPC is being penalized by Amazon (among others). Google is slapping affiliate links in PPC as well. Ebay is now judging your sites for “quality”. And now Amazon UK is penalizing your organic search results (if it’s an affiliate link). And as everyone knows… link cloaking isn’t exactly an accepted practice among a majority of networks and merchants.

I have a good idea that this will become a hot topic at Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas this weekend. And for good cause. I do believe that everyone is going to be scrambling to figure out how to preserve their earned affiliate commissions that are the result of a natural search. The other thing I know is that whoever cracks the code and figures out where all these moves lead is going to be a huge superaffiliate in 2011.

Perfect is an unattainable goal, yet something to be strived for.  You’ve seen the guestblog about the Perfect Affiliate, and the Perfect Affiliate Network.  Now it’s time to put the Affiliate Program Managers on the “hotseat” and describe the traits we think makes a Perfect Affiliate Manager.

We all know the role of the Affiliate Manager…  This is the person responsible for recruiting and helping affiliates sell products and services for merchants.  And also help merchants provide the best offers, creative, and support that affiliates need in order to perform well.  The Affiliate Manager is very much a middle-man in the ecosphere of affiliate marketing.  And generally a thankless one.

But we do see good (actually, great) affiliate managers at AffSpot all the time.  Here’s what we observe about the best of the best..  put together in our definition of the Perfect Affiliate Manager.

1) Proactive to just short of annoyance.

Perfect Affiliate Managers know they have to funnel information from Merchant, thru the Networks, down to the Affiliates.  They are proactive in educating their merchants to allow time for the dataflow.  They are proactive in making sure the Network is updated, and they reach their affiliates through every possible source of information about every promo, sale, contest, etc. in every way possible.  And they are proactive just short of the point where everyone is annoyed with their persistance.  At AffSpot we see the Affiliate Managers that update on a regular basis, and those that don’t.  Trust me, the ones that are updating more frequently are getting more pageviews, repeat pageviews, and are making the most money.

2) Honest with both the Merchant, and the Affiliate, and the Network.

We’ve all had to deal the the Affiliate Manager who’ll do anything to avoid conflict…  And their programs suffer for it.  They either accept a merchant doing something silly, or push every program through a single network, or tell an affiliate something’s okay then later when the merchant see’’s it the affiliate is suddenly declared “rogue” and cut.  Great AM’s admit their mistakes, listen to all sides, and stand up for the Affiliate, the Network, or the Merchant when a stand is called for.  Some in the triad won’t like it.  But by being honest, the Affiliate Manager will grow their business full of the best merchants, with the best networks, with the best affiliates.

3) Engrained in their core is the concept of the Triad..  Not an Oligarchy.

Merchants have offers on Networks for Affiliates to Advertise (and generate sales).  Three points on the triangle.  A Triad.  Perfect Affiliate Managers know they sit in the middle, attached to all three points of the triad.  No one point being more important than another.  Perfect Affiliate Managers never mess with the balance, and always work to keep all three points of the triad moving forward, together.  It’s in the best interest of all.  It’s in their core.

4) Perfect Affiliate Managers are Great Educators.

Perfect Affiliate Managers Educate, not pontificate, or dictate.  They help raise people up by teaching them how to be better.  Not by telling them what to do.  Perfect Affiliate Managers are Great Educators.

5) Perfect Affiliate Managers Know They Arn’t… Perfect.

Noone is Perfect.  And Perfect Affiliate Managers know they arn’t.  They admit their mistakes, learn from them, share them as examples when educating.  They turn their mistakes into gold for their Merchants, Networks, and Affiliates.  They are humble in their success and appreciative of those that rely on them.  Without losing the ability to tell their story and help others.

This is the Perfect Affiliate Manager.  Whether employed by a Merchant, a Network, or with their own OPM company.  By being “in it” for the success of all, they succeed beyond all.  This is the Perfect Affiliate Manager.

Yesterdays reblog of “A Christmas Gift – The Perfect Affiliate” got me thinking about more “Perfect” wishes.  Today I’m thinking of the Perfect Affiliate Network.

Most of us have multiple Affiliate Network relationships.  Not every network has the best offer for every niche you fill.  Sometimes a Merchant you like may move from one network to another for their own business reasons, etc.  But all in all, every Affiliate Marketer deals with multiple Affiliate Networks.  And if life were “Perfect” every Affiliate Network would:

1) Track no matter what….

First there was link tracking, then cookie tracking, then pixel tracking…  They all fail in a couple respects.  First of all, scammers and other unsundry individuals and organizations work very hard figuring out ways to reset tracking so they get money that you deserve.  This is a very tough issue.  And one your network needs to be open, honest, and forthcoming about in both policy, and technical execution.

2) Be open and communicative….

All too often a network will be impossible to communicate with openly.  You’ll get “the pitch” about their great offers, superior tracking and payouts, etc. at Affiliate Summit, Blogworld, etc.  But try to get them on the phone?  Email?  etc.  Oh, I’m sure it’s a pain for the networks, but networks need to be able to answer questions in a reasonable manner and timeframe.  Perfect networks have multiple communication channels and the ability to handle issues.  Like that merchant who never has a balance but is selling thru like hotcakes, links not tracking, etc.

3) Enable Merchant Communication

New merchants are sometimes not easy to communicate with.  Have no social media strategy.  No phone number on their website (outside of an answering service), etc.  A “Perfect” network should have a built in ability to directly communicate with a merchant (or their AM/OPM) so issues can be handled, questions answered, requests for special graphics, etc., made easily.  Networks act as a business intermediary between merchants and affiliates.  Not enabling communication would make a network less than “Perfect” in my eye.

4) Payout easily, conveniently, and on-time.  With full detail.

Face it, we’re all involved in a high tech field.  You may sell goat cheese with your affiliate site but it’s on the Internet.  There is no excuse for a network to payout by mailing a check.  A “Perfect Network” should be able to payout via PayPal, Wire Transfer, Electronic Check, etc.  And a “Perfect Network” should also be able to deliver full transactional detail via a .QIF file or OpenOffice Spreadsheet that I can import into my accounting system.

5) “Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect, Perfect Practice Makes Perfect”.  Vince Lombardi

A “Perfect Network” should always be testing something.  Better reporting, new payout methods, promotions, etc.  And just like the Vince Lombardi quote that anchors this paragraph…  They need to be perfect in practice.  Which means rolling out a new feature without it being tested is nearly unforgiveable.  I’ve lived through a few of these, links failing to track, infrastructure failures, new site reporting reporting everything but what I need, etc.  A “Perfect Network” works with their merchants and affiliates, builds a test environment, and involves key merchants and affiliates in the testing process.  So when the new features are rolled out, it’s good for everybody.

6) Perfect Networks use AffSpot

Okay, this is self serving..  But hey, I can.  Since no person is perfect, and networks are really made up of people, there is no such thing as a “Perfect Network”.  But several come real close…  And they participate on AffSpot.  I’m not naming names because I’ll forget someone (I’m not perfect either) but we at AffSpot are proud of the the networks that participate with us.  They really are an outstanding bunch (and if your a Network…  AffSpot wants you).

I AffSpotted a blogpost today that got me to thinking…  “The Perfect Affiliate”…   I’m going to be like a congress member and reserve the right to “revise and extend” my remarks (watch out, “The Perfect Network”, “The Perfect OPM”, will be coming out the next couple days).  But LinkValu put something out today that’s very worthwhile.

From Debra Rabin -  drabin@linkvalu.com at LinkValu (with permission) here is “The Perfect Affiliate”…

The Best Xmas Present – the Perfect Affiliate!

It’s the Holiday Season in the Affiliate Marketing World. Santa isn’t the only one making his list and checking it twice. Networks and Merchants all over the World Wide Web are busy making their lists as well. All they want for Christmas, oh heck, all they want everyday is the Perfect Affiliate. Let’s explore the qualities that an affiliate needs in order to achieve perfection. After all, as an affiliate you want to be very successful; you want to be viewed as a Perfect Affiliate by someone!

In the world of Affiliate Marketing, there are Advertisers and Affiliates. Ideally, these two groups treat each other as trusted partners that the Performance Marketing world requires them to be for this model to work. A Merchant or Advertiser is someone with a great product or service, a wonderful website (at least in their eyes) who would like to drive more traffic to buy their products or services. An Affiliate or Publisher knows how to bring traffic to the Advertiser’s site. And a Network is like a match maker, finding both Affiliates and Advertisers and setting them up on dates where the Affiliate and Advertiser find companionship, or continue courting other partners in the never-ending search for a profitable relationship.

While researching for this article, I typed in the term ‘Perfect Affiliate’ into my favorite search engine. I then searched the same terms on several of the top search engines. It was very enlightening. Instead of finding a Perfect Affiliate the results all uniformly offer tips for finding the Perfect Affiliate PROGRAM. Apparently, this is a very one-sided marketplace, where Affiliate are free to seek perfect programs but Advertisers and Networks have never publicly sought a perfect affiliate.

There were so many articles written about the Perfect Affiliate PROGRAM that I decided I might learn something by reading a few of them. The articles all seemed to contain a laundry list of what the authors regarded as good reasons for choosing a (hopefully perfect) program to become an affiliate for, but none of them contained advice that might make an affiliate a Perfect Affiliate.

After interviewing several Network Affiliate Managers and a few damn near perfect affiliates as well, I’ve come up with my own definition for what makes the Perfect Affiliate. It’s deceptively simple; the Perfect Affiliate makes money for both themselves and their Advertiser, (and their Network if there’s on in the picture). Even if the Perfect Affiliate never takes a shower or brushes their teeth, their successful production is what puts them in the perfect category every time! Ok, that’s very simple, but it’s also the first rule of being the Perfect Affiliate:

#1 Rule – Perfect Affiliates are Profitable!

Affiliates choose the programs that they get involved in, and that to a great extent determines their success or failure. Selecting a program that works with your strengths is an important first step toward being Perfect. If the program you select has great tools, and the product is one you understand, you’re half-way to Perfect. If you are an emailer and your list(s) really buy every mortgage, credit card and financial service you send them, it may be a big mistake to send them a ring tone offer. If you’re a search guru and the keywords you already purchase are throwing off leads that are related, for example health leads might easily tie you into beauty or fitness, so expanding your business in related ways can help make you Perfect. If you find you don’t choose well for yourself, make sure you hook up with a great network, and get friendly with their Affiliate Manager, they can help you select offers to run. So the next rule is:

#2 Rule – Perfect Affiliates pick programs that they can be Successful with!

The Product or Program that an Affiliate is evaluating needs to have a lot going for it. For one thing, the product or program needs to be legitimate! Is the offer legal? Does the Advertiser have a good reputation in the market? Sending spam makes you a Spammer – these are crucial questions to ask. Do they pay their Affiliates on time, or will you be constantly struggling to get paid? Rule #3 is:

#3 Rule – Perfect Affiliates do their Homework

So the Product or Program that you select should hit your target audience, be legitimate and pay out without problems. Not every offer will make money for you the first month or two. If you believe in it, and are willing to re-work your strategy to make the offer profitable, you’re getting closer to Perfect. Doug Garfinkel, the Director of Business Development with RocketProfit.com Affiliate Program sums it up this way “The best affiliates are the ones that really understand the process, from click to conversion, and know that it takes work on their part. Many new affiliates expect every offer to work and if they see results lower than expected, give up too easily. The more experienced affiliates know they have to test different offers and different media to find what works best for them.” Check conversion rates, measure and understand your data and constantly check that the results are profitable for you and the Advertiser.

#4 Rule – Perfect Affiliates work Hard, don’t give up and evaluate offers constantly

Trust is a big issue between advertisers, networks and affiliates. An Advertiser or Network has to trust that their affiliate will conform to CAN SPAM and other DMA best practices to ensure that their brand is never injured by an affiliate’s actions. And Affiliates need to be able to trust their advertiser or network, and know that they are looking out for them as well. A great Affiliate Manager at a Network or Advertiser can steer Perfect Affiliates toward gems and away from troubled offers. Danay Escanaverino, Director of Marketing at Filinet.com put it this way, “There are quite a few affiliate managers who work hard on their affiliates’ behalf acting as an advocate to ensure that they are compensated fairly for their hard work by advertisers. There is definitely a big opportunity for mutual trust and while it is up to AMs to cultivate that, it is certainly great when an affiliate for whom you fought and worked to help recognizes the effort and allows you to do your thing on their behalf.”

#5 Rule – Perfect Affiliates form mutually Trusting Relationships

Tied in with Trust is Respect – the Perfect Affiliate respects the offers and abides by the rules associated with the offers. Rules like keeping current on creatives and more importantly keeping current on suppression lists. Following the program guidelines will keep you out of trouble with the Advertiser or Network you’re working with. Shawn Schaefer, Marketing Director for AmericanLifeDirect.com advises. “Don’t cut corners, if an offer’s terms and conditions stipulate ‘no co-registration’ then don’t do that!” Constantly abiding by stated rules is one of the hallmarks of Perfect behavior.

#6 Rule – Perfect Affiliates Respect each Offer’s Terms and Conditions

As an Affiliate Marketer, you are part of a team. You are the virtual sales force for every product or service that you promote! You are down in the trenches of marketing, getting the product out to the consumers and you are often in the best possible place to provide valuable feedback to the Advertiser who owns the offer. Advertisers and Affiliate Managers aren’t mind readers! A smart Advertiser will listen to your suggestions and make necessary changes. Is the creative getting tired? Let them know! Are your conversions dropping? Let them know! Give your feedback in detail and freely, because the improvements a smart Advertiser makes will improve your payouts!

#7 Rule – Perfect Affiliates offer Actionable Feedback to Advertisers

Perhaps the most important rule for Perfect Affiliates is ‘Remember to Communicate!’ The perfect affiliate is proactive meaning they stay in contact and ask what offers do well and what creative works. The Perfect Affiliate doesn’t just make calls, they return them, and they are forthcoming with information on their calls. The feedback an affiliate provides to an advertiser often helps the advertiser improve their program, sometimes leading to increased payouts for the affiliate. Annie Coryat, President of Gracie Media says “The perfect affiliate is on top of their game and pays attention to the details of the offer. They stay in communication, check back in and give feedback.” Annie has told a few less-than-perfect affiliates “I think we need to see other people” when it became obvious that they weren’t working out.

#8 Rule – Perfect Affiliates Communicate Openly and Often

To conclude, I’ve determined that Perfect Affiliates are more frequently affiliates that have been with an Advertiser for a while, and like a good marriage, they’ve grown to trust and benefit from open communications. Perfect Affiliates do not grow on trees; if they did no one would be crowding the halls at AdTech or Affiliate Summit and other gatherings where Advertisers go to broadcast how great their offers are. If Perfect Affiliates could be ordered online at EBay, and arrived via FedEx, the face of the Performance Marketing World would be quite different, and we’d all have one or two of them under the tree this year.

How many networks are there now?  At least a few thousand.  And a continuing trend we’ve been following is the propensity of networks built out of network affiliations.  What?  You got it.  There are Affiliate Networks that are nothing but a network who’s entire portfolio of offers are in reality nothing but that network being a member of many other networks.

So what’s the point?  We think it’s consolidation.  Now think about this for a little bit.  The longest chain you probobly have right now is yourself, being an affiliate of a number of networks and enrolled in multiple programs across multiple networks.  Each with either in-house or OPM management.  It’s very easily feasible that your dealing with 10 managers for 20 programs on 12 networks and you have 20 or more sites running.

What’s the path of least resistance all around?  Shedding unprofitable relationships and consolidating your offers and management.  Which is why (we think) that so many of the newer “network of networks” are owned/operated by OPM’s.

By being enrolled in a hybrid model like this the network (of networks) is consolidating offers, management, etc. and your dealing with fewer people to be able to either reduce your workload or increase the number of offers/sites your creating.  Not a bad concept.  There is also a “dual edged sword” effect where in the long run costs will be driven out of the system (leaving more money for the merchant, the network, and you) or that this is the harbinger of an industry wide consolidation.  Where your options will be reduced.

If I had nearly unlimited funds, I’d build a network of networks myself, buy a coupld strong OPM firms, buy a couple regional ISP/Hosting companies for infrastructure, toss in a couple agencies (Advertising and Social Media) and wring all the shared costs out of the system.  Then use the cost savings to increase affiliate payouts and build the company itself.  It wouldn’t take long for someone with big pockets to literally drive the entire marketplace into a model like this.  And I do believe it’s already underway.

The big questions are if the merchants will go for it, if affiliates will see the consolidation as a profit opportunity, and if the existing “network of networks” companies continue to increase in number / scale or not.

Oh what a web we weave…  Google has GAN, but integrates Blogger with the Amazon Associates Program.  Which when you think about it is a pretty good idea for both companies…  and for Affiliate Marketers.  With just a few clicks you can now put Amazon offerings on a blogger page.  And Google will know who’s doing affiliate marketing on Blogger (well, via Amazon anyway) and can use that data to advance GAN.  Let alone the traffic.

But this is a good thing for Affiliate Marketers using Blogger as well.  And the level of automation is pretty cool.  I gave it a whirl in the wee hours last night and just like the notice from Amazon said..  It was two steps:

“1.Bloggers highlight the relevant text and the Amazon Product Finder will search

Amazon’s millions of products and recommend the ones that are most closely associated

with the text”

“2.Bloggers can then insert a link or image to that product which includes their Associates

ID, enabling them to earn up to 15% in referral fees from Amazon”

We’ve been seeing more and more “automation tools” for offer selection here of late.  We actually have several test sites out running the various tools right now (and yes, a future post will compare them).  As of right now, the only downside is the reliance on Amazon for all the offers and Google’s restrictions on Blogger.  This makes it kind’ve tough to control every single aspect like most Affiliate Marketers like to have.  But, it also makes it much easier and faster to deploy sites, build niches, and see what types of offers are working.

Now, this isn’t good for OPM’s and competing Networks if this new tool works well in conversion.  It totally removes offer selection from the Affiliate Marketer and has the potential to disrupt the Merchant ==> OPM ==> Network ==> Marketer relationship chain.  It will make things tougher for small and mid-size merchants too.

This is something that could be good for business, or could potentially be bad for all but the largest operators.  Time will tell.

(This is the first in a series of blogposts describing one of many methods of establishing a business in Affiliate Marketing.  Consider this an instructional foray into an example that hopes to deliver value no matter what approach you may take with your own Affiliate Marketing business.)

So you think you can be successful in Affiliate Marketing?  You think you can make a living at it?  Some side cash?  A little extra cushion each month?  Well, yes you can…  IF

The big IF is if you can organize yourself, work hard, work smart, not confuse twittering with work, etc.  Lots of people (a whole lot of people) make a good living at Affiliate Marketing.  And there’s no reason you can’t IF you can take care of the big IF.  This is the first of a series that hopes to give you some actionable information and tools so that you can get rid of IF and take Action.

The first thing you need to do is understand the economics of affiliate marketing and the dynamics of the Web.  A website that makes $100,000/yr is rare.  Very, very, on the endangered species list rare.  If you think your going to just jump in and make 100 large well, I have an e-book I’d like to sell you…  Because if you think that then you need some serious education in Affiliate Marketing.

How about we get realistic?  What if we set an attainable goal..  $30,000/yr.  Lets see if theres a way to make (after expenses) $30,000/yr with a little work and alot of smarts.  And lets not put all your eggs in a single basket either.  There are alot of niches out there.  Let’s spread the risk in ways that will let you research niches by trying them out.  Successful ones you scale up, unsuccessful ones you replace with successful ones.  Let’s do it all with minisites that are focused at local markets!

Now, how many minisites will this take?  That depends on how much your minisites can be expected to make.  So lets do a little math.  $30,000/yr / 12 = 2500/month.  And lets just say we can build a minisite that will make $100/month after expenses.  Then you’ll need 25 minisites (everything is averaged here, one sites gonna tank, another will do more, less, etc).  in order to reach your goals at this rate.

25 minisites X $100/month = $2500/month

Cost to host + domain registration = $500/month = Gross Revenue Required $3,000/month

Now, do you think you can build a minisite that will earn $3.00 per day?  If you find a niche that you can go local with and it proves to bring in a minimum of $3.00/day do you think you can replicate that minisite for another local target (city)?  25 times?  Well, yes you can.  With planning, organization, and good recordkeeping a single individual can easy keep track of about 100 minisites.  (btw.  100 minisites x $3.00/day = $300/day x 365 days = $109,000.00/yr).

Here’s how we’re going to do this.  We’re going to hit a functional area every day til you’ve got a resource you can use.  We’re going to cover discovering niches, finding offers, necessary tools, elements of minisite design, tracking performance, testing for success, and replicating success.  We’re going to cover it all.

Today’s Lesson…  25 sites for $3,000/month is realistic.  We’ll continue tomorrow.